It’s Emily Henry’s world, and we’re just living in it. The queen of rom-coms has officially made her leap to the big screen with the Jan. 9 Netflix release of her friends-to-lovers romance People We Meet on Vacation, bringing characters Poppy Wright and Alex Nilsen to life. Both the novel and the movie follow the pair’s tradition of taking annual vacations together no matter where life pulls them. The book follows their friendship as they navigate 10 vacations together, including slow burning tension, the introduction of hilarious side characters, missed chances, and unforgettable memories that readers know and love.
Of course, book lovers noticed the adaptation had some key differences from the beloved novel. Spoiler alert: Spoilers for the People We Meet on Vacation book and movie follow. Several vacations were changed or condensed, a handful of secondary characters were renamed or slightly altered, and some favorite lines were completely omitted from the movie, including the “you invented me” line (IYKYK). Here are some of the key differences between the People We Meet on Vacation novel and the movie.
College
In both the book and the movie, Poppy and Alex meet for their carpool home to Linfield, Ohio, but the college they’re traveling from is different. While in the book, they both attend University of Chicago, in the movie, they attend Boston College. In the book, the two had already met before at orientation before being rideshared back to their small town that Poppy loathes and Alex loves.
Croatia & Tuscany
This change was perhaps the most noticeable to fans of the book. Throughout the book, readers see the mention of Croatia quite frequently — it’s the vacation where Poppy and Alex officially crossed the line from friendship to romance. In the movie, elements from Croatia are blended into the Tuscany trip that was ultimately shared with their respective partners, Sarah and Trey.
Engagement
In the movie, Alex proposes to his girlfriend, Sarah, after Poppy’s pregnancy scare in Tuscany. In the book, though, Alex never proposes. In the book, the scare prompts Alex to buy an engagement ring and get a vasectomy, something that was not included in the adaptation. In the book, Alex tells Poppy about the vasectomy in Croatia when they almost sleep together, sharing that it’s so significant because his mom died in childbirth — a special moment that fans of the book missed seeing in the movie.
Sarah
In the movie, Alex tells Poppy that Sarah is his girlfriend from high school. But in the book, Alex meets Poppy first. In both the book and the movie, Poppy and Sarah share one last interaction before the big love declaration. In the book, Sarah and Alex work together at East Linfield High School, where Poppy visits when trying to find Alex and confess her love. Sarah tells her that she’s “doing the world a favor by taking Alex Nilsen off the market,” while in the movie, Sarah’s a flight attendant that Poppy runs into in the airport. In this scene together, Sarah tells Poppy that Alex not being friends with Poppy actually made her relationship with Alex worse.
The Reason For their Fallout
The reason for Poppy and Alex’s years of silence is different in the book compared to the movie. In the book, Poppy and Alex drunkenly kiss in Croatia, yet both feel rejected thanks to their inability to share their true feelings with the fear of rejection and ruining their friendship\. They both end up mutually ghosting each other, leaving their friendship with a big question mark that lasts for about two years. In the movie, after Alex proposes to Sarah in Tuscany, he tells Poppy that this will be their last vacation together — a more definitive way to end their friendship than the way it occurred in the book.
Siblings
In the adaptation, it seems like some siblings are missing from the story. While in Henry’s book, Poppy has two twin brothers, Parker and Prince, they seem to be absent from the movie. Similarly, Alex is the eldest of four in the book, with David being the youngest, though in the movie, only David makes an appearance.
Wedding Location
David and Nam (whose name is Tham in the book) get married in Palm Springs in Henry’s book. In the movie, though, David and Nam get married in the gorgeous location of Barcelona. In the movie, Poppy lies and says the travel magazine she works for, R&R, sent her there, while in the book, it’s easier to believe Palm Springs could better fit into her budget.
Flannery O’Connor
In the book, Alex has a black cat named Flannery O’Connor, named after a short story writer that all readers are equally obsessed with. Unfortunately, Flannery had no mention in the movie, yet had one brief mention when Alex called Poppy a “tiny fighter” at the beginning of the movie. At the end of the movie, Alex and Poppy even have a dachshund together named Kenny G, a reference to their carpool conversation about saxophones in songs.
Love Declaration
The big love declaration at the end of the movie is a bit different from how it was written in the book. While Poppy is still the one trying to find Alex and confess, in the book, Poppy ultimately confesses at Birdie’s Bar in Linfield during a happy hour with Alex’s school coworkers. In the movie, Poppy chases after Alex (after earlier saying that she hates running) who can’t hear her because of his soundproof earbuds. She finally catches him at a crosswalk and delivers an adorable love confession where she says through tears, “You’re not a vacation to me, Alex. You’re home.” Cue the tears. Just like the book though, the two end up spending their lives together in New York — home at last.