Emily Henry’s “Happy Place” & The Essence of Friendship
“Happy Place” is a beautifully told story about love, second chances, and friendship; I ate it up.
RATING: 5/5 Stars
Rissa’s Ranking: Easily an “Entry Foyer” book because this left me breathless.
*check my reading vlog on my youtube! link- https://youtu.be/pg_VeL2d3yU*
Readers have been heavily awaiting for international sensation, Emily Henry's newest release. After selling millions of copies of “Beach Read” and “Book Lovers,” she has kept us in suspense for what she’ll release next. Alas, “Happy Place.”
Once I heard about “Happy Place” I had low expectations for the sole reason that “Beach Read” was crushingly boring. I didn’t enjoy reading it for a multitude of reasons, so I wasn’t going to even bother with her other books, until I saw all of my favorite Bookstagrammers raving about “Happy Place.” An Influencer was influenced and I made the purchase; I am so glad that I did.
“Happy Place” just hit the right spot with me. This book has a lot of themes and topics that I can relate to, from the characters and long-term romance specificities to the individual plot lines. The overarching theme of growth and time left me full of lingering thoughts and concepts to ponder.
Being beautifully set in Maine with friends who love to party, this book is told with an easy-to-digest writing style while being gripping, emotionally charged, and complex. The narrative structure of this book with parallel timelines spanning between past and present was masterfully done. I can’t imagine this novel being told in any other timeline. Henry blended past and present seamlessly that leaves readers breathlessly caught up in this friend group.
It seemed that everything going on in the past timeline directly related to the present, which made me insanely emotional, especially on the friendship front. The past section of the story begins with Harriett meeting her close girlfriends in college, Sabrina and Cloe, then meeting the other members of the friend group. The present showed how much their dynamic has changed, especially between the 3 girls. I loved reading about these 3 girls just as much, if not more, as I loved reading about the relationship between Wyn and Harriett.
Wyn and Harriett are truly meant to be together, and I found myself falling apart seeing them come back to one-another in a realistic way. Seeing their love grow then fall apart during the past timeline, paired with the forced-proximity of the Maine house in the present made me fall in love with them piece by piece.
The way that the “fake dating” trope was utilized was in a heartbreaking and painful way. In the present, Wyn and Harriett have broken off their engagement, but their friend group does not know that. So, they get stuck pretending to be in love, stuck in a time where things seemed “perfect” to everyone else. While they are faking it, I could feel the pain etched in to every interaction. Every interaction and fabricated touching of a hand was just a constant reminder to Harriett about what they’ve lost. As they find their way back to each other, the story is beautifully told, unfurling in a way that mirrors real relationships.
My absolute favorite thing about this book was the complete awareness for time and how friendships evolve. This book really captures the essence of friendship- of the gradual changes, the highs and lows that happen in secure friendships, and the battles we struggle with when things aren’t “perfect.” I related to the intense struggle of the scary change that comes with growing within your relationships, which is such an ebb and flow of togetherness and distance. It was just seamlessly done, evoking emotions from me that I wasn’t expecting to surface.
Friendships change every day, and so much can happen overnight that is just completely out of our control. I have lost friends in a matter of minutes, or in an agonizing, slow burn lasting months or years. Sometimes they have come back to me, but if they don’t, that’s okay too. Losing a friend or growing apart from a friend, especially a friend who you are close to in the way that Harriett and Wyn are close to, it feels like sinking.
“Happy Place” was funny and lively, making the emotional lows that much harder to read. The lovely dynamic between these friends reminded me of my own friendships with our love and banter, but, most importantly, the quiet peace and understanding they bring me. I’m so proud to be able to say. I smiled, bit my nails, thought, and frowned through a cloud of tears from start to finish with this book.
Finally, being in a long-term relationship, myself, I related to most of this book in the most painful and beautiful of ways. Reading “Happy Place” was a reminder that love, whether romantic or platonic, isn’t about perfection, but about acceptance and growth.
