Relationships In Like Dandelion Dust

Relationships are an essential aspect of life. People form new relationships every day and as these relationships become stronger, the individuals involved learn to care for each other and depend on one another in a greater way. Although the film Like Dandelion Dust, directed by Jon Gunn, is based on Karen Kingsbury’s novel, Like Dandelion Dust, there are many noticeable differences between the relationships that are formed in each of the two works. These differences are most apparent in Molly Campbell’s relationships. Molly forms stronger relationships in the novel than she does in the film. This is evident in Molly’s relationships with her husband Jack, her son Joey, and her sister Beth.
Not only does Molly have a stronger relationship

with Jack and Joey, but she is also much closer with Beth in the novel than she is in the film. Firstly, in the novel, Beth and Molly tell each other everything, and they share a scrapbook full of memories that they made together, while in the film, Beth and Molly do not spend time talking with one another, and the scrapbook is never shown or spoken of in the film. After calling her sister, in the novel, Molly notices the scrapbook that Beth had made for her after she graduated high school, and she began to look through it. “On the inside cover she’d written something in neat, perfect handwriting. It was faded some, but she could still make it out. Molly . . . I can’t believe you’re graduating. What will I do next year without you? I made you this album so you won’t ever forget the fun we’ve had these last three years. I love you so much. Beth.” (Kingsbury 71)
“They never went longer than a week without a conversation, but nothing had compared to those first growing-up years, the days when she and Beth were inseparable.” (Kingsbury 80) Good friends are people who are always there to talk and listen when one of their friends need help. Good friends also express their love through kind actions much like the scrapbook that Beth makes for Molly in the novel. Beth’s kind action expresses Beth and Molly’s close relationship to the reader. However, since there is no scrapbook in the film, the viewer does not get to know how strong Beth and Molly’s relationship is. Beth and Molly also talk more in the novel showing that they take time to strengthen their relationship, unlike in the film. Secondly, Beth and Molly apologize and forgive each other at the end of the novel, whereas they do not even talk to one another at the end of the film, therefore leaving the viewer to believe that the sisters are still unhappy with each other. True friends choose to forgive each other when there is a misunderstanding or argument between them. People who experience something like this often end up becoming even closer than they were before. After Molly finds out that Beth turned her in for attempting to flee the country, Molly chooses to forgive Beth because she loves her sisters too much to lose her. Unfortunately, this powerful act of forgiveness is completely eliminated from the film causing the viewers to believe that Beth and Molly are not going to forgive each other. This proves that Beth and Molly are closer in the novel. Therefore, Molly’s close relationship with Beth in the novel is stronger than her relationship with Beth in the film.