I did not read the series, but my daughter and her friends did, so I took them to the midnight showing. The movie reminded me a lot of Harry Potter - the same old teen angst/save the world stuff. It was ok, but I wouldn't go out of my way to see it again. The girls, however, were infuriated. They ranted about how extremely important characters were omitted and the plot line was completely changed. They said they fully understand that movies are never like the book, but they said that at least most movies manage to keep the same basic plot line. I guess we will not be buying this one on DVD.