It’s hard to find someone who hasn’t heard of Emily Henry or Funny Story in general. This is the story of Daphne, a librarian who experiences a devastating betrayal when her fiancé leaves her for his longtime “friend” Petra. Heartbroken, disillusioned and without a roof over her head, Daphne turns to the only person who could understand her — Miles, the other victim of Peter and Petra’s betrayal.
Book Review: Funny Story
- Author: Emily Henry
- Series: None
- Publisher: Berkley
- Original Release: April 23, 2024
- Pages: 400
- Available in eBook format (ePub, PDF, etc.)
At first glance, the core idea of the book is nothing new: a romantic, sweet, somewhat ordinary girl experiences a severe emotional blow, is devastated, but finds her inner strength and rises above it. Then add in a fake dating, a man who really recognizes her and falls in love with her, and a happy ending, and you have a classic chick-lit novel.
But Emily Henry always manages to bring in a new perspective, create a new depth and turn these familiar stories and characters into something real — people whose feelings and struggles we can all relate to.
So what lies behind the veil of cute and familiar clichés in Funny Story? A timeless story about self-discovery, emotional resilience and building authentic, deep relationships — not just with a romantic partner, but with yourself and with true friends.
That’s Emily Henry for you— – an absolute wild card.
Maybe that’s why the lemons are on the book cover? Who knows?
I won’t go into detail about the characters, their chemistry, the dialog, the plot, the flow of the story, or the author’s writing style. The fact that we’re talking about such deep topics should tell you enough about her quality. Henry has an incredible ability to breathe so much life into her characters that you no longer just see words on a page, but their entire existence unfolding before you. Their highs and lows. You recognize yourself in their struggles and in their quiet, everyday moments of joy.
We’ve all been Daphne or Miles at some point in our lives.
Maybe we’ve even been Peter or Petra.
But what I really want to emphasize is the gentle hope and quiet strength that Funny Story exudes. The lessons hidden in this seemingly light-hearted summer read.
For me, there are two:
- You shouldn’t seek validation from others.
You shouldn’t base your entire self-worth on one person. You need to know your value. That way, you’ll never “sell yourself short” to people who won’t appreciate you. - There’s nothing scary about failure.
Sometimes, we need to hit rock bottom to activate our survival instincts and start asking ourselves the right, tough questions. To rearrange our priorities. To understand what truly matters.To start writing our own rules. And to play by them—boldly, without caring what others think.When that pivotal moment passes, you’ll look back, stare your darkest times in the face, and say: “Thank you. You taught me a lot.”And then, somehow—by some universal magic—those terrible moments turn from nightmares into funny stories…
My Thoughts on Funny Story
So here we are! Emily Henry has once again created a book that on the surface is a cute summer read, but underneath is a profound story about the meaning of life, true happiness, self-discovery, self-esteem, resilience, the courage to be yourself, and the value of genuine human relationships.
I wholeheartedly recommend it — with both hands, both feet and 20 tentacles. And I can’t wait for Henry to play with my emotions again on April 22, 2025, when her next book, Great Big Beautiful Life, is released.
A shimmering, joyful new novel about a pair of opposites with the wrong thing in common, from #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Henry.
Daphne always loved the way her fiancé, Peter, told their story. How they met (on a blustery day), fell in love (over an errant hat), and moved back to his lakeside hometown to begin their life together. He really was good at telling it… right up until the moment he realized he was actually in love with his childhood best friend Petra.
Which is how Daphne begins her new story: stranded in beautiful Waning Bay, Michigan, without friends or family but with a dream job as a children’s librarian (that barely pays the bills), and proposing to be roommates with the only person who could possibly understand her predicament: Petra’s ex, Miles Nowak.
Scruffy and chaotic—with a penchant for taking solace in the sounds of heart break love ballads—Miles is exactly the opposite of practical, buttoned-up Daphne, whose coworkers know so little about her they have a running bet that she’s either FBI or in witness protection. The roommates mainly avoid one another, until one day, while drowning their sorrows, they form a tenuous friendship and a plan. If said plan also involves posting deliberately misleading photos of their summer adventures together, well, who could blame them?
But it’s all just for show, of course, because there’s no way Daphne would actually start her new chapter by falling in love with her ex-fiancé’s new fiancée’s ex… right?
