‘The Snow Girl’: What are the differences between the book and the series?

One of the latest phenomena of the Netflix series has been the Spanish ‘The snow girl’, adaptation of the novel by Javier Castillo. Now, there are differences between the series and the novel on which it is based, and we review the main ones below, from the city in which it is set to some of its characters: how is the series ‘The Snow Girl’ different? ‘, one of the best Spanish series of 2023, and the book?

The production seems to have followed in the footsteps of ‘La casa de papel’ and has been among the most viewed within a few days of its premiere on the streaming giant, on January 27. ‘The snow girl’, one of the most anticipated Spanish Netflix series of 2023, takes us to Malaga in 2010. The action begins with a disappearance in the middle of the Three Kings procession. The most magical moment of the year will be an absolute nightmare for some parents when their daughter Amaya disappears in the crowd. Miren is at that moment a trainee journalist, and she begins an investigation parallel to that of the police, which will awaken aspects of her past that she would have wanted to forget. With the help of her journalist colleague Eduardo, the young intern will not stop until she finds the girl.

The series is based on the novel, and although there may have been doubts about whether ‘The Snow Girl’ is based on fact or not, it is completely fiction.. Castillo’s book (which has a cameo at the end of the series) was a bestseller during the pandemic, and it is followed by ‘The Game of the Soul’, published in 2021 and possibly the source of inspiration for a second part, given how open the end of the Netflix series is, which has left us amazed. His latest work has been published in 2023, called ‘El cuco de cristal’.

While we wait to find out whether or not there will be a second season of ‘The Snow Girl’Let’s go over the differences in the book.

The change in the names of the characters

The only one who has kept the name is the young protagonist: Miren Triggs becomes Miren Red. Aaron and Grace Templeton are the parents of the missing girl, who in the series change their names to David and Ana. Their daughter’s original name is Kiera Templeton. Her captors call her Mila, and in the series they change it to the name of Amaya Martín. Her kidnappers in the series call her Julia.

Besides, the girl in the series is five years old, two more than in the book.

The time line is not the same

The key years in the novel are 1998, 2003 and 2010. Instead, the hit series has decided to start the events precisely in 2010, while other crucial points occur in 2011 and 2019.

The novel was not set in Malaga

The plot of the series takes place in Malaga. With gloomy touches and surrounded by fog, yes. But everything happens in the Andalusian city. In the original novel everything takes place in a big city: nothing more and nothing less than New York. In fact, in the book the disappearance occurs at the Thanksgiving Parade. When transferring it to the Spanish series, they have covered it with a custom that is clearly ours: the little girl disappears in the middle of the Three Kings Parade.

There are characters that undergo changes in the adaptation

In the book, the girl’s mother is expecting her second child, which does not appear in the series. Miren’s mentor is also different: the character played by José Coronado in the series is called Richard in the novel and he is 30 years old. Besides, the agent who is investigating the case of the disappearance changes sex: The Benjamin Miller from the book becomes Belén Millén in the series, played by Aixa Villagrán.

A new plot sneaks into the series

In the first chapters we come across a serious crime that revolves around Luque, played by the actor Tristán Ulloa, a family friend of the kidnapped girl. This plot has been invented for the series itself. In fact, it provides more details that will offer Miren a new line of investigation.