We Own This City. Poster of the 2022 TV series and cover of the 2021 book
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We Own This City
Justin Fenton, 2021
TV series vs book
David Simon, George Pelecanos, 2022-

Baltimore, 2015. Riots are erupting across the city as citizens demand justice for Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old Black man who has died under suspicious circumstances while in police custody. Drug and violent crime are surging, and the city is reaching its highest murder count in more than two decades. Facing pressure from the mayor’s office turn to a rank-and-file hero, Sergeant Wayne Jenkins, and his elite plainclothes unit, the Gun Trace Task Force, to help get guns and drugs off the street.


Bridge of Spies. Poster of the 2015 movie and cover of the 2010 book, Bridge of Spies: A True Story of the Cold War
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Bridge of Spies: A True Story of the Cold War
Giles Whittell, 2010
movie vs book
Steven Spielberg, 2015

In 1957 New York City, Rudolf Abel is arrested and charged with spying for the Soviet Union. Abel is convicted, but Donovan convinces the judge to spare Abel the death penalty because Abel had been serving his country honorably, and he might prove useful for a future prisoner exchange.


Mrs. Fletcher. Poster of the 2019 TV series and cover of the 2017 book
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Mrs. Fletcher
Tom Perrotta, 2017
TV series vs book
Tom Perrotta, 2019

Mrs. Fletcher is a coming of age story of Mrs. Eve Fletcher and her son Brendan. Eve is a divorcée and is undergoing a mid-life crisis. She decides she no longer wants to be her old self when her son Brendan goes to college as a freshman. She experiences sexual reawakening and sexual fulfillment that eluded her in her younger years. Brendan also undergoes his own sexual troubles as he navigates college life.


The Family. Poster of the 2013 movie and cover of the 2004 book, Malavita
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Malavita
Tonino Benacquista, 2004
movie vs book
Luc Besson, 2013

Mafia boss Giovanni Manzoni, who offended Don Luchese, a rival mafia boss, survives an attempted hit on him and his family at a barbecue. He beats a plumber who tries to shake him down for money to unnecessarily change all the pipes in his house, and a local fertilizer factory owner who interrupts him while he is talking.


Carlito's Way: Rise to Power. Poster of the 2005 movie and cover of the 1982 book, Carlito's Way
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Carlito's Way
Edwin Torres, 1982
movie vs book
Michael Bregman, 2005

The story begins in the 1960s with three inmates in a New York prison — Earl, Rocco, and Carlito— controlling their criminal empire within their cell. Upon their release, they all look to control the drug trade in Harlem, which is currently in a power dispute between the Italian Bottolota crime family and black gangsters led by Hollywood Nicky.