I can only think of one other book that I liked the film adaptation of better. Like most people I know, I watched the Netflix adaptation of this book. I didn't realize it was an adaptation when I watched it and I'm truly glad I didn't. I fear that if I had known I would have read this book and then been disinterested. The show simply handles certain things much better than this book does and the overall feeling and impact of the show hit harder than this did at any point. 

*Spoilers*

the whole way Tevis writes feels like more of a brief description of events than an actual story. While we often get insight into characters' thoughts and feelings, the way Tevis writes makes it all feel like he is just telling us and that it doesn't really matter. Additionally, while this book centers on a girl/woman, there is nothing feminine feeling about her. This isn't a problem for me, except for that Tevis almost forcefully inserts these moments of trying to tell us that she is in fact feminine. These moments always feel contrived and like an alien is trying to tell us what feminity is and not like our main character has feminine traits. It just reads very awkwardly and has little to no self-awareness of this.

Considering these were my issues with the novel, I think it is rather apparent how a dedicated mini-series could have addressed these issues. The changes made to the story help flush out everyone so they feel like real people and the show holds a self-awareness for the main character's awkwardness. Not to mention the show actually gives side characters more than 2 seconds of thought to feel fleshed out and like they matter to the overall story and/or the main character.