Spoilers for Every Year After and the book, Every Summer After are ahead! Read with caution, and watch the show with an Amazon Prime subscription.
With any book-to-screen adaptation, change is inevitable. As an avid romance reader, I know this, and I love it. Seeing an adaptation on screen and the updates made for it is always exhilarating, and that’s the feeling I got watching the 2026 TV schedule’s Every Year After. That’s because I took a ton of notes while re-reading Carley Fortune’s book, Every Summer After, and watching this show, and now I have a list of changes that stood out to me.
Major Additions Made To Every Year After
When I found out the show Every Year After was one of the major romance adaptations coming out in 2026, I knew it was time for a re-read. I did this while I was watching the show, and the changes that surprised me most had to do with additions. So, let’s go over some of the new things that were created for the show.
Delilah Lives In Barry’s Bay
In the present timeline of the book, Delilah does not live in Barry’s Bay, and Percy hasn’t talked to her in years. In the show, Delilah (Abigail Cowen) and her marriage are an integral subplot. Her relationships with Michael Bradway's Charlie (they have an affair that is not in the book) and The Tavern are also very important. Overall, they expanded her story in a huge way.
Jordie Is A Major Character
As Carley Fortune told me, Jordie is an “offhanded mention” in the book. He’s just a friend of Sam's. In the show, his role is made significantly larger, as he runs the motel Chantal (Aurora Perrineau) and Percy (Sadie Soverall) stay at, and he seems to be in a love triangle with Chantal and Delilah. According to the author of the book, this all happened because of how talented Joseph Chiu is. Explaining what happened after he auditioned for Jordie, the author told me:
Jordie just expanded [and] grew because Joe is so good, and he is one of my favorite characters. He's basically just an offhanded mention in the book. He's just part of, like, Sam's childhood friend circle. So, he's a creation of [co-creator Amy B. Harris] and [Joseph Chiu], and I love him.
So, everyone say thank you to co-creator Amy B. Harris and the Jordie actor for giving us this lovable character!
Chantal Travels To Barry’s Bay With Percy
In the book, Percy’s friend back home is Chantal. However, we only hear about her and how bad Percy is at talking to her. In the show, that’s different because Chantal goes to Barry’s Bay with Percy. As Fortune explained, she creates “a great foil for Percy.”
Overall, Chantal gets to develop relationships with Jordie, Delilah, Charlie and Sam, too, which adds an extra layer of humor and drama.
Percy Inherits The Tavern
Who gets to take The Tavern is never a question that’s addressed in detail in Every Summer After. However, Every Year After makes it a point of contention, as Sue leaves the restaurant to Percy instead of Sam and Charlie. This creates tension that’s nonexistent in the book and adds a very good reason for Percy to stick around Barry’s Bay.
A Few Other Things I Noticed
- Delilah and Charlie have an affair.
- Sam’s plans to propose to Taylor.
- Sue tells Percy that she hated perogi, and Percy makes a big breakfast in honor of Sue after her funeral.
- Percy is an obituary writer, instead of an editor for a decor magazine. She writes Sue’s obit.
- Charlie faints after seeing the One Golden Summer photo.
Big Changes Made To The Timeline
Arguably, some of the biggest changes between the book and the series simply had to do with how plot points were shifted around. To illustrate that, take a look at this tabbed copy of my book, where each tab represents an episode:
As you can see, while a lot of events from the novel are included, it wasn’t necessarily in the order I expected.
Percy Sees Charlie Before She Sees Sam
One of the first people Percy sees when she gets to Barry’s Bay is Sam in the book, and Charlie does not show up in the present until Chapter 11. In the show, she sees Sam from afar and runs into both Charlie and Delilah before seeing him.
The Banana Boat Was Introduced Late
In my paperback copy of Every Summer After, the banana boat is introduced on page 65. In the show, it’s not introduced until Episode 7 (of 8). This is because the boat serves as a fixer-upper project that helps Percy and Charlie bond, and that’s what partially leads to them hooking up. In the book, the brothers had the boat for years before that.
Percy Confesses About What She Did With Charlie Earlier, And Sam Had No Clue
In the book, Percy does not confess about what happened between her and Charlie until close to the end, page 281 of 304, to be exact. In the show, she does it at the end of Episode 5. Also, Sam does not find out about Charlie and Percy until the week of their mom’s funeral in the show. In the book, he learns about it years before Percy tells him.
Therefore, since Sam learns about Percy and Charlie in the present in the series, he does not end up with Percy right after her return to Barry’s Bay. After Sue’s funeral, they go their separate ways. Then, when The Tavern reopens under Percy and Delilah in Every Year After, Sam coming back to see his first love feels like just the start of them healing together.
Sam And Percy Don’t Hook Up In The Car Until After She Tells Him About Charlie
In the present, Sam and Percy have their “I loved you,” “I know” moment in the car on page 186, which is roughly 60% into the book. In the series, this moment happens in the finale, after Percy tells Sam about Charlie.
A Few Other Things I Noticed
- Percy finds out about Sam’s girlfriend, Taylor, immediately in the show instead of after they’ve spent quite a bit of time together.
- Sue’s funeral happens during the finale, and it happens much earlier in the book.
- In the book, Percy goes over to stay with Sam when they’re kids because she was home alone and scared herself watching a movie. That's when they kiss. In the show, this sleepover happens in Episode 3; however, they don’t kiss. That comes in Episode 4, after Percy’s first swim and during the textbook scene (which happens way later in the novel).
Parts Of Every Summer After That Weren’t In The Show
Now, on to what was left out. Overall, every major plot point from Fortune’s book was included in the show. However, there were a few notable omissions.
Charlie Is Not Percy’s First Kiss
In the book, during a game of truth or dare, Charlie kisses Percy on a dare after Sam won’t do it. In the series, that dare happens; however, before Charlie is about to kiss her, he pulls back and says “JK.”
Sam Tries To Propose To Percy When They’re Young
After his summer classes, Sam attempts to pop the question in the novel. Percy turns it down. This notably happens after she hooks up with Charlie. In the show, questions regarding Sam, Percy and marriage are not explored at all.
A Few Other Things I Noticed
- Charlie gives Percy the idea to start swimming in the book. In the show, she fully comes up with it on her own.
- Julien, the cook who works for Sue, is not in the show.
To be clear, this isn’t a definitive list of every change. This is what stood out to me. And don’t take this as a bad thing either. I think it’s amazing that they added and updated so much. It makes the viewing experience really fun for both readers and new fans, and it provides a fresh take on a beloved story. Now, on that note, it's time to go back to Barry's Bay for a rewatch.
