Book Review: "People We Meet on Vacation" by Emily Henry
"People We Meet on Vacation" by Emily Henry
Synopsis: Poppy and Alex. Alex and Poppy. They have nothing in common. She's a wild child; he wears khakis. She has insatiable wanderlust; he prefers to stay home with a book. And somehow, ever since a fateful car share home from college many years ago, they are the very best of friends. For most of the year they live far apart--she's in New York City, and he's in their small hometown--but every summer, for a decade, they have taken one glorious week of vacation together.
Until two years ago, when they ruined everything. They haven't spoken since.
Poppy has everything she should want, but she's stuck in a rut. When someone asks when she was last truly happy, she knows, without a doubt, it was on that ill-fated, final trip with Alex. And so, she decides to convince her best friend to take one more vacation together--lay everything on the table, make it all right. Miraculously, he agrees.
Now she has a week to fix everything. If only she can get around the one big truth that has always stood quietly in the middle of their seemingly perfect relationship. What could possibly go wrong?
Rating: 4.25
Review: It feels weird and a little spoilery to write this after I’ve already said that this was my favorite book I read last month, but I’d be remiss to not give it a full review, even though it’s already been mentioned once or twice on She’s Full of Lit. I knew I’d enjoy “People We Meet on Vacation,” as I liked her last one ("Beach Read") so much — but I had no idea how much I would like it. I read it in one sitting (literally without standing - I was getting my hair cut at the time!), and I ended the book with a smile on my face and happy tears in my eyes. What can I say? I’m a sucker for a rom-com that ends well.
This is the story of Poppy and Alex. They are opposites on paper, but they are also wonderful friends who have a yearly vacation tradition. Alex is a buttoned-up school teacher, while Poppy is a former travel blogger-turned magazine writer, and when the book opens, all we know about their friendship is that it has fallen apart.
Enter one last attempt at saving their friendship: Poppy invites Alex on what is, ostensibly, a work trip — but it is really a chance to bring back some of their old magic. We spend the book on their vacation gone horrifically awry in Palm Springs, but also in memories of how they met, how they became so close, and ultimately, how it all fell apart.
I’ve already let you know that this has a happy ending (please, we all know that I’m not reading anything without a happy ending in the panini that won’t end), but I have to say, I didn’t expect the journey that Emily Henry took us on to get there — while the end may be predictable, the story itself isn’t. It’s charming, and it’s funny, and it’s heartwarming, and it’s smart. Plus, Alex is a dreamboat, and I wish I could be Poppy’s friend; I’m way too wed to a schedule to even pretend that I could be Poppy.
Beyond the sweet (and only slightly steamy love story), Emily Henry has a gift for making me feel like I went on about 10 vacations in the midst of reading this book. I thought it would be harder than it would to go to Iceland and Palm Springs and Vail on the pages of a book when I still feel mainly stuck at home, but it was a wonderful mental trip along with Poppy and Alex, and honestly, it made me even more excited for the days when we can vacation with friends again.
TL;DR: If “When Harry Met Sally” was a book, and it involved aspects of “One Day,” “My Best Friend’s Wedding,” and the best travel descriptions I can remember, it would be “People We Meet on Vacation.”
If You Liked This, Try These:
“This Time Next Year” by Sophie Cousens (Bookshop | Kindle | My Review)
“The Happily Ever After Playlist” by Abby Jimenez (Bookshop | Kindle)
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