Every Year After boss explains controversial book change that has fans ‘crashing out’

*Warning: Spoilers ahead for Every Year After*

A controversial book change made for Every Year After has left fans fuming, but the showrunner and author have spoken about why they switched it up when adapting the story for Prime Video. 

The new TV show is based on Carley Fortune’s popular BookTok novel Every Summer After, focusing on Percy Fraser (Sadie Soverall), a writer who returns to the lakeside town of Barry’s Bay, the place where she met and fell in love with Sam (Matt Cornett).

Told over two timelines, we learn about how the close-knit friendship between Percy and Sam turned into romance, and the big secret that caused a rift between the pair and Sam’s older brother Charlie (Michael Bradway).

When we meet Percy in the show, she hasn’t been back to Barry’s Bay for more than 10 years, and we later find out that it’s because she and Charlie had a one night stand. 

She chose to bury her head in the sand, but she’s forced to confront the situation when she returns to her summertime home after Sam and Charlie’s mum Sue (Elisha Cuthbert) dies. 

By episode five, Sam and Percy are ready to get back together, but she feels the need to come clean so they can live an “authentic life.” This leads to Sam cutting both Percy and his brother out of his life. 

But in Every Summer After, we find out Sam knew about what happened and Charlie was the one who confessed. This change hasn’t gone unnoticed, to say the least. 

Taking to Reddit, one viewer said they’re “trying hard not to crash out,” adding, “I feel like they’ve made Sam and Charlie more unlikable and emotionally immature than in the books because of certain storyline choices and changes generally. 

“Like Sam actually breaking up with Percy vs setting boundaries. Charlie not telling Sam about what happened with him and Percy at the time and him yelling at Percy for telling Sam… I hate that Sue didn’t know about it all before she died.”

Another wrote, “I can’t get over that they changed it to Charlie not telling Sam the truth. They didn’t allow them to have a chance to move past this and get to a healed place.”

A third added, “I couldn’t agree more. The fact that in the book Sam knows all along and still loves Percy throughout the entire book is so important. I hate that they changed such an important part.”

And a fourth chimed in, “My biggest issue too is the fact that Sam (or Sue) didn’t know. This was so key in the book.”

So why make such a significant change?

According to Fortune and showrunner Amy B. Harris, the decision was partly about giving viewers the chance to see Sam’s reaction unfold in real time, while also exploring the flaws of all three characters and raising the emotional stakes. 

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Harris explained that Every Year After allowed them to dig deeper into Sam’s shortcomings and the role he played in the breakdown of the relationship.

“[Sam] threw himself into his med school and his life because he didn’t really know how to be fully emotionally intimate with Percy, even though he thought he did,” she said. “I think he had a lot to learn.”

The change also puts a greater spotlight on Charlie, who in the book earns sympathy from many readers for confessing the truth to Sam himself. In the series, however, he keeps the secret for years.

Fortune acknowledged that this could change how audiences view him. “Charlie gets a lot of credit for telling [Sam],” she said. 

“I think it was really important for me in the story that Charlie owned up to it. I think it’s really important in the show to see Sam react to the news. Does that make Charlie less empathetic? Maybe.”

Michael Bradway, meanwhile, argued that Charlie’s silence “only helps his journey” moving forward. 

“I think the fact that Charlie really felt like they could keep this from Sam forever is crazy because it’s gonna come out,” he said. “But I think that Charlie was thinking that’s a problem for later. 

“People’s perspectives are going to be this roller coaster of emotions. You’re gonna love them, you’re gonna hate them, and then you’re gonna love them again. And as an actor that’s so fun to play.”

For all the latest film and TV updates and hot takes, like our Facebook page.

Featured image credit: Prime Video