The first time I heard about “People We Meet on Vacation” by Emily Henry was at a bookstore with one of my friends. She mentioned it as we passed a section of the author’s books, telling me how the movie was coming out soon. I had never heard of the book or author before, but suddenly, my social media became flooded with trailers for the upcoming movie. 

After watching the initial trailer, I circled back to the topic with the same friend, who told me it was the book that got her out of a reading slump. Being in somewhat of a slump myself, I was excited to pick it up at the bookstore during our next trip, with the goal of finishing it before the movie dropped on Netflix. 

While I didn’t quite make the deadline, finishing the book about 21 hours and 30 minutes post movie release (I’m a slow reader and had work), I still managed to trudge through without encountering any spoilers. 

My initial impression of the book is that it was a fun, cute beach read. It’s an easy read and, depending on how you take corny rom-coms, can have you hooked. While I was cringing almost every other page — and also frustrated with the main female character, Poppy Wright, and her male counterpart, Alex Nilsen — I still was very much entertained. 

I had a few criticisms of the book itself, but most of them were technical errors in the writing. I personally think it could have been polished a little bit more, but I also want to give grace to the author, who clearly has talent. 

My other criticism was that it was hard for me to understand the characters’ personalities. It wasn’t until I watched the movie that I got a clearer picture of their behaviors. In the book, it felt more like a telling, rather than showing. 

With that being said, that’s the only thing the movie had that trumped the book. Working with multiple timelines and moving back and forth between the past and present was interesting and I wondered how all 12 summers were going to be consolidated into one movie. 

Spoiler: they weren’t. 

I honestly expected this, considering what the maximum length for a rom-com typically is, but I expected more from what was shown. Only four past vacations are merely skimmed over and key events are switched to the vacations that are shown. 

This was really frustrating because, as a viewer, how am I supposed to understand how their relationship evolves without seeing the majority of it? It seemed like the producers were more concerned about certain events happening rather than how the characters develop throughout the timeline. 

The little intimate moments between the two main characters were lightly grazed over, if they were even shown at all. Longer, more emotional scenes throughout the past summers would allow the viewer to get a better understanding of how their relationship develops over the course of this decade, even if it means cutting some of the present-day timeline. I’ve said this before about other book-to-movie adaptations I’ve reviewed and I’m starting to see a pattern with all of them: they’re just long trailers for the book.

My biggest problem with the film was how its title didn’t reflect the lesson from the book. In the novel, it’s all about the random people you meet on vacation — the fleeting friendships, yet impactful connections that make the time special. This is displayed in some of the people the main characters meet on their journeys — a water taxi driver, newlyweds, a Norwegian couple, an angry motel owner and a couple of giant dinosaurs (if you know, you know). 

While a couple of these encounters were shown on screen, the rest are simply alluded to, or have disappeared entirely. What’s the point of “People We Meet On Vacation” if one of the book’s main focuses is being taken away? 

While there are holes in the movie adaptation, it is so incredibly funny and one I’d watch again. It’s one of those bad yet guilty pleasure rom-coms that you can’t help but put on for a light movie night. It’s kind of a shame this movie wasn’t in theaters — it deserved its box office moment. However, since it wasn’t featured on the big screen and considering how many elements of the book were missing, it would have done better as a limited series. 

The actors were amazing, and this review is not a reflection on them; they all did an amazing job and arguably saved the film. I’d never seen any of Emily Bader’s (Poppy Wright) projects, but she was perfectly cast. Tom Blyth (Alex Nilsen) is also an incredible actor. 

The one thing that stood out to me was that I was rooting for Alex and Poppy the whole time. In the past, when I was watching rom-coms, I was always thinking, “I wish I were them” or “they’re so lucky,” jealous of the characters’ romance and aware of the fact that I’m chronically single. 

With this movie, I didn’t feel any of that. That tells me that this was one heck of a movie. To watch a romance movie without a twinge of yearning or envy is another level of somewhat uncharted territory for me — opening a door I didn’t know existed — and it felt good. 

I’ll definitely be reading more of Emily Henry’s books because, even though I’m not a big fan of her writing style, the stories she comes up with are nothing short of amazing. Henry also mentioned that all of her other books are being adapted into movies, which I’ll also be watching — I look forward to seeing their outcome. 

I recommend this book for people who need a quick and easy read and are suckers for cheesy romances (and don’t mind cringe). I recommend the movie to people who like good but also kind of crappy rom-coms, that either haven’t read the book or don’t intend to. As for me, I will absolutely be watching this movie again (I’ve already watched it twice).