Review: People We Meet on Vacation

Author: Emily Henry

Started reading: July 1st 2022

Finished the book: July 4th 2022

Pages: 364

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Chicklit

Published: May 11th 2021

Source: Ebook

Goodreads score: 3.99

My score:

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?

My thoughts

This book had me in doubt for a very long time. Actually, up until now I was doubting whether to give it 4 or 5 stars. When I can't put a book down, it's easy to read an I finish it waaay into the night, I always feel like giving it 5 stars. But I also felt like I had some little points of critique. Still, less than 5 didn't feel good. Kept doubting and doubting. If I was that person that also gives .5 or .75 it would probably be a 4.75 for me.

Pros

• Conversations: The favorite part in this book were the conversations for me. They were so much fun to read. Full of sarcasm, wit and banter. It feels really flowy and not forced at all. The conversations felt very real.
• Ending: I really wanted this book to end well. Even in the way that I actually had a physical reaction; At some point I just felt anxiety, because I did NOT like what I was reading in the final parts of this book. I remember that the book made me tear up and I also felt very relatable in the sense that a person can feel like home, instead of a place.
• Finishing: I HAD TO FINISH THIS BOOK. This is one of those books where I had to read the final 30% before going to bed and I knew that I would not sleep until I finished the book. I read this way past my bedtime!

Cons

• Little things: There were some little things that irked me about this book. Sometimes the timeline felt a bit confusing. I would stop somewhere and when picking it up, I would not know if I was in the past or present. I also wondered every now and then: "Is this relationship, this chemistry, this connection, these memories, believable? Does it happen in real life?"
  I also felt like the BIG SECRET was very anticlimax. They didn't speak 2 years over THIS?! And they just pick back up where they left?
  

Overall

This is such a fun, fluffy and cute summer read. I'm really happy that I picked it up. I love that feeling when you just HAVE to finish a book before bed and you know you won't sleep 'till it's over! Also, this book is amazing because it had OTTERS. YES, OTTERS. You know you made my day with anything otter related.

Other opinions on this book

"What Henry is especially skilled at is writing dialogue. The banter between Poppy and Alex is so natural, quick and witty that it would make Shonda Rhimes do a slow clap."

- The Associated Press

"Henry's skills with sensory detail and lovable characters shine through. This is a strong choice for readers looking for a vicarious summer vacation of their own."

- Publishers Weekly

Memorable quotes from this book

"I've have to run through, not away. My only hope for figuring this out is to stay, sit in the discomfort."

"You can't outrun yourself. Not your history, not your fears, not the parts of yourself you're worried are wrong."

Thanks for reading!

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