Publisher
: Penguin UK
Page Count: 368
Release Date: May 11, 2021
CW: sexual content, death of parent, grief, mention of bullying
Look at me go, I finally read an Emily Henry novel! While some of you are probably familiar with the title “You and Me on Vacation“, others might now the same book by the name “People We Meet on Vacation“. I, personally, don’t know why they didn’t stick to the same title in all territories, but I prefer the UK one, since it feels more fitting for the story (and it’s the one I read).
Mixed between present tense and past, we get to experience Alex and Poppy’s relationship and how they went from friends to strangers and back again with some added romance. I love a good friends to lovers story and I also – not so secretly – enjoy when people are a bit too silly to realize they’ve been in love all along. Basically, there’s mutual pining for no other reason than these people not communicating well. Their feelings felt authentic and I definitely understood why they were so drawn to each other.
Like, I really understood their connection and enjoyed these seemingly mundane interactions. They were two deeply lonely people, who didn’t realize they were lonely until they met each other and just … clicked. It’s a beautiful thing to find someone you can be so unabashedly yourself with.
“I wish I could bottle this moment and wear it as a perfume. It would always be with me. Everywhere I went, he’d be there too, and so I’d always feel like myself.”
What I had some issues with was the main conflict. They really were propping up that fall out from two years ago and it takes a very long time until you find out what actually happened and it’s … so dumb. I, to this day, can’t believe they stopped talking over this. It feels weird that that was the “breaking point” of sorts and it felt disproportionate to other things that have happened.
The thing is, their issues were valid and real. They had to work on themselves in order to work together again, but the last minute therapy sessions and confession were rushed and odd. I was rooting for them for most of the book, but would have wished for a differently structured third act. It’s always the darn third act! *shakes fist at the sky*
“And that’s how it is in real life too. You can love someone and still know the future you’d have with them wouldn’t work for you, or for them, or maybe even for both of you.”
Anyway, I had fun reading You and Me on Vacation, just not the most fun ever. It did make me want to go on vacation though.
Fazit: 3.75/5 stars! It was good, but it could have been better.
RUMORS ABOUT THE FILM ADAPTATION
Now, here’s a little insight as to why I actually picked up the book. You know me, you’ve probably been here for a while, and I simply cannot resist a book to screen adaptation that might include an actor I love.
Well, rumor has it that Calahan Skogman – also known as Matthias Helvar from the Netflix adaptation of Shadow & Bone – might play Alex. I don’t think he necessarily looks like people imagined the character, but I could 100% see him embody Alex. It’s mentioned like so many times how fit and tall Alex is and Cal is that for sure. Add to that Midwestern charm and that kind of quiet but secretly weird personality, he got this.
I’m not quite sure how people honed in on him potentially being Alex, but Emily Henry and Calahan certainly follow each other on instagram and have interacted a lot. Now … I definitely wouldn’t be mad if Danielle Galligan were to play Poppy either, but that’s probably wishful thinking on my part. Do you have thoughts on the potential casting?
Life and Other Disasters 