In the diary of Adrian Mole and the film of thirteen there are few similarites. The parents of the two children are getting divorce and the two families are alcoholic Tracy lives with her mother and Adrian lives with his father. Adrian is always worried about the food that he eats and about his apparance. Tracy is always worried about her apperance. Evie is Tracy's friend and Nigel is Adrian's best friend, both Adrian and Tracy have problems because their best friends steal their boyfriend and girlfriend. Adrian is bullied by Barry Kent at school and he has to pay an amount of money to him. Tracy also has problems with some older people who want to hit her.

There are several differences between the book and the film. In the film, for example Evie is a bad influence on Tracy. Evie influenced Tracy to take drugs and Tracy becomes an addicted. Tracy also does petty crimes like stealing in shops stealing things from other people. Tracy's mother is a hairdresser, and her boyfriend is a drug addict. her father doesn't look after them. Tracy has got a younger brother. At the end of the film Evie blames Tracy for everything thats has happened, but Tracy changes and becomes the same girl as before. However the book tells the story of Adrian. His parents separate for a time but then his mother returns home and at the end of the book they are a happy family again.