Funny Story

Hi and welcome back to the Exploring Reader. We are opening the month of March with Funny Story, by Emily Henry. She’s becoming a preferred author of mine now and I’ve been reading her work a lot which is why I decided to give you guys another glimpse into her books after the People We Meet on Vacation episode.

It is her most recently published book, and has of course made it on the NY Times Bestseller list. She’s really starting to push these babies out every year. She’s had one published in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, Funny Story in 2024, and in April of this year, she has Great Big Beautiful Life coming out. She’s definitely being productive and this translates a lot into her heroines.

In this novel, we get to see the romance develop between Daphne and Miles. Daphne was engaged with Peter and Miles was engaged with Petra. After Peter realizes he has feelings for his childhood best friend Petra, Daphne moves in with Miles and the roommates get close as they try to cope with the exceptional circumstances they find themselves in.

Right off the bat, this book was good. Definitely beats Beach Read but I think none of Henry’s books will ever beat Book Lovers. The elements combo in that novel was just perfect and it takes a lot to come ahead on that one. Funny Story is 3.5 stars for me. I liked Daphne’s characterization and her evolution throughout the novel. It was wonderful to see her find her identity and realize that she lost herself in her relationship with Peter. She was becoming her own person. I also loved that both her and Miles didn’t excessively mope around after the breakups. It’s such a harsh experience and of course it’s appropriate to grieve, which they both did. And I’m really glad they showed how mature they were and realized that life goes on and they can’t just stop functioning. You gotta forge on and things will eventually get better. All in all, the author was able to realistically portray ADULT characters going through a confusing time. The romance between the characters was also nicely done. Not too fast and not too slow. Great fast forward at the end to not leave us hanging on that last chapter. They had great chemistry I find. Miles was very laid back and all about living in the present moment but Daphne was not super OCD or a strict rule follower. She was also a more laid back librarian and introvert which fit well with Miles.

It was wonderful to see her find her identity and realize that she lost herself in her relationship with Peter.

My first ick was the Peter and Petra names. It’s obviously on purpose and I think it could be skillfully done to make us hate them and associate annoying feelings with those characters. Nonetheless, it’s still irritating and I would have found other names. Another thing that bothers me was how ok Miles was with Daphne moving in. They didn’t know each other before the breakups and personally, I would sympathize with the other person being dumped but I would not move in with them nor let them move in with me. I’d try to find another place, move in temporarily with parents, friends, whatever. Another issue: I didn’t really like the whole plot line with Daphne’s dad. I just feel like it was thrown in there to show how far Daphne has come and that she is such a changed person that she can deal with her familial problems but I found it was unnecessary and could have been omitted. Like we already see so much of her growth in other circumstances.

Honestly, this is it. Sorry to disappoint if you expected something longer but there’s not much I can talk about other than the plot line itself and that would ruin the reading experience for you. I would say it’s an average book, nothing to spectacular but still an easy going read. I still have faith in Emily Henry and I will read her 2025 release when it comes out. If you want to hear more, check out the special episode release for a packed ensemble of reviews. For April, I will be doing an interesting episode on The Orchard by Kristina Gorcheva-Newberry so don’t forget to come back and as always, keep exploring those pages!