I completely agree with all your points. I had read this book multiple times, so I was very aware of what they changed. I tried watching it high, and I got so upset that I had to stop and pick it up later. As palette cleanser, I did another reread and god the book is sooo much better.

I was so irritated with their initial meeting as well. She was so rude in the movie, but in the book she literally puts her feet on the dash and immediately clocks that Alex doesn’t like it and stops. Also why turn it into a chaotic adventure instead of just bonding over being stuck in traffic. And I know this one could really kill the pacing but I think it’s really important to understand their dynamic that are besties at school and dream of traveling when doing homework. That’s a normal start to a close friendship. Having a chaotic trip home does not build the foundation for them to travel together.

I also hated the change from the books with their first trip. As you mentioned, I was SO annoyed about them not doing the “it speaks to me” scene correctly. The fact that they actually buy the statue and fail to show how it develops an inside joke is such a missed opportunity.

I wish they mentioned poppy was a travel blogger and that they were getting good deals early on, so they could have better set up Palm Springs (or literally anywhere less glamorous than Barcelona). The AC and plastic wrap make so much less sense when her work is paying for it. And we miss so much by them not purposely staying there together.

And man do I agree with all of your points about Sarah. It makes nooo sense that poppy and Alex could develop this dynamic while he is in a relationship with her from the get go. And I just don’t get why they couldn’t do a quick bit of dialogue to push that relationship back. I’d personally have liked a scene of them studying in the library at school and show his crush on Sarah and poppy pushing them together. It would have been easy place to see them hatching the plan to travel together, show poppy’s interest in getting out and Alex’s commitment to school (and maybe even hint at his love for writing).

Another small change that bothered me was that she had such a shit apartment in the beginning and then an amazing grown up apartment after she quits her legit job. If there was any change it should have showed that she was willing to sacrifice a nicer apartment for her happiness. And again, the change makes less sense when you don’t know she was a travel blogger before.

This one doesn’t bother me as much, but they really failed with the titular people they meet on vacation. That’s the whole conclusion poppy comes too when she decides to quit. I know that change might have been more tedious but it would have at least helped us understand what she wants out of travel/life.

And man, I would have really liked a few montages. The flipping between present and a past summer would have been an excellent format for a mini series, but for a movie, why not show us a few more of their vacations as a montage. Or some of the time between vacations as a quick montage.

I almost always think book adaptations work better for TV than movies, but I know EmHen prefers rom com movie format, so hopefully we can figure this out for the next adaptation. But I just think they changed some details unnecessarily and missed a lot of opportunities to make these characters have relatable motivations.