Alex and Poppy have known each other for a decade, and every summer they’ve taken a week long vacation together. Poppy, is a vacation writer for a magazine in New York City and, Alex is an English teacher in his Ohio hometown. They’ve remained close friends, taking their annual summer vacation together. Until, two summers ago, when they had a falling out- the details of which are revealed towards the end. These days Poppy, is in a bit of a rut, she’s struggling at work. She’s reflecting on her life, wondering when was the last time she felt happy. She realizes that, she was happy when Alex and her were still friends. Poppy manages to convince Alex to go on vacation with her, in the hope that she might be able to redeem this friendship.
People We Meet on Vacation alternates between chapters set in the past and present. So, with the chapters that are set in the past, you are progressively learning about successive vacations and anticipating the point of time when everything changed for Poppy andd Alex two years ago. The entire story is told from Poppy’s point of view, which lends an air of mystery to Alex because we don’t know what he’s thinking or feeling.
Right off the bat, Alex and Poppy have solid individual characterizations- making them a lot like people we might already know. At the begining it’s refreshing that their platonic friendship is just platonic- and that’s thanks to how wildly different their personalities are. The other aspect of this book that I enjoyed very much, was the vacations. For their first vacation together they visited Vancouver Island. Now, in case you didn’t know, Vancouver Island is such an off-beat place to visit even for many people who live on the mainland. So, as someone who lives in Vancouver and loves the Pacific Northwest, I was thrilled that Vancouver Island got a mention. I know a thing or two about exploring the island on a budget as a university student, and I appreicated Henry’s attention to detail and research for this chapter. The next vacation they took was to Nashville. Y’all, as a long time country music enthusiast and someone who has visited and loved Nashville I was tickled.
On the whole I LOVED this friends to lovers story, People We Meet on Vacation and Happy Place might be my favorite books by Henry. I didn’t read the summary for this one, so just going off the title and cover art, I wasn’t expecting the plot that was presented. Even, the way the book begins, does not give away the idea that as a reader I was expecting a meet-cute between two strangers on a tropical island. But no, Henry had higher hopes for her readers. People We Meet on Vacation has a decade’s worth of mutual silent pining, inside jokes that make for enjoyable banter, and heartwarming chemistry. It explores themes of personal growth, the transformative power of travel, belonging, and of course love and friendship.
Here are some of my highlights.
- “I’m on vacation. Vacations always end. It’s the very fact that it’s finite that makes traveling special. You could move to any one of those destinations you loved in small doses, and it wouldn’t be the spellbinding, life-altering seven days you spend there as a guest, letting a place into your heart fully, letting it change you.”
- “It’s fascinating. How so much of love is about who you are with someone.”
- “Like I’d never been that girl who’d felt entirely alone, misunderstood, and I’d always been this one: known, loved, wholly accepted by Alex Nilsen”
- “That crush of happiness, that feeling that this is what life’s about: being somewhere beautiful, with someone you love.”
- “Contentment is a lie invented by capitalism.”
- “…that purpose matters more than contentment.”