The Every Summer After adaptation, the latest gift in the seemingly constant stream of iconic book-to-screen adaptations, finally hit our screens. On the heels of the Off-Campus craze, Prime Video dropped what the internet hoped would be the next The Summer I Turned Pretty into our laps right as summer started. But after months of waiting for Every Year After, fans were largely… unimpressed with the final result.
What many of us thought would set the tone for our entire summer turned out to be just okay, and fans of the book have plenty of theories as to why the TV show didn’t capture quite the same charm as the novel. From miscasting claims to major plot changes, here’s exactly why I think Every Year After blended in with all the other adaptations instead of having its own Heated Rivalry-level moment. Warning: Spoilers ahead.
What is Every Year After about?
Every Year After takes place in the idyllic lakeside town of Barry’s Bay, where Percy Fraser has been spending her summers since she was a kid. There, she meets brothers Sam and Charlie Florek, and an unforgettable friendship forms between Percy and Sam. But the two haven’t spoken in 10 years since Percy disappeared from his life, and now, at 28, Percy is back in Barry’s Bay for Sam and Charlie’s mother’s funeral.
My review of Every Year After
We’re too close to the original source material
One of the biggest misconceptions about a successful adaptation is that page-to-screen accuracy is the end-all be-all. It’s not about watching something play out scene for scene exactly as it did in the book; it’s about sweeping you up in the same emotional whirlwind. Some of the most successful adaptations have the advantage of time. With Every Year After, we’re simply too close to the source material in a literal sense. It’s not a childhood favorite you remember through a fuzzy, nostalgic lens while holding onto the yearning it sparked in you at 14. The first book in the interconnected series only came out in 2022, and many readers discovered it even more recently through social media or the author’s newer releases.
Every Year After doesn’t have that luxury. It wants to appeal to the adults who fell in love with the book and the tweens who’ll tune in after seeing a TikTok edit of the male leads. But when the show tries to cater to both audiences without fully committing to either, it comes across as confused. It’s too mature in some moments and eye-rollingly cheesy in others. We can’t embrace it for what it is—a teen drama that scratches the same itch as The O.C. or an adult drama à la The White Lotus—because the show itself never quite decides.
The changes made serve the plot, not the characters
Like I’ve already established, I’m not against script changes at all. I want to watch the best possible version of a book on my screen, and I understand that a new format comes with new constraints. That being said, the changes made in Every Year After felt like they crossed the line into altering the identities of the characters readers fell in love with.
“Honestly, the characters I love so much from the book were so unrecognizable, I probably would have liked the show more if I hadn’t read it at all.”
Instead of being a successful magazine editor like she is in the book, Percy is writing obituaries in the show. She’s completely disconnected from her love of writing, stuck in a job she doesn’t like, and caught in meaningless hookups she doesn’t really want, and it makes her come across as far too passive. Rather than Sam and Percy feeling destined for each other but driven apart by a wound that seems too large for either of them to overcome, it feels like they’ve simply refused to have one tiny conversation. Percy is unhappy with almost every aspect of her life, but doesn’t seem motivated enough to do anything about it. If this storyline had been explored more through a mental health lens, I think it could have been really compelling. As it stands, though, it comes across as whiny and willfully ignorant.
Another huge change is the ending. In the book, Sam has known what Percy did for years. He’s had time to come to terms with it, process it, and move forward. In the show, however, Sam finds out on screen. If the difference had simply been us witnessing that revelation rather than hearing about it after the fact, I wouldn’t have minded the change. But it fundamentally shifts the context of Sam’s actions throughout the present timeline. In the show, he reconnects with Percy and slips back into old patterns without knowing the full truth. In the book, he does all of that despite knowing exactly what happened.
It also reduces Sam to the ultimate “nice guy” trope, with little meaningful character development. In the novel, the only reason he can face Percy again is that he’s had years to sit with the hurt. Watching him learn the truth and then offering viewers little to no resolution before the season ends was frustrating. It’s clearly designed to stretch the story across multiple seasons, but I don’t actually think it was the strongest way to tell it.
The casting and time jumps felt confusing
I don’t mind added characters. In fact, I usually think an ensemble cast makes a show even more fun. However, the way it was handled in Every Year After was honestly confusing. The younger version of Sam looked almost nothing like the older version. I understand they’re not going to find clones, and some suspension of disbelief is necessary. But with this casting, it genuinely felt like I was watching two completely different people rather than seeing one version of Sam evolve into another, like in Carley Fortune’s books.
And once the characters were aged up, I constantly found myself questioning whether we were supposed to be in the past or the present. You’ll find split opinions on making Delilah and Chantal much more central to the plot, and while I didn’t necessarily mind the additions, I do think they made the show feel even more removed from the source material.
So, should you watch Every Year After?
As we see more and more adaptations, we have to remember that faithfulness isn’t the sole measure of success. The screen and the page are different mediums, and even if you think a completely page-accurate script would best serve the characters you know and love, that honestly probably isn’t the case. But that’s not to say every change automatically benefits the story. In this case, many of the changes stripped away what made people fall in love with Sam and Percy’s relationship in Carley Fortune’s writing.
While I do think there are some pretty significant reasons this show hasn’t created the same level of buzz as other adaptations, there were parts of it I genuinely enjoyed. The gorgeous, dreamy lakeside setting is reason enough to try an episode or two and see if it works for you. And with Prime Video, an incredible soundtrack is practically inevitable.
Honestly, the characters I love so much from the book were so unrecognizable, I probably would have liked the show more if I hadn’t read it at all. Going in blind may be the best way to get the most out of this summer watch. Just make sure reading the books afterward is non-negotiable.
Lauren Blue, Associate Editor & Book Club Co-Host
As an Associate Editor for The Everygirl, Lauren ideates and writes content for every facet of our readers’ lives, from must-read books and behind-the-scenes interviews to beauty products she can’t live without. When she isn’t sitting in an AMC watching the latest buzzy release, she can be found scouring Goodreads for the perfect pick for The Everygirl Book Club. There, she co-hosts discussions with members, debating plotlines, fancasting characters, and, of course, tossing in her own recommendations.
