People We Meet on Vacation

In Emily Henry’s People We Meet On Vacation, Poppy makes an attempt to salvage the strained relationship with her unlikely best friend Alex on a one week vacation, a decade old tradition that somehow got ruined a couple years before the story begins. This 361 page rom com style novel packs in lots of laughs, tears and heartwarming moments as you get to know these two polar opposites. 

Poppy is a relatable tell-it-like-it-is character with her twisted sarcastic humor and quirkiness, which makes her my favorite. Alex says it best when he tells her: “You approach everything with a wolfish gleam in your eye.” Poppy’s offbeat personality surprisingly compliments Alex’s khaki wearing, no risk taking persona, and I had a great time falling in love with both of them and settling into their banter. 

I like how Poppy had different nicknames for Alex based on his current mood, and how so matter-of-fact Alex is when Poppy cracks jokes. If my personality was split into two individuals, I could definitely see some of myself in both characters. The book kept me laughing heartily throughout, and gripping my heart at unexpected moments as well. 

I find it refreshing that these days authors aren’t afraid of letting the female protagonist slip up and have to learn from her mistakes. It paints them as more human to me, like more well-rounded and real people coming through the page. I enjoyed watching Poppy go through a slump in her current job and life, and seeing how she copes with her struggles as she tries to grow into the person that hopefully finds the happiness that’s lacking in her current life, something with more substance than “those raspberry vanilla cream bars from Trader Joe’s.”

I also appreciated how vulnerable Alex was in the pivotal moments in the story, how raw his emotion was at just the right times and how every piece of his past has shaped him into the person that Poppy knows and loves. Alex is the source of a lot of heartache and sympathy I felt throughout the story, and looking back on my experience with this book, I’m pretty sure I did cry at the end.  

I love the storytelling format of going back and forth from the past to present day until the past catches up to the present. It’s a great way to tell the characters’ story, to show their growth - or sometimes lack thereof - in their here and now. And you come to find that there are so many complex layers to both characters. 

I’m a bit biased when it comes to this genre of writing, because I think it’s one of my top favorites. And also, if you have read a rom com story before, you’re already prepared for knowing how the story will end before you reach the end. Even still it’s more about the journey, the “will they won’t they” dance that tears people apart and brings them back together. And every time, at least for me, it’s a beautiful ride. The real love that the author must have in her life truly shines through the pages as well, which makes the story even more amazing and relatable to me. Picking up Emily Henry after not reading this genre for a while reawakened my passion for these kinds of books, and I look forward to reading more.

Reference
Henry, Emily. People We Meet On Vacation. Berkley Romance, 2021.