Book Review: Happy Place by Emily Henry

‘Happy Place’ by Emily Henry was released in 2023, and follows the story of Harriet, when she attends a summer trip to her friend Sabrina’s beach house for their annual reunion, and finds out her ex-fiancé has also been invited, because neither of them thought it prudent to tell their friends about the breakup, lest it tear the group apart.

This is a reasonably short, funny romance novel with friends-to-lovers-to-strangers-to-lovers / enemies-to-lovers tropes at the forefront, laced with an element of nostalgia that many people yearn for, that ability to return to an unchanged capsule of a place and reminisce while still making memories there, where that place can hold them for you. I read this during a sad time to make myself feel better, and although I related arguably too much to that yearning, dreaming and nostalgic romanticising about traditions being upheld, I really did enjoy the laugh-out-loud silliness that comes from a quickly established group of friends.

Something I really like about Henry’s books is they offer that sense of escapism that comes from being away on a holiday, or separate from the world a character is used to. For Harriet, that is the return to the cottage she visits every summer with her friends. It’s nice to have a low-stakes escapist read without any need to worldbuild!

I liked Wyn and Harriet’s relationship. Their history and their differing sides to the story were incredibly interesting to read. I liked Wyn demonstrating that Harriet should have the choice to be. It addressed a societal issue with dream projection and gratitude for children raised by parents who didn’t necessarily achieve their dreams. It’s certainly something readers need to read and that people ought to hear. The idea that you don’t owe your parents an unfulfilling career to make them proud.

I really enjoyed this book. It reduced me to tears, because it discusses the idea of growing up and growing out of the original dynamic. The story explores the growing pains from losing a place you consider sacred. It’s something most people can relate to: being too old to go to the theme park you would go to for your birthday, since the rides aren’t exciting anymore, or moving out of your student house that you’ve had for three years. The transitional time of change and the need for it is often hard to process. The emotional resonance I felt toward Harriet was incredibly strong.

I’d argue that Henry utilised the idea of telling over showing in this instance, by having Harriet, our narrator, reflect upon her friendship and thus giving the readers an almost instantaneous impression of the characters, particularly with using the idea of the Clueless references on shirts for the group of ‘Virgin Who Can’t Drive’, ‘Virgin Who Can Drive’ and ‘Not a Virgin and a Pretty Good Driver’ on them. You instantly get a feel for the core three members of the group through their sense of humour and the anecdotes that Henry sprinkled around at the start about the friends that make her happy place exactly that.

I’d definitely recommend ‘Happy Place’, it was a fun, therapeutic read!