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Happy Place

Review

Happy Place

Like seemingly countless other fans, I’ve had Emily Henry’s HAPPY PLACE on my to-read list for months. And now that I read it, I almost wish I had saved it to bring along on my summer vacation --- since it’s practically the perfect summer read.

Harriet’s happy place is the house on the Maine coast belonging to her friend Sabrina’s family. She and her best college friends --- Sabrina, Parth and Cleo, along with (later) Cleo’s girlfriend, Kimmy --- have been coming to the cottage every summer since college. And, of course, those college friends also include Harriet’s fiancé, Wyn. This summer, however, Harriet is dreading the reunion. She’s been incredibly busy with her surgical residency on the other side of the country, but Sabrina and Parth insist that all their friends gather at the cottage this summer. All of them.

"At its heart, HAPPY PLACE is a romance that’s practically guaranteed to tug at your heartstrings. But, just as compellingly, it’s also about the necessity of platonic friendships and the deep, heartbreaking pain that can accompany the end or even the evolution of those friendships..."

What they haven’t told their friends is that this will be the last summer at the cottage, as Sabrina’s father is selling the property. So they’ve invited the whole gang back for one last memorable week, at the end of which they plan to get married on the beach. It turns out that there’s also something Harriet and Wyn haven’t shared with their friends. They have called off their engagement and haven’t really talked in months. But in order to avoid derailing Sabrina’s last perfect week in Maine, they have to pretend like nothing has changed, like they're still in love.

However, as the week progresses, it’s clear that things have changed --- not just between Harriet and Wyn but among everyone in their friend group. Now that they’re in their late 20s, they’re growing up and in different directions. Being together, in this place with all of its memories, prompts Harriet to revisit significant moments in her history with her friends, trying to trace how they got to where they are now, and traversing both the happy and sad places in her memory.

Of course, this trip down memory lane also involves remembering how Harriet first fell in love with Wyn and how it all went wrong. But being so close to him again, in the place where it all began, starts to rekindle those old feelings. And maybe, if they’re finally being honest with one another, they might find their way toward something resembling a new beginning.

At its heart, HAPPY PLACE is a romance that’s practically guaranteed to tug at your heartstrings. But, just as compellingly, it’s also about the necessity of platonic friendships and the deep, heartbreaking pain that can accompany the end or even the evolution of those friendships over time to something less intense but no less important. Whether you rush out to read the book during its publication week or decide to store it up, perhaps for an upcoming return to your own summer happy place, you'll be so glad you decided to accompany Harriet, Wyn and their friends on this life-changing vacation.

Reviewed by Norah Piehl on April 28, 2023

Happy Place
by Emily Henry