Book Of The Month: People We Meet On Vacation
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People We Meet On Vacation is a quintessential summer read. If you are looking for a top-notch rom-com in fictional literature form, this is a great pick for you. It is the perfect romantic novel for your free time, and to pass the time pleasantly wrapped up in a light, interesting story of romance.
““I hope this book carries you somewhere magical. I hope it lets you feel ocean breezes in your hair and smell spilled beer on a karaoke bar’s floor. And then I hope it brings you back. That it brings you home, and it fills you with ferocious gratitude for the people you love. Because, really, it’s less about the places we go than the people we meet along the way. But most of all, it’s about the ones who stay, who become home.” ”
People We Meet on Vacation
Originally Published: 2021
Pages: 400
Available on: Kindle, Paperback, Audiobook
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A New York Times best-seller, People We Meet On Vacation is punchy, romantic, sarcastic, and maybe a little predictable, but all-around highly enjoyable. What makes this book stand out among others like it is that it has unexpected moments of depth and beautiful truthfulness on just… life and human nature. The book is silly and relevant and accessible to any readability level, but the author Emily Henry impresses her audience with lines that strike home.
Henry has a sharp mind and tongue and conveys these readily through the main character, Poppy. The book becomes more meaningful as it goes on, exploring what it means and what it takes for a person to grow and change. It begins very lighthearted, but deepens as Poppy’s identity crisis comes more and more to the forefront of her narrative.
Poppy seems to have it made. She escaped what she had set out to escape: her past of Midwestern, small-town, middle-class contentment; she has made a name for herself at a well-known travel magazine, jets off on fabulous vacations and work trips, and has her travel articles published. She floats around New York with other famous friends, marveling at her fine place in life, and yet, discontented with it all.
““My life turned out how I hoped it would, and now I just miss wanting something.” ”
She has all the amenities and luxuries she could ask for, but lately, the only thing that seems to truly make her happy is her longtime best friend, Alex. Despite their conflicting personalities, they became fast friends in college and have continued their long-lasting friendship into their late 20s through annual trips to random destinations over the world. These annual trips have meant everything to Poppy, and though their friendship never crossed the line, the prolonged eye contact and double-edged words were obviously (well, obvious to the reader) hiding their strong feelings under the surface all along.
““Being together was as easy and natural as being alone, without any of the loneliness” ”
Alex is a high school teacher who moved back to their hometown after college, bought a house, and is petrified and devastatingly certain that his stable and predictable lifestyle could never be compatible with the life that Poppy seems to seek—one of novel places, people, and experiences. Poppy is living the high New York life and seems to have everything but a home.
““Living, being responsible for myself, seems like an insurmountable challenge lately.” ”
The plot of People We Meet On Vacation flips back and forth in time, from their past annual vacations, to the present. We get to know the history of Poppy and Alex, their strong (attempt at) platonic friendship, until a single moment two years prior, where they shared a moment that changed their friendship. They go two years without speaking after this event, and finally, Poppy reaches out to restore their old friendship. They go to Palm Springs, California, and all the years of having known one another—all the trials, the miscommunication, the un-communication—comes to a boiling point under the hot California sun. Poppy and Alex stare at what they have wanted for so long, and whether they can be brave enough to find a way to reconcile their differences is… written in the book—so go read it!
““Most of us are too scared to even ask what we want, in case we can’t have it.””
People We Meet On Vacation becomes a truthful reflection on the millennial generation—or maybe, more accurately—just the younger generation of 20-somethings who continuously strive toward goals that they have set for themselves, goals that come wound up with their identity.
Isn’t that a funny and horrible sensation? To set high, impressive goals; to go out after them relentlessly and boldly; to finally achieve them after an abundance of hard work; and to then hear a hollow ring within yourself—that what you had so long fought for isn’t fulfilling; that you had misplaced your hope and life purpose in something that can’t actually provide real happiness; that you had built up your life on false assumptions and escapisms. What comes after that stunning unveiling?
““You can’t outrun yourself. Not your history, not your fears, not the parts of yourself you’re worried are wrong.””
Poppy spirals after her realization that a single person can take precedence over everything she has ever fought to achieve and that adventure and novelty and travel escapism are the sad, inferior replacements for what she really had been craving all along: a home.
Is that just sappy and predictable? Maybe, but Emily Henry tells this story well enough that Poppy’s struggles are honest and true and touching.
Emily Henry is a New York Times best-selling author who has written many other popular novels, including Beach Read. I recommend this easy novel to anyone who loves a good rom-com and anyone who wants to swap out denser, darker reading for something summery, humorous, and well-written. You will be snickering throughout the novel at Henry’s burns and witticisms over pop culture, and turning page after page for the next charming bit.