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S3:E4 My Oxford Year (2025 Film)
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To wrap up our Back-to-School theme, we’re diving into the emotional drama—My Oxford Year by Julia Whelan and its 2025 Netflix adaptation starring Sofia Carson and Corey Mylchreest. We’ll unpack the film’s major differences from the book, explore how its tragic ending reshapes the story’s impact, and talk about whether this adaptation captures the depth of Julia Whelan’s perspective—or loses something essential on screen.
Hosted by Keri with co-hosts Lindsey and Crystal.
Books & Adaptations Mentioned:
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Question of the Episode:
- Can a romance book still be satisfying to you personally without a happily ever after? Can a bittersweet ending still feel like a good ending in a romance book?
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Thanks for listening to Based on a Book—see you in the next chapter!
Chapters:
(00:00) Introductions
(01:52) Ratings and Non-Spoiler Discussion
(05:01) Book vs Movie Breakdown (SPOILERS)
(43:28) Final Verdict
(45:28) Question of the Episode
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Book Selection
00:00:08
Speaker
Welcome to Based on a Book, the podcast where academic angst meets page-to-screen drama. I'm Carrie, the one who never reads a synopsis before selecting a book for all her friends to read.
00:00:22
Speaker
I'm Lindsay, and I'm devastated. I'm Crystal, and this podcast has given me trust issues. This episode is our last title in our back to school theme. And when I saw this theme, I really wanted a romance set in college.
00:00:40
Speaker
So I selected My Oxford Year by Julia Whalen and its recent Netflix film that just came out a few days ago. ah For future listeners, that is August 2025.
Author and Book Background
00:00:51
Speaker
If you're an audiobook listener, this author may sound very familiar to you.
00:00:57
Speaker
Julia Whelan not only is a writer, but she is well known for narrating 600 audiobooks and counting. ah Some popular titles include Gone Girl, Educated by Tara Westover, which is an excellent book.
00:01:13
Speaker
A lot of Emily Henry, Taylor Jenkins read books, V.E. Schwab, and many more like Kristen Hanna. She's honestly an excellent narrator, in my opinion.
00:01:24
Speaker
Even narrated her debut novel, which is the title we are discussing today, and one I did not investigate whatsoever before I made everyone suffer emotional damage.
00:01:36
Speaker
you have not read My Oxford Year and don't know what it's about, it is the story of a young woman who sets for Oxford University to fulfill a childhood dream and meets a charming local where they end up altering each other's lives in different ways due to a life-changing secret.
Book Ratings and Emotional Impact
00:01:55
Speaker
All right. So let's get into ratings, book ratings. I'm scared because we have not talked about this whatsoever. Alright, I'm going to start with Lindsay. Okay.
00:02:08
Speaker
okay So, I gave this one four and a half graduation caps. Oh my gosh! That makes me so happy!
00:02:20
Speaker
i really enjoyed this story. Like, I really enjoyed it. It was really good.
00:02:27
Speaker
That's amazing. Okay, what about you, Crystal? i gave this one... four and a half dead poets.
00:02:41
Speaker
I could cry. Well, we did yeah i did cry. That's true. Oh my gosh. Okay. So I gave it four check boxes.
00:02:56
Speaker
So I gave for my check boxes are great narration. I listened on Libro FM. Check our affiliate link in the description if you want the audiobook too.
00:03:07
Speaker
Because this narration is incredible. Yes. Julia Whelan, I will be listening to all your audiobooks. Apparently, I've already been listening to them, but... No, it was amazing. Literally incredible.
00:03:19
Speaker
I personally felt like, second checkbox, I felt like it was unpredictable in the sense of romance books. Like it followed, it did not follow a traditional romance formula and it went its own route. And I really love that about it.
00:03:40
Speaker
My third checkbox was incredible characters, the character driven story. I really love the characters in this book. Even the side characters. Yep. Love them. And fourth checkbox.
00:03:53
Speaker
I was balling like a baby. Yep. You said, I don't remember what episode, I know you've said it multiple times, but books that make you feel for good or for bad, a book that makes you feel something that you love. And I thought of you all as reading this book because although we were seriously emotionally damaged, that was a big feeling. And I remember you messaged us and you were like, I'm so sorry, you guys.
00:04:17
Speaker
i didn't look into this book. I'm dying right now. And I was like, she's loving every minute of it. I knew you were. I knew were because it was it's that good. Mm-hmm. I was like, who picked this?
00:04:28
Speaker
I was like, oh, yeah, me, me. It was you. Yeah. My bad, and my bad. But it's like, like, I just, like you said, I just love books that make me feel. Like, I love books that make me emotional and just make me go on a roller coaster ride, especially when it's unexpected.
00:04:50
Speaker
yeah like Even though I'm like, who picked this? Who is putting me through this emotional damage right now? And I'm like, but this is amazing. I'm loving every second of it. Yep. So.
00:05:01
Speaker
All right. So we're going get into spoilers from. So at this point in the episode, we're going to move forward with lots of spoilers by breaking down the entire book adaptation. So if you have not read the book or watch the movie, do that before you join us further into the episode or ta along if you don't mind.
00:05:19
Speaker
knowing what's going to happen next. But please take care of yourself and check content warnings on this one. ah Storygraph is an excellent resource for it as we will be discussing some difficult
Book vs Movie: Story and Character Differences
00:05:31
Speaker
topics. We will have the Storygraph link in our description.
00:05:37
Speaker
So let's start with the setup of the book. The book starts with Ella from Ohio arriving in Oxford to pursue a master's in English.
00:05:50
Speaker
This has been a lifelong dream of hers. And when we start the story, we see her kind of being hesitant going to Oxford because she's getting pulled back to America by another job.
00:06:04
Speaker
In politics. In politics. but Working in a campaign for, i believe it's a senator who's running for office. Yeah, she works in American politics. But she makes a deal where she's like, I can totally do this job.
00:06:19
Speaker
with you and you know work in this campaign, but still stay in Oxford. I could do both at once, but we know that there is a deadline for her stay in Oxford right off the bat.
00:06:32
Speaker
And we're also getting like a good picture of Ella as we start, who's very passionate about academics, passionate about politics. She has her path aligned And she is just like, go forward. She's ready. She knows exactly what she wants. She's a planner.
00:06:49
Speaker
Yes. like She is a planner. She has everything lined up and ready to go. hu Yeah. The movie is kind of similar in the ideas, but different.
00:07:02
Speaker
Keep in mind, this was actually adapted by the novel by Julia Whelan, which was adapted... from the original screenplay.
00:07:14
Speaker
So the screenplay, the screenwriter originally came up with the screenplay, asked Julia for help, which Julia eventually published as a novel instead, but then the screenplay writer returned to it and also made into a Netflix movie.
00:07:34
Speaker
So Julia even says the book could be considered the movie's adaptation. So the differences are there because it's almost like two different interpretations of the same original work written by two different people.
00:07:51
Speaker
One person made it for a movie. One person made it for a book. Can I say the movie starts out in Spanish? hmm. And my son has been known to change the default language on our devices now and then without me noticing.
00:08:07
Speaker
And so I was like, oh, crap. I've got I loaded the Spanish version. And so, like, I exited out. I'm trying to find the setting because I don't ever remember where it's buried. I find the setting. I see that it's still in English. I was like, did I just load the wrong one?
00:08:24
Speaker
got Like, confuse the daylights out of me because not only is this start in Spanish, but But the character name is not the same. and So I was so I thought I screwed up.
00:08:37
Speaker
Yeah. and i I need Netflix to apologize to me for that. like I are, again, trust issues, folks. Not okay. Yeah. I think them from my understanding, based on like some interviews I've seen,
00:08:54
Speaker
is that they changed the name to align because I think that the actress, Sophia Carson, wanted it to align with her personal background. So that's why they changed the name. Seems reasonable. changed her backstory as well a little bit because in the movie, like you said, we have a different character named Anna de la Vega who is played by Sophia Carson who also plays in a lot of popular romance book adaptations.
00:09:23
Speaker
Mm-hmm. She is also here to pursue a master's in English at Oxford from America. But like I said, her backstory is a little different. She has a different relationship with her family um that we see in the book. Like in the book, relationship is a lot more strained.
00:09:41
Speaker
She also has lost her father in the book. In the movie, it's very much not really existent. And she has a good relationship with her mother.
00:09:54
Speaker
and the In the movie, it takes out the entire storyline of her having to juggle this campaign while also being at Oxford. um Which I really loved the subplot of the campaign because it focused a lot on feminism. it focused a lot on equality. It focused a lot on education. like This was a significant subplot.
00:10:18
Speaker
Yeah. and I don't feel like... Like they changed it. she was She had in the movie, Anna has plans, a job lined up at Goldman Sachs to be a financial analyst of some kind.
00:10:32
Speaker
And she mentions it. The job is waiting for her. Her plan is to finish at Oxford and then go take the job. But that's kind of it. we don't We don't see how it aligns with her personal values. We don't see how...
00:10:49
Speaker
Like her passion for the work that she does. And I kind of missed that a lot. And I mean, I understand that again, they have to cut stuff to fit a movie.
00:11:01
Speaker
But I feel like that was such a key part of her character that it really... kind of fell flat for me the movie. Yeah, there's still a deadline there of her stay Oxford.
00:11:17
Speaker
But like you said, this entire story, extra storyline of her, this like subplot of the campaign being not in the movie...
00:11:31
Speaker
Also, it's so related to her personality in the book where like when she's like late to things or like when she can't be at orientation be due to this other job that she's juggling.
00:11:45
Speaker
It's speak due to this other job. It's not due to her personality. But in the movie, they when she's like running late to something, it's because of her personality, of her just like running late.
00:11:58
Speaker
And I was like kind of frustrated by that. like, but that's not how she is. She's very like on top of things. She's very planned right and knows... She's not just running late and not showing up to orientation because of her like quirkiness or something.
00:12:14
Speaker
And like her friends try to drag her out to a pub because she hasn't seen any of Oxford. She hasn't gone out. And it's not because she's been locked up in her room feeling sorry for herself.
00:12:25
Speaker
It's because she's been working on this other campaign, this other job. Yeah. And in the movie, they kind of make it look like she's just hanging out in her room by herself and you know, i guess feeling lonely. i don't know. they wasn't, it wasn't like the character name changed and the character personality really changed.
00:12:44
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. But eventually she does meet the love interest. So Ella, Slash Anna has a bad confrontation with someone who she calls the Posh Pratt during her adventures of exploring the area and eventually finds out the Posh Pratt is her professor, Jamie Davenport, played by Corey Millcrease, who you may know as King George in Queen Charlotte, Bridgerton Show.
00:13:16
Speaker
That honestly was the main reason why I picked this. I get it. get it. i watched that and I just loved that
Handling of Serious Themes: Book vs Movie
00:13:25
Speaker
show so much because his chemistry and like was so good and it was so romantic and i was like, oh this is going to be it. Like I got to watch this. And then after watching this, not so much in my opinion.
00:13:45
Speaker
So they soon develop, so they had like a bad confrontation. Then she finds out that's her professor. They soon develop this like dislike flirty banter with each other because of their original encounter.
00:13:59
Speaker
But you know, he apologizes and then they're kind of just like, you know, like I said, flirty banter. But she is eventually warned of his reputation. He's got a reputation. He's got like a three date rule. he even, you know, he's basically known as like a fuck boy kind of.
00:14:15
Speaker
He's a womanizer. Yeah, he's a womanizer. And he's every all of her friends that she eventually like, she eventually gets some friends at Oxford that are also I think, live in the same building as her or something. I a couple of them do. Yeah. Was it Charlie? Was his name Charlie? Yeah, he was he was her neighbor. Yeah.
00:14:36
Speaker
Yeah. They warn her away from him due to his reputation. but and he's also always has like this woman around named Cecilia. And she's just kind of like standoffish about her.
00:14:51
Speaker
In that first lecture, too, you you learn that she's from New York in the movie. Where she's from Ohio in the book. And i I kind of really missed the Ella from Ohio.
00:15:02
Speaker
Yeah, I loved that. Because it and like you felt... To me, she was so much more relatable to me in the book. Like, this Midwest girl who comes from very humble beginnings, who worked really hard to get where she is, had to overcome some trauma with her father dying, like, has a strained relationship with her mom, but, like...
00:15:24
Speaker
really applied herself and worked hard and earned this and now is also making sure to fight to reach back for people like her by doing this so political work and you know I don't know like she was like i like I identified with her but I also like wanted to root for her and you know de la Vega just didn't I don't know there wasn't anything back there for me to like identify with, you know, like from New York and wants to work finance.
00:16:04
Speaker
Yeah. i I, will say that in the book you get just like, A lot more of her characterization and just like who she is as a person.
00:16:17
Speaker
i think that the movie is lacking that significantly. The forefront of the movie is not these people individually. It's this couple and it's giving rom-com.
00:16:32
Speaker
Even though the content gets kind of dark, we are giving rom-com. Even if you listen to the background, the soundtrack, It was very upbeat.
00:16:43
Speaker
And I was like, honestly, a soundtrack is everything to me. And hearing these songs associated throughout the background, like it was giving Hallmark. I'm sorry, but it was giving a Hallmark movie. really was.
00:16:58
Speaker
And I was like considering how sad that this story gets and how dark the content gets, I couldn't believe...
00:17:09
Speaker
we were being so like uppity about it throughout the story and it was giving rom-com. And i mentioned you mentioned Ella's personality in the book and it not aligning with the movie when she first arrives at Oxford and I think his name is Hugh and she's interacting with Hugh and he's so grumpy, but she's still so like bubbly and personable.
00:17:30
Speaker
I really missed that in the movie. Yep. Yep. Yeah, for sure. Seeing that like Midwestern wholesome side of her versus some of the like grumpy British standoffish personalities in the book.
00:17:44
Speaker
It was really sweet. You know, i don't know. i just feel like for a book that was so character driven, we lost a lot of the characters in the movie.
00:17:56
Speaker
The movie was definitely more plot driven, but kind of bumbled the plot. Mm-hmm. You know? Yeah. i
Preference for Book Over Movie
00:18:07
Speaker
would have to agree. what Do you agree, Lindsay, with that? Mm-hmm. Yeah.
00:18:12
Speaker
but So then after this point, you know, even though she's warned away from him, we get the start of kind of like a friends with benefits situation. So early in the book, they have a night where she's going home because some guy is basically like a dick to her at the bar.
00:18:31
Speaker
She leaves early. Jamie sees her. And like, he's like, hey, let me show you to this dive bar and they have a good night. Eventually actually sleeping together that night. And which is actually was pretty shocking to me. I was actually very surprised. thought were gonna have like a little slow burn situation. I'm like, oh, they just had a little one night stand. I can't. This is also Fade to Black. If anyone is wondering about spice levels in this book, this is Fade to Black. No spice in the book.
00:18:54
Speaker
you but But as someone who loves spicy, you don't need it. No, this was romantic. Yeah, this was romantic. You don't need any spice in this book. They're both very chill the next day. Next day, slept together, ready to start. Like, maybe we'll hook up again. Maybe we won't.
00:19:12
Speaker
You know, she does have like a little twinge of like, oh, a little bit of disappointment. But she's like, you know what? Let's keep it pushing. Eventually, though, the hookups become more frequent.
00:19:25
Speaker
eventually turning into friends with benefits until it's not one day, you know, we they start going on dates and it's kind of just like, what are we like? We're not serious, but we're kind of messing around. We're kind of dating kind of situation in the movie. During this part, we do not get an original hookup.
00:19:47
Speaker
She's actually like, wants him to come upstairs and he denies her, which I was like, Oh, Right? Dang. And honestly, at this point, in my opinion, chemistry between the two characters, chemistry, I mean, that is the main point, right?
00:20:05
Speaker
When we're talking romance movie, chemistry has to be on point in these movies. My opinion, chemistry is lacking severely. yeah And I know this guy's got chemistry. I just seen him in Queen Charlotte. Right.
00:20:23
Speaker
Right. Ultimate chemistry. Yeah. And like, this is an angsty storyline. The angst is there.
00:20:34
Speaker
i think like even in the in the book, because we had like, he's British, she's Midwest American. And so there were some like...
00:20:46
Speaker
not able to read each other well at kind of at the beginning. i think in the movie they were trying to kind of go for that a little bit, that maybe they weren't seeing each other's signals.
00:20:57
Speaker
hu But I didn't, i i that's what I told myself at least, because I really agree with you that there wasn't, quite that that I don't know that spark that way yeah that like yeah you're like swooning I'm not swooning I want to swoon I want to be like my heart is like melting for these this couple and I want to giggle yeah I want to giggle and kick my feet and I wasn't there yeah so and it also gets a little more dramatic in the movie um where she makes him jealous the next day which was honestly my opinion kind of funny
00:21:39
Speaker
I like that part. and Whenever they're like at that like Halloween part. ah Nightmare. When she dresses up in costume and for this like event and nobody else is like dressed up. Yeah.
00:21:51
Speaker
Also has Wonder Woman... Yeah. Where do you find a Wonder Woman costume? Yeah, that that was weird. The internet. The internet. I had to. yeah but She was to the nines, too, and like no one else was dressed up. And they're like dancing. i wanted to die because she they were like dancing awkwardly, like and he's dancing with someone else. it I think it was with- Cecilia. Cecilia. And it was so funny in the movie. like she It's like Cecilia was like around every single corner, like a stalker.
00:22:21
Speaker
Like the second you turn around, she's just standing there at the door, like watching you. But at this point, so like I said, more dramatic makes him jealous. Then they turn into like this eventually like a love affair in the movie where we get like a montage of their like hookups kind of thing. Kind of still the friends with benefits type situation.
00:22:45
Speaker
Still not exactly knowing what their relationship is. Mm-hmm. But then this relationship takes a pretty big turn with a big freaking twist. Okay.
00:22:59
Speaker
Which I'm literally, and the whole time I'm trying to predict what's going to happen with this twist. Wasn't this. And it was not this, in my opinion. What about you, Crystal? What did you think? i i had an inkling. Mm-hmm.
00:23:14
Speaker
Like I didn't quite figure out exactly what the twist was, but like in in the book and in the movie, like things are getting really good with them. And they're kind of on that verge of like, is this actually, are we boyfriend, girlfriend? yeah What's the conflict?
00:23:29
Speaker
And then he's just kind of like, Hey, like we've been real hot and heavy and I'm enjoying every minute, but I've definitely been getting behind on something. So do you think we can kind of slow down for a week or so?
00:23:42
Speaker
And in my head, I went, there's something to this. Yeah. There's something to this. And I thought I was close. Yeah. Yeah, in the book, so Jamie reveals that his brother has blood cancer.
00:23:56
Speaker
And you can tell he does not have a good relationship with his parents. He requests
Listener Engagement and Conclusion
00:24:01
Speaker
to take, like you said, month off from the relationship or whatever this thing that they have to focus on school and take care of his brother.
00:24:07
Speaker
She finds out that he is lying about where he is in the book. Like where he is has been, you know, studying and all this stuff.
00:24:19
Speaker
um Which this part in the book I freaking love this part of the book. This was like peak cinema. And the fact that it's not in the movie is crazy to me.
00:24:31
Speaker
Like this literally was made for film. Where she's like talking to him on the phone and he's telling her location. And he's like, yeah, I'm at this part in the library. And then he's like trying to like talk dirty to her whatever. I'm at this part of the library. This is what I'm wearing, blah, blah. And she's like going to surprise him at the part at the spot in the library. And she's like going to where he's saying and she looks there and he's nowhere to be found and not at that location. Like you can just feel your heart just sinking to your stomach.
00:25:02
Speaker
Yep. It makes you sick. I did know that part. I did know he wasn't going to be there. Yeah. That part was pretty easy to call, but like, she's a terrible liar. So that was really funny too.
00:25:15
Speaker
Yes. So there's also some kind of misunderstanding. hat Like you just feel everything. There's like a climax happening here. Like everything, there's a misunderstanding and like everything's kind of escalating.
00:25:27
Speaker
But When it's coming, there's a reveal happening where one of his friends actually says that his brother is dead. So she shows up at his apartment, walks right in, because she's like, I need to know what the heck is going on, and finds him with a nurse in the middle of chemo treatments.
00:25:49
Speaker
And it's revealed that his brother did die while ago. And Jamie has the same illness that his brother did. And he is currently fighting it. Goosebumps.
00:26:00
Speaker
Yeah. Mm hmm. Mm hmm. This entire reaction or interaction between jamie and Ella in the book.
00:26:13
Speaker
Yes. Had me so heartbroken. Yep. There's anger. There's sadness. There's terrible words thrown at him and terrible words that he throws at her. Like, there's just like, but also like, let me explain, but also get out of my face. I'm so mad at you.
00:26:36
Speaker
yep For like, it just felt real. it felt so real. It was so raw and just genuine. Like, All the emotions, you know, like there's there was love, even though they haven't said that they love each other. You could tell that that was happening, that there was grief and there was anger and there was sadness and there was concern and it was just all at once.
00:27:04
Speaker
Yeah. That was a big one. I cried. Yeah. This when I started crying in the book. Yeah. And it was just like, I don't know. I can't explain it. Like like you said, it's it was raw. Like it was just...
00:27:17
Speaker
And in the movie? Yeah. So movie, there's no misunderstanding about the brother. We know immediately that the brother has died. And he reveals that his... When his brother has died and she finds out that he's not at somewhere that he was supposed to be. still shows up at his apartment and sees him having chemo treatments.
00:27:43
Speaker
But... She just leaves and that's it. Yeah. Yeah. Him explaining everything that happened or everything that's been happening with him.
00:27:54
Speaker
It's doesn't really escalate. No. Like it does in the book. And it feels.
00:28:03
Speaker
don't know explain it. Like it doesn't feel as significant. It's definitely not as heavy. Yeah. It's not as heavy. Yeah. Yeah, because she shows up at his place and she's coming up the stairs because she knows the code to get into the door.
00:28:18
Speaker
She's going up the stairs and Cecilia's coming out of his bedroom. And she's like, oh, you must be exhausted. Let me get you some coffee. Before she's even seen Jamie.
00:28:29
Speaker
So she's like, uh, excuse me, what's going on? So that yeah, she barges in and Jamie's in bed and he's getting his chemo. And he just screams at her to get out.
00:28:40
Speaker
And she does. And she does. Yeah. He doesn't chase after her. He doesn't like she she gets she leaves. She gets on her bike and goes home. And then I guess it's supposed to be like the next day or something.
00:28:54
Speaker
And they're walking together and he is calmly telling her yeah what's going on and what's happened and who Cecilia is in relation to him. And and she's just like, OK, OK, OK. It's very.
00:29:08
Speaker
Plain. yeah she Yeah, she finds Cecilia's... ah The fiancé of the brother that had died. But... So, she's going through it at this point.
00:29:20
Speaker
In the book... she goes through an emotional rollercoaster dealing with this revelation because she has serious feelings for this guy. She also knows that there's like a deadline for her to stay here. And she's like kind of going through this thing where, because he also reveals that like, it was supposed to only be like one time with her. Like it was supposed to be like his last, like hurrah basically before,
00:29:46
Speaker
everything happens with like his illness takes over. Right. And she is dealing with that internally in the fact that this relationship extended beyond that.
00:30:01
Speaker
And she feels, and she also is dealing with the fact that she did lose her dad and she knows loss and is very, very, you know She knows loss intimately and the fact that she might have to deal with this again and she doesn't want to go through this again.
00:30:16
Speaker
She's just going through an emotional rollercoaster. h and All while working full time and going to school full time. Yeah. And I love that this quote, her mom quotes poetry at her because, I mean, she's going to school and she's in poetry class and stuff and she gets mad at her mom for quoting poetry at her. But she quotes poetry at her saying, it's better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all.
00:30:44
Speaker
And that's like her switch. It was Tennyson. Yes. That was her switch to where she returns to Jamie and she's ready to be by his side until she has to go back to America for her job. She's like, I'll stick. I'm going stick with you until I have to leave.
00:31:01
Speaker
In the movie, she's immediately like, yeah, we're going to be together through this. um There's really no thought process happening. She's just like, yeah, I'm just going stay beside you while you're doing all your stuff, all your treatments.
00:31:16
Speaker
Something that is not shown in the movie, and the movie I believe is severely lacking, is Jamie's illness. Yeah.
00:31:28
Speaker
was so disappointed by this to the point that this makes me... really not like this movie well personally because in the book what like they have to make accommodations for his treatment his treatment makes him sick she's trying to be with him and again still going to school still working but like they've learned to get like she talks about they've learned to get comfortable together in the bathroom like how to sleep in the bathroom and And, you know, she's how, did you know, the good days and the bad days and when she can touch him and when she can't touch him and looking for the visual cues to what kind of day he might be having or where he's at right now. Like it's a it's a whole section in the book of how this changes what thinks.
00:32:20
Speaker
her experience at Oxford. This is part of her experience. And she talks about how I wanted this experience, this life-changing experience, and this is a part of it. Yeah.
00:32:31
Speaker
And yeah, like you said, it's like the, including like everything that, what they go through as a couple related to this illness, it's just non-existent in this movie. And it's extremely present in the book.
00:32:45
Speaker
Even what they deal with regarding Jamie's parents. Jamie's parents is much more present in the book versus the movie. They become more present later, but they are ah very big conflict in Jamie's life because they are very passionate about Jamie getting treatment and trying different treatments.
00:33:08
Speaker
And Jamie knows that these treatments will put him, you know, through the ringer. And he wants to have this time, you know, Being healthy. some you know some Enjoying his life.
00:33:23
Speaker
Enjoying his life. And he has seen his brother go through these types of treatments. And doesn't want to do that. And that's a continuous conflict. Especially between him and his dad.
00:33:34
Speaker
And his dad blames Ella. For Jamie not getting these treatments. Because he thinks that Jamie's not getting these treatments. Because he wants to be. c present with Ella while she's here.
00:33:46
Speaker
And debt his dad wants Ella to be on his side to push him towards these treatments. And that's like a continuous conflict for the rest of the novel. And the fact that it's very not, not very touched on in the movie makes me kind of sad because I really, and by the way, the dad, did you, did you see who the dad is?
00:34:09
Speaker
Dougree Scott, the guy who from ever after. I really was like, my mom and I were watching this. We're like, who is that? Who is that? Who is that? We're like, that's a guy from Ever After. That's one of my favorite movies.
00:34:23
Speaker
I know. Mine too. I was like, oh my gosh. I almost didn't recognize him. Anyways. I feel like they did him dirty in this movie though because like the father, like the character, his lines, they just- Didn't make any sense because we didn't know the relationship. but You know what I mean? again this character in the book we got that was developed, basically. we It was a fully fledged character. We saw all sides of them. And the movie was such a one-dimensional character that I don't know, i was just really sad.
00:34:58
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, we only really start getting to, like, touching on'm like... Some emotional content, somewhat like dark content when there's like the ball.
00:35:13
Speaker
And during the birthday in the movie um where she's trying to mend his parents' relationship with him in the movie.
00:35:24
Speaker
And that I just think that the movie, they're trying to do this rom-commy twist on it. Mm-hmm. And the illness is barely present in this movie until the very end for an emotional factor, in my opinion.
00:35:43
Speaker
But eventually, like we said before, there is a deadline to, you know, Ella and Anna's stay here with the job situation.
00:35:54
Speaker
You know, both in the book and in the movie. In the book, she's worked hard in this campaign and was successful in it. Eventually getting her hired full time at this job.
00:36:06
Speaker
On the movie, she's already had the job lined up. And at this point, she's like, yeah, I'm not doing it. Because she wants to stay and be with Jamie. i And again, in the book, her deciding to stay was so big and so huge because this was her giving up a part of who she was.
00:36:32
Speaker
and And not even that it was her giving it up, that it was her realizing who she was has changed. Who she was is not who she is it or who she wants to be anymore.
00:36:43
Speaker
And we don't see that in the movie at all. She's just like, I'm not going to do this anymore. And her mom is kind of like, what are you talking about? This is always your plan. And she's always just like, well, my plans changed. her mom's like, well, why I support you no matter what.
00:36:58
Speaker
But in the book, this was a huge deal. This was... giant also much later much later this is much later a lot of bad things had happened at this point and she was like i have to stay but she also had like revelations about herself where she was like when she had gotten the job she didn't even really tell anybody and she realized i'm not even excited about this like i don't want to leave She realized that what she thought was her dream may have actually been her father's. And that was her way of keeping her father alive was carrying on his dream.
00:37:38
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. So at this point, the worst happens. And, you know, you're kind of waiting for the worst to happen in this book.
00:37:48
Speaker
Because this is an incurable cancer. We all know that. He makes a point to reiterate that multiple times. Yes. And so through the whole rest of the book, you're just on edge knowing that it could happen any moment.
00:38:03
Speaker
Yeah. And I'm still in denial. Yeah. it' The whole time. So Jamie's health rapidly declines but when she wakes up one day to him, just not waking up, eventually finding out that he has pneumonia and his immune system is struggling to fight it.
00:38:21
Speaker
At this point in the book, Jamie's dad has a better relationship with her and with Jamie because he's taking his health in a different direction. and I actually do love this part in the book where she just has this moment with his dad where he's like finally being like, okay, what do we do to Ella? Because he trusts her to make these decisions because he knows that she knows him and what he would want best.
00:38:54
Speaker
Yeah. And, you know, she also says, like, I don't care, like, what you say. the second he gets healthy for, like, literally a second, we're going on our trip that we've always wanted. And I don't care what you have to say about it. And he's just like, all right, I'll shut up.
00:39:14
Speaker
And, like, at this point, that's when she quits her job in the book.
00:39:19
Speaker
Very similar in the movie. But we haven't even... in my opinion, more emotional epilogue. And I didn't even like this movie, but I'm so pissed that it made me cry like this.
00:39:34
Speaker
Of this part, yeah. I'm so pissed. but Again, this is just like Time Traveler's Wife. I didn't cry for the movie. yeah I cried because of the characters I love from the book.
00:39:45
Speaker
Yeah. Also, I was kind of getting emotional when Kaleidoscope by Chaperone was playing. Yeah. Whenever they were together. that last time before he got really sick.
00:39:58
Speaker
That really got me. That freaking got me. But this epilogue in the book, I mean, my opinion, it's kind of up for interpretation.
00:40:10
Speaker
It's very, like, happy for now. Like, this is when I remember him the happiest, like, jumping through the waterfall. Like, he got better...
00:40:22
Speaker
When he had pneumonia, we had our moment that we could hurry up and go on our trip when he got healthy. And she's like, this is when I'm going to remember him the happy or this is when I did remember him the happiest.
00:40:34
Speaker
It's very past tense. It's very vague. But also he's there in the moment in the scene. So it's either like dying soon Or he had died.
00:40:50
Speaker
And she's remembering. We can't. she's remembering. We can't tell. it's very like happy for now. Not necessarily, you know, we don't really know exactly what's what their ending is.
00:41:05
Speaker
But that's how it ends in the epilogue. In the movie, we're watching the damn montage of all the things that could have been of them traveling. She's like laying in bed with him hospital talking about all the things that they're going to be doing. And it's like pictures of them doing all these things at these different locations.
00:41:23
Speaker
And then what actually happened of her traveling and being at those locations by herself. Gutted me. Gutted. Dead.
00:41:35
Speaker
I was distraught. I was like, that was messed up. That was messed up. And I was like, you know what I was thinking the whole time? Because, but like I said, illness not very present in the movie. I was like, they're just going to randomly off this guy out of nowhere.
00:41:54
Speaker
I was kind of afraid of that myself. Like, they're just going to literally do that. Because we see his health deteriorate in the book. Yeah, like, we're waiting for this to happen. We're scared. And then he goes through that one more experimental treatment. that like Not experimental, but, like, test treatment.
00:42:11
Speaker
Yeah. It like brings your hopes up a little bit. And they say that they can buy him some more time. and and you know, so and then he gets pneumonia and we think, oh, crap. But then the doctor is like, hey, we think the the treatment worked because we're not seeing the cancer cells.
00:42:29
Speaker
But the pneumonia is still pretty bad. If he can pull through the pneumonia, we might have, you know, so like, but you still you still know that this is not. ever He's never going to get better. We see him getting sicker and sicker. Yeah. And in the movie, we again, he's just like, yeah, I'm sick.
00:42:50
Speaker
Let's go to the ball. Like, what? Yeah. And like, there's no like appetite changing. Yeah. Or anything like that. Or him, you know, having to leave things early or quickly or having an exit strategy. Yeah.
00:43:09
Speaker
Yeah, i I couldn't believe it. i was and That was crazy to me. But I think we can tell what our final verdict is, in my opinion. I'm going have to say it's the book.
00:43:22
Speaker
Well, this is one of those times where I'm going to say, if you watch the movie and did not read the book, read the book. Absolutely. It is 100% worth reading the book.
00:43:33
Speaker
Absolutely. if you have not done either... Don't waste your time with the movie. Read the book. Accurate. Just read the book.
00:43:45
Speaker
Totally fair. Yeah. Like the movie probably isn't bad if you just like. Like a Hallmark movie. Like a Hallmark romance movie maybe.
00:43:58
Speaker
i even thought that like oh it's set in Britain. I love British stuff. And it doesn't even hit for that really. Because it is so much like. like what i feel like I feel like it is done the way they think Americans think of Britain.
00:44:17
Speaker
I don't know. it just didn't even hit the mark as a British movie for me, you know? think I saw some people getting upset of how, like, it's take on Oxford. Yeah.
00:44:28
Speaker
Even that was like... Yeah. What? I think I saw some people saying stuff about that, but I mean... I don't really care about that stuff personally, but some people might. just trying I was trying to find some redeeming qualities in this movie and they're just not there for me at all.
00:44:45
Speaker
Yeah. kind of bad about it. I try to always at least find one good thing to say and I don't. yeah having i get so sad because i just the soundtrack wasn't bad it didn't match it didn't match the story yeah but the music was enjoyable yeah there was like some moments where they made me laugh at the side characters were pretty funny in it yes yes but other than that i can't imagine myself re-watching it yeah and No thanks.
00:45:14
Speaker
But anyways, let's get to our question of the episode. This may be a hot take, but can a romance book still be satisfying to you personally without a happily ever after? Can a bittersweet ending still feel like a good ending in a romance book?
00:45:35
Speaker
Crystal, I'll start with you. I think this was a happy ending. but Here's the deal. i i I think to me the takeaway from this story was how privileged it it you are if you ever get to experience love.
00:45:53
Speaker
And how beautiful love is and how beautiful life can be when you live it And that is what we see Ella and Jamie do.
00:46:08
Speaker
They embrace the love of each other. They embrace living their lives. And even though ultimately Jamie's life ends, at least we we know it does,
00:46:24
Speaker
what was there was so beautiful and so wonderful. And they had the privilege to enjoy it with each other. And to me, that is a happy ending. Yeah.
00:46:37
Speaker
True. I wish I could have a love like that. Even for just six months, a year, i'll like if I could have something that beautiful, I'm going to tear up talking about that.
00:46:49
Speaker
It's just beautiful. Why would we call that a bad ending? Yeah. For sure. What about you, Lindsay? um Yeah. To reference our idea of you episode, i definitely think that you have to have a little bad with the good. And if it's going to make me feel something, then I'm all for it.
00:47:13
Speaker
Yeah. I like, like you said, we talked about this and idea of you because, you know, that doesn't necessarily have a traditional romance ending happily ever after.
00:47:24
Speaker
But we think it's still like, you know, that's a romance story. That's a romance book. And that's, you know, unfortunately, that's a very big hot button topic in the romance book community, whether that's considered a romance story.
00:47:39
Speaker
But I think like some of my favorite romance books are ones that don't have a traditional ending, like a traditional happily ever after, because they're the ones that I can't stop thinking about. Like I can't stop thinking about this, like something that's not necessarily extremely satisfying, you know, like it's not to me, this is not, you know, it's not satisfying. We're like, okay, these people just live like happily ever after or forever.
00:48:14
Speaker
Like these people like You know, there was stuff like they had amazing moments and then they also suffered, unfortunately. And like, I feel so much for them because of that. You know, do have you time travelers wife. Now this one, like there's something about these endings that leave us or leave me always thinking about it.
00:48:39
Speaker
but Like these are the ones that I remember. These are the ones that I hold tight, you know? Yeah, for sure. I'm so happy we all love this one. Oh, the book, the book. The book.
00:48:50
Speaker
The book. Okay, so that's a wrap on today's episode in August's Back to School theme. Thanks for listening and be sure to follow, rate, and leave us a review. It helps more lovely listeners like you find us.
00:49:05
Speaker
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00:49:22
Speaker
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00:49:37
Speaker
See the next chapter of Based on a Book. Bye! Bye!