The Every Year After Ending Makes A Big Departure From The Book

Weeks after Off Campus inspired everything from haircuts to crush playlists to a newfound appreciation for bras, Prime Video has arrived with yet another swoony book-to-screen adaptation. Every Year After is based on Carley Fortune’s debut novel Every Summer After, which follows the ups and downs of a friends-to-lovers romance set against the idyllic backdrop of Canadian lake cottages.

Specifically, Sam and Percy’s love story takes place in beautiful Barry’s Bay, which is a real community in Ontario (a few hours east of Shane Hollander’s Heated Rivalry digs), but is set in British Columbia for the purposes of the series. It’s not the only departure — as with any adaptation, there are a few other changes in store. As Fortune recently told Bustle, “Writing the book was very nostalgic for me, but with the show, seeing this new take and point of view of the book brought to life by an enormous team of artists and craftspeople, that was surreal and also humbling.”

Keen to compare? Here’s the plot summary of Every Summer After — and how the book ending plays out a little differently in Every Year After, streaming now. Book and series spoilers ahead.

Like the show, Every Summer After is told in two timelines. The past begins with 13-year-old Percy, whose parents buy a summer cottage in Barry’s Bay. She quickly gets to know her neighbors — brothers Sam and Charlie Florek and their widowed mom, Sue.

Over the years, Sam and Percy forged an especially close connection. Though Percy briefly dates her friend Delilah’s cousin, Mason, she ultimately tells Sam she has feelings for him. He initially worries about ruining their friendship, but they officially get together the following year. However, after Sam cuts their summer short to attend a college workshop ahead of freshman year, he limits their communication in order to focus on school.

Hurt by Sam’s sudden distance, Percy has sex with Charlie — a decision she instantly regrets. Sam eventually apologizes for how he handled things and proposes to Percy at Thanksgiving, but she says they need to take a break. She never confesses her betrayal and loses touch with the Floreks until — in the present timeline, 12 years later — Charlie calls to invite Percy, now a magazine editor, to Sue’s funeral.

While in town, Percy reconnects with Sam. Though Sam has an on-and-off girlfriend, Taylor, they break up, and Sam realizes he still has strong feelings for Percy. They hook up, but Percy confesses that she slept with Charlie all those years ago. Sam reacts angrily, but soon tells Percy he already knew: Charlie told his brother what happened that Christmas. And crucially, he tells Percy that he forgave her years ago — setting the stage for them to be together. In an epilogue one year later, Percy plans to propose to Sam.

On screen, however, Sam learns about Percy’s betrayal in the present day. While the final moments of Season 1 suggest that he’s ready to make peace with her, viewers can only guess what their romantic future has in store — perhaps in a potential Season 2?

As Matt Cornett (who plays Sam) recently told Bustle, “They haven’t had their conversation yet of figuring out what they are, where they are, how they’re going to navigate it. I would love to see them figure out their relationship.”