People We Meet on Vacation Book Review
Hello everyone! Welcome back to the blog! I am so excited for today’s blog. I’ve been dying to read this book, and now I can finally give a review. I want to talk about the book, People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry. I’m sure most of you have heard of this author and her two books because she is all over Tiktok. IF you haven’t maybe you recognize the title, Beach Read? That is her debut novel. After reading this one, I really want to pick up Beach Read. Anyways, let’s get into it.
I loved this book. I loved it so much. And I want to start off by saying that I 100% recommend this book, and I think that everyone should read it. It’s a very heart-warming and light-hearted read. It’s also not very long; it’s only about 360 pages. It is a friends to lovers trope, so if that isn’t your thing, I would recommend checking it out. It really isn’t my thing either; I’m more of an enemies to lovers fan, but I still really enjoyed the story.
People We Meet on Vacation is the perfect summer read. There is so much talk about travelling to new and exotic places all over the world. Travelling is the main premise of the book. The main characters, Alex and Poppy, take a vacation every summer and either try to do it really cheap, or when Poppy gets her new job, it turns very luxurious. Just hearing about all the places they are going like Switzerland, Croatia, Tuscany, Palm Springs, etc. makes me want to travel! Poppy was also a travel/lifestyle blogger which made me want to drop everything and do that. I want to travel the world AND get paid to do it. That would be amazing.
The friendship between the main characters is so cute. I love the way they interact with one another. The book jumps between the present and past trips they have taken, so you learn more about their friendship as the story goes on. It’s not just thrown at you all at once, but the jumping between time periods isn’t confusing at all. The whole book is also centered on what happened on their Croatia trip. You learn in the beginning that after the Croatia trip they stopped talking to each other for about two years. And that trip is continuously referenced throughout the whole book, and you can pick up on hints hear and there about what happened. So definitely read until the read to find out.
I just love their friendship. I loved reading about when they first met because it’s so pure; they’re so pure. Even when life gets busy or in the way, they still find ways to see each other. It crazy to think that they have been taking summer vacations together for twelve years.
The other thing I really liked about the characters is how relatable they were. Poppy is very vibrant, says things how they are, but also makes some weird jokes. She’s the “you have to know her to understand her humor” type. Poppy also dropped everything to go follow her dreams, and couldn’t just stay in her little hometown forever. Alex, on the other hand, is more on the shy and awkward type. He like control. He’s also a big family person and has to take care of his brothers.
The writing in this novel is also amazing. I loved highlighting lines that really stuck with me. The writing is what makes me really want to read Henry’s other novel. It’s easy, simple, but just the way it flows it *chef’s kiss*. Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the book:
“In your day-to-day life, maybe you can’t even bob your head to the radio without being embarrassed, but on the right twinkly-light-strung patio, with the right steel drum band, you’ll find yourself whirling and twirling with the best of them” (pg. 1).
*side note: You know a book is good when you highlight most of the first page.
“’Your style is, like, 1960s Parisian bread maker’s daughter bicycling through her village at dawn, shouting Bonjour, le monde whilst doling out baguettes’” (pg. 19).
“and Alex—being Alex Nilsen—had to come to the door anyway, like a good 1950s quarterback, determined to introduce himself to my parents, so they “wouldn’t worry” about me riding off into the sunset with a stranger” (pg. 63).
“Before Alex, m family was the only place I belonged, but even with them, I was something of a loose part, that baffling extra bolt IKEA packs with your bookcase, just to make you sweat” (pg. 85).
Those are just a few of my favorites! There are so many more good quotes that I want to add, but we’d both be here all day.
One of the last things I want to touch on, is what you can learn from the main characters. Poppy is a force; she is fierce and unstoppable. But we meet her when she feels stuck in life, and like her, you begin to think how can that be? She lives in New York City and has her dream job! Why would she be so unhappy? The biggest theme in this book is learning about what makes you happy and going after that. You could have everything you ever wanted and still not be happy, and let me tell you, that’s okay.
It’s okay to run away from your small-town home only to come back to it years later. It’s okay to quit your dream job to pursue something else. It’s even okay to stay in your small-town home only to realize that maybe you do need to get out. Everything is okay, and at the end of the day, you have to do what makes you happy.
Also, I don’t really have anything about to say about this book. Even if I did, it wouldn’t change my mind about anything I’ve been saying. I would still give this book a 5/5 stars, and I would still highly encourage it! Go read this book!
Alright, folks! That’s all I have for now, thank you for reading if you made it this far! see you next week!