Being a Netflix trash means you've probably watched many, if not all, of the popular films and shows more than once. You've also probably looked up the actors and hit the 'Follow' button on Instagram (ehem, Jordan Fisher and Taylor Zakhar Perez stans). You may or may not have read the OG book versions of romantic films like To All The Boys I've Loved Before and The Kissing Booth to see how different they are from the films.
While we know by now that TATB series is based on Jenny Han's books and The Kissing Booth is based on a novel by Beth Reekles, did you know that the latter actually started out as a mere teen story on Wattpad?
From Wattpad to Netflix
Wattpad is a platform where aspiring writers can upload their literary works. Before getting published by multinational publishing company Penguin Random House, then 15-year-old Beth Reekles was just your typical Wattpad reader. "A friend told me about a book she was reading and it sounded so great I wanted to read it as well—which was when she told me it was on Wattpad," shares Reekles in an interview with Forbes.
She then decided to try her hand at sharing her own works and began publishing The Kissing Booth chapter by chapter on the platform. It went on to become one of the most popular titles on the website, with over 19 million reads, and won the Most Popular Teen Fiction at the Watty Awards. Because of this popularity, Reekles was contacted by a publisher, and was offered a three-book deal. Aside from The Kissing Booth, Reekles has also written and published Rolling Dice and Out of Tune. Now, Reekles is 25 years old and a graduate of BS Physics at the Exeter University in England.
Netflix success
Netflix acquired the rights to turn Reekles' work into a film in 2016, directed by Vince Marcello (Teen Beach, An American Girl) and starring Joey King, Jacob Elordi, and Joel Courtney. Despite being received poorly by film critics, Netflix claims that The Kissing Booth is one of the most watched films on the streaming platform. It has gotten so popular among subscribers of the platform that the movie even got a Part 3, already shot and scheduled for release in 2021.
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