People We Meet on Vacation

Emily Henry

May 2021 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Book Lovers and Beach Read comes a sparkling novel that will leave you with the warm, hazy afterglow usually reserved for the best vacations.

Two best friends. Ten summer trips. One last chance to fall in love.

Poppy and Alex. Alex and Poppy. They have nothing in common. She’s a wild child; he wears khakis. She has insatiable wanderlust; he prefers to stay home with a book. And somehow, ever since a fateful car share home from college many years ago, they are the very best of friends. For most of the year they live far apart—she’s in New York City, and he’s in their small hometown—but every summer, for a decade, they have taken one glorious week of vacation together.
 
Until two years ago, when they ruined everything. They haven't spoken since.
 
Poppy has everything she should want, but she’s stuck in a rut. When someone asks when she was last truly happy, she knows, without a doubt, it was on that ill-fated, final trip with Alex. And so, she decides to convince her best friend to take one more vacation together—lay everything on the table, make it all right. Miraculously, he agrees.
 
Now she has a week to fix everything. If only she can get around the one big truth that has always stood quietly in the middle of their seemingly perfect relationship. What could possibly go wrong?


Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2021 by Newsweek ∙ Oprah Magazine ∙ The Skimm ∙ Marie Claire ∙ Parade ∙ The Wall Street Journal ∙ Chicago Tribune ∙ PopSugar ∙ BookPage ∙ BookBub ∙ Betches ∙ SheReads ∙ Good Housekeeping ∙ BuzzFeed ∙ Business Insider ∙ Real Simple ∙ Frolic ∙ and more!

Ratings and reviews

The book navigates the well-trodden path of a platonic friendship between a man and a woman, each chapter a step closer to the inevitable question: Can they simply be friends? The narrative waltzes through the nuances of their relationship, from the innocent beginnings to the complex emotions that arise when romance starts to simmer beneath the surface. The characters are endearing, their interactions filled with the kind of witty banter and heartfelt moments that define the genre. However, the story doesn’t stray far from the formulaic boundaries of its predecessors. It’s a tale as old as time, repackaged with modern twists—texting mishaps, social media blunders, and the obligatory grand gesture that seals their fate. While the book doesn’t offer groundbreaking insights into love or friendship, it does provide a cozy blanket of familiarity, a light-hearted escape into a world where love triumphs and friendship evolves.

People We Meet on Vacation is a really cute and heartwarming book. It's about two best friends who take a trip together every year. The story is funny and romantic, and I really loved the characters. It's a perfect book for a cozy day in.

I picked up People We Meet on Vacation thinking I would read a few chapters before bed and was so thoroughly pulled into Alex and Poppy's story that I didn't put it down until I was finished (in the wee hours of the morning). It was absolutely worth it though and I am still stunned by how utterly captivating and incredible this book is. People We Meet on Vacation was such a beautiful and heartfelt opposites attract, friends to lovers, second chance-ish, slooooooow burn romance all rolled into one. It was so well written and the banter and dialogue was phenomenal. The story is told from Poppy's POV and it unfolded in such an organic way, alternating between the past and present, to form this beautiful patchwork quilt of friendship and love. A quilt that is so well loved and worn that it's threadbare in places, and yet wonderfully thick and full of all the memories and comforts of home. The buildup between Alex and Poppy was both a sweet torture and exactly right. Emily Henry captured that ebb and flow so well and balanced all the emotions, highs, and lows, perfectly. A fantastic 5 star read from start to finish. You don't want to miss this one! CW: death of parent (childbirth related), bullying, grief, marijuana use *I voluntarily read an advance review copy of this book*

About the author

Emily Henry is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of People We Meet on Vacation and Beach Read. She studied creative writing at Hope College, and now spends most of her time in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the part of Kentucky just beneath it. Find her on Instagram @emilyhenrywrites.