Review: Funny Story

best way to start the summer!!

I somehow seem to always be writing during some major sporting event: my last update was during the Super Bowl, and now I’m typing while watching Game 2 of the NBA Finals with my family. But anyways, we are sooo back. 

I often lament the lack of books I read during the semester, but also the truth is that reading is just so much more fun in the summer (everything is more fun in the summer, in my opinion). Just like playlists, I try to curate what I read for the seasons as well. I never believed in the power of a good “beach read” until I picked up one myself last year: Every Summer After by Carley Fortune. 

After a long and tiring semester, I’ve returned back to my roots: a good book in my childhood bedroom with a carefully curated plate of snacks on my bedside table: vermont sharp white cheddar cheese slices, pieces of a hazelnut milk chocolate bar, and jalapeno kettle cooked chips with a poppi (poured in a glass with a fun ice shape, this is essential!!). Sounds oddly specific but trust me on this, it will power you through hours of reading and just enhances the experience of reading a really great novel, and what’s better than that? 

Funny Story by Emily Henry is my first book of the summer, and I will spoil my review by saying this: it might be my favorite Emily Henry novel so far. I’m pretty sure I said that about Happy Place last year, but whatever, who’s keeping track? To me, this novel is a continuation of her nuanced and tender portrayal of ordinary people experiencing extraordinary love, only better, because her writing has evolved and you can just tell she had so much fun writing it. We follow a thirty three year old Daphne Vincent, who was recently abruptly broken up with by her fiance Peter right before their wedding. He leaves her for his childhood best friend Petra, and Daphne, with nowhere to go, is forced to move in with Petra’s ex, Miles Nowak. What follows is a journey of self discovery for both of our protagonists, as they move through the ups and downs of fresh heartbreak, new relationships (platonic and romantic), taking risks, and facing the world head on when you feel like you’ve just been thrown all the way back to the starting line. I’ve always adored the way Henry writes new beginnings, as if they’re always within reach, always doable, no matter how terrifying it may seem. 

Henry is not to be messed with when it comes to character development. The only exception to me is People We Meet on Vacation, but I just didn’t love that one anyways. She has such a strong emotional understanding of her characters - what pulls them in, what pushes them away, what makes them tick, what fills them with unbelievable joy. Conversations throughout the novel are layered with depth and feeling, and by the end, you’re satisfied with the journey you went on with them, because it felt real without coming off as cliche or too overdone. Relatability is an anchor in her writing, but it never seems like she’s trying too hard to earn it from the reader. It comes naturally, with the realism in the way the lives of the characters unfold. Their flaws are not described as inconveniences or anomalies, but as a fact of their universe, the way they move through the world and interact with it. For example, Daphne is described as a cynic who constantly fears being let down or abandoned by the people she loves, and it infiltrates almost every relationship in her life. Miles is seemingly laidback and agreeable to a suspicious extent, slightly unruly and almost always late. These traits create challenges for our protagonists, yet we never feel like they’re bad people. Instead, we’re given the opportunity to understand them for who they are, and the larger theme, which is that people in real life are messy, and we hurt each other whether we want to or not, and forgiveness and trust are complicated things that will always feel risky and unsure, but worth pursuing anyways. It is with this heartfelt truth that Henry is able to make ordinary people with ordinary lives seem extraordinary, and to me, that’s really beautiful!

Daphne and Miles are one of the best pairings she’s ever written, because of the way they really understand each other through and through, and in moments where they ultimately fail to, they still try really hard and it shows. It’s an honest portrayal of two people who struggle in relationships for two different reasons, but their friendship and comfortability builds a foundation for something really incredible that we’re able to see transform throughout the novel. I loved seeing Daphne fall in love with Waning Bay, and Miles slowly but surely gain the confidence to allow himself to be loved for exactly who he is. Their personal transformations are equally as valued as their love story, and it makes getting to the finish line of this book even sweeter. 

Before I give my final thoughts, let me just say this: one of my absolute favorite things about Funny Story was the love shown to libraries and how essential they are to our communities. Watching Daphne be in love with her job as a children’s librarian and prepping for the end of summer Read-a-thon reminded me of my many visits to my local library as a kid, growing up, and even now. I related to that feeling of possibility, the thrill of walking in and not knowing what surprises you might find. I used to walk from school to the library when I was a teenager and wait for my mom to pick me up. All of the other kids that did the same thing would hang out in the YA room, and I would sit with my friends and do homework while we shared earbuds that played a mix of 5SOS’s first album, One Direction, and Taylor Swift. I would talk to the ladies at the circulation desk about my day to day life, what I was currently reading, and what I hoped to write one day, and as a kid who was obsessed with reading, it meant the world to me. In high school, during COVID-19, we weren’t allowed in the library for safety reasons so I compiled a list of books I wanted to read, searched them up in the database, and then emailed them for pickup. This continued for two years, and when I started going back in person, I would also come with my dad so that we could practice driving in the parking lot. And when I first started driving on my own, going to the library and grabbing new books that have been on my TBR list and coffee on the way back made every summer day feel new and alive. I love libraries, the vital resources they provide to people, the books that line the shelves, and the enduring space it serves to people of a community. 

So yeah. This is all my long winded way of saying I loved Funny Story by Emily Henry, I loved Miles and Daphne and all the side characters, I love Waning Bay, and I love summer, I love libraries,  and I love my list of beach reads. This is (hopefully) the first of many reviews coming this summer as I work my way through my TBR (never ending I fear) and if you’ve stuck around and read this whole thing - thank you and subscribe for more!