Book vs Movie: Hello, Goodbye and Everything in Between by Jennifer E. Smith

It feels like 2022 is the year of adaptations! We’ve already compared the Love & Gelato book and movie and The Summer I Turned Pretty book and TV show. Recently, we watched Netflix’s adaptation of Hello, Goodbye and Everything in Between. Most of the story takes place over a single night, where Clare and Aidan decide if they should break up or stay together before starting college. With Clare leaving for Dartmouth in the morning, the two have just 12 hours to make a choice.

Warning: Spoilers if you haven’t read or watched Hello, Goodbye and Everything in Between.

1. Aidan and Clare’s Relationship Timeline

One of the biggest changes we noticed right away was the relationship timeline. In the book, Clare and Aidan had been together for about two years before they are going away to college. In the movie, the stakes seem lower with the couple only being together for less than a year. While we still felt bad for Aidan and Clare, the shorter timeline made the relationship feel less serious to us. In the books, so much of their high school experiences involved each other.

2.Aidan’s Interests

Another aspect of the movie that surprised us was that Aidan’s character changed a lot. In the movie, Aidan wanted to make it big in the music business and attend music school. In the books, Aidan has no interest in the music industry. He’s actually a jock and plans to play Lacrosse at UCLA in the fall. We didn’t quite get why the movie changed Aidan’s interests so much.

3. Clare Avoiding “I Love You”

As the story goes on, we get a chance to see the problems with Aidan ad Clare’s relationship. One of the biggest in both the book and the movie is Clare not saying “I love you” to Aidan. In the book, she chooses to say “I dove you.” In the movie, Clare just says “easy breezy,” which doesn’t make sense.

4. Stella’s Romance

Clare’s best friend Stella has more page time than screen time. In the book, Clare is shocked to find out that Stella likes Scotty, Aidan’s best friend. In the movie, Stella has a crush on a female classmate. This wasn’t the biggest change, but we were sad that the movie didn’t show much of Stella and Scotty. They had much bigger roles in the book.

5. The Will They or Won’t They Breakup Conversations

One of the biggest differences with the the book and movie is what the main point of this night is all about. The movie made it just the last night they spend together before breaking up and heading their separate ways. In the book, they haven’t made a real decision. They keep debating on whether or not they should breakup.

6. Aidan and Scotty’s Fight

In the book, all the main characters are at the bowling alley on the last night before college. At the bowling alley, Aidan and Scotty get into a fight. The movie made it a lot less intense, with Clare and Aidan fighting at a party instead. But the fight in the book was physical and Clare ended up hurt because of it.

7. Aidan’s Post-High School Life

As we mentioned earlier, Aidan is headed to college at UCLA. He’s ready for the warm California weather and to play Lacrosse. Movie Aidan decides to take a gap year from college and move out to LA to make it in the music business.

8. The Ending

Lastly, the ending changed from the book to the movie. Mainly, what happens after Clare and Aidan said goodbye to each other. While they both go their sperate ways, in the book they agree to not have contact with each other. When they get home for Thanksgiving, they see each other briefly and kiss. But they put it to a stop because they’re both seeing other people. At the end of the school year, Aidan sends her a package, signaling he’s ready to get back together. In the movie, they meet up again, but nothing really happens before the credits start. So, it’s up to the audience to decide what happened next.

The movie wasn’t bad per se, we just think it didn’t capture the romance and emotions of this transitional time. Going away to college is stressful enough, but saying goodbye to your favorite person is on another level. The stakes didn’t feel as high in the movie.