All the Changes 'People We Meet on Vacation' Made from Book to Movie

Poppy and Alex meet at school waaaaaay before the big roadtrip.

• PWMOV makes a few major changes from the book, including Alex's brother's wedding taking place in a completely different destination.
• Poppy and Alex reunite under different circumstances, with the reunion in the book being intentional and in the movie more coincidental.
• The two best friends get somewhat of a different ending. Read on to find out more.

Emily Henry fans have long been anticipating the day their favorite author gets her big Hollywood break. Well, the wait is over! With the release of Netflix's adaptation of People We Meet on Vacation, readers finally get to see their literary fantasies play out on-screen. And Ms. Henry herself played an important role in the production if the movie, as an executive producer and creative consultant.

Both stories, in print and on screen, follow the same premise. Poppy Wright and Alex Nilsen are two unlikely best friends who've made it their tradition to take an annual summer vacation together. They've been going on this yearly trip for a decade since they met in college, but stopped speaking after a particularly disastrous trip. It's been two years since they've drifted apart, but the two reunite and ultimately assess whether there's any chance they can repair their friendship.

Of course, as with every screen adaptation, quite a few changes were made to the original in order to maximize entertainment value while trying to stay true to the spirit of the text. Here's a comprehensive guide to all the differences between the People We Meet on Vacation movie versus the book.

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In the book: Poppy first met Alex at orientation week at the University of Chicago. Poppy thought Alex was quite nerdy, and they don't speak for the rest of the school year. They reconnect at the end of the school year, when a mutual friend suggests that they carpool back to their hometown Linfield, Ohio. They forge their friendship in the style of When Harry Met Sally, but stay in touch after. They talk about their dream travel destinations not in the car, but the following school year when they see each other again.

In the movie: Poppy (Emily Bader) and Alex (Tom Blyth) were both studying at Boston College, and first met when a mutual friend introduces them at end of the school year so that they could drive back to Ohio together. The drive doesn't go as smoothly, with Poppy accidentally locking the keys in the car. This forces the two to stay in a motel overnight, where there is only one bed.

The the wedding isn't in Barcelona, and Poppy isn't invited.

In the book: Poppy reaches out to Alex to try and salvage their friendship, and as they get to talking she suggests taking another trip together. Alex says that he already has plans to go to Palm Springs for his brother's wedding, and asks if Poppy she'd like to come to that instead. Poppy tries to pitch the Palm Springs trip to R+R, the travel magazine she works for, but it gets shot down. So she decides to take it as time off, but lies to Alex saying she will also be in Palm Springs at the time for a work trip. They end up staying in a dinky, budget-friendly rental with no air conditioning, and with only one bed.

In the movie: Alex's brother David (Miles Heizer) invites Poppy to the wedding, which takes place in Barcelona, Spain. She's invited on her own, and not as Alex's +1. She's also able to convince her boss to let her take it as a work trip. When she gets to Barcelona, she doesn't stay in a dinky rental. Instead, she's in a much nicer apartment (though there's construction noise outside and a lack of functioning air conditioning), and doesn't have to cohabitate with Alex.

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Their families look a little different.

In the book: Alex is supposed to have three younger brothers named Bryce, Cameron, and David. David, who's getting married, is the youngest of them. And Poppy is supposed to have two older brothers, Prince and Parker. Poppy's family is also featured a lot more in the book.

In the movie: Alex only has one brother, David. And Poppy's brothers are not in the film, though her parents (played by the hilarious Molly Shannon and Alan Ruck) do make an appearance.

They take fewer trips.

In the book: We read quite a bit about the pair's many travel adventures through Vancouver Island, Colorado, Tuscany, and Croatia—including details about the people they meet on these trips. In Tuscany, Poppy gets a pregnancy scare, and goes to town alone to get a pregnancy test. Alex later finds her with the test in her hand, early in the morning before he heads out for a run. Their Croatia trip, funded by R+R, is where Poppy and Alex's relationship takes a turn. The two end up drunkenly kissing, but aren't able to express their true feelings for each other. They both end up feeling rejected, and ultimately ghost each other for two years.

In the movie: We get scenes from their travels to Squamish, New Orleans, and Tuscany. We still get anecdotes like their water taxi ride with Buck (Lukas Gage), which stays true to the story in the book. However, the big Croatia trip doesn't take place at all. Instead, Poppy and Alex's big fight and falling out takes place in Tuscany.

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Alex doesn't propose to Sarah.

In the book: At David's bachelor party, Poppy finds out that Alex had bought an engagement ring and told his family that he planned to proposed to Sarah. But he never ended up getting down on one knee. He later tells Poppy that he broke up with Sarah before he could propose because he realized he was in love with his best friend.

In the movie: On the Tuscany trip, Alex decides to propose to his then-girlfriend, Sarah (The White Lotus's Sarah Catherine Hook), but Poppy confronts him saying that she thinks he's settling. This is the big fight that causes their falling out and two-year friendship hiatus.

Poppy and Sarah's conversation goes down differently.

In the book: Sarah teaches at a high school in Linfield, where Alex also teaches. Poppy runs into her there when she's returned home to look for Alex, and they have a conversation about how things went down between them. After having a conversation with her own high school bully, she apologizes to Sarah for treating her poorly and never really giving her and Alex's relationship a chance. Sarah forgives her, and tells her to go after Alex.

In the movie: Sarah is a flight attendant who recognizes Poppy at the airport. Poppy apologizes for everything, and Sarah forgives her, telling her that she knows that Poppy wasn't the root of her and Alex's relationship problems.

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Poppy does quit her job, but she doesn't do it immediately.

In the book: Coming back to New York from the Palm Springs wedding, Poppy begins working on herself. She goes to therapy, buys a plant, and all that good self-care stuff. Then, she encounters her high school bully (whom she shared her first kiss with) Jason Stanley, on the subway. He apologizes for everything he's done. And upon more reflection following this conversation, she realizes she feels unfulfilled in her current job and needs to quit. She then starts writing a column about why she loves traveling so much: the people she meets.

In the movie: As soon as Poppy gets back from Barcelona, she quits her job to start anew. She wants to become a better person, and commit to what she actually wants in life—including the one person she cares most about.

Poppy doesn't dramatically chase after Alex.

In the book: After taking time to reflect and work on herself, Poppy goes back to Linfield and finds Alex in a local dive bar. There, she confesses her feelings to him in front of all of his coworkers, but Alex says that their lifestyles are too different for things to work out between them. A disheartened Poppy leaves the bar, but Alex follows her to the parking lot and admits that he's just scared about what starting a relationship with her might mean. That he's hesitating simply because he's afraid of losing her, but Poppy reassures him and they end up finally getting together.

In the movie: After arriving back in New York and quitting her job, Poppy decides to fly to Linfield where she goes through an epic chase in the suburbs looking for Alex. She's there to finally tell him that she loves him, and is willing to change her lifestyle and go anywhere as long as it means being with him. She ends up telling him all this in the middle of a crosswalk.

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It isn't New York or nowhere.

In the book: In the epilogue, Poppy now has her own column and Alex has begun a new teaching job in New York City. They're trying out living there for a number of months before going back to Linfield and doing the same. This way, they get to fairly decide where they want to stay long-term.

In the movie: The couple end up living in New York, where they live together with their adorable dog.