How I think the Emily Henry books will do as film adaptations

Quickly after discovering my love—and eventual hobby—for reading, I realized that one of my favorite book genres is no other than: the wonderful world of rom-coms. And, personally, I see Emily Henry as the QUEEN of rom-com. She knows how to suck in an audience, incorporate real life themes into fictional stories, and she understands that a little spice never hurt anyone ;)

“You are in all of my happiest places.”

Happy Place by Emily Henry

Finding out that – not one, not two, but ALL of Emily Henry’s books were expected to be film adaptations has made me SO excited for the future rom-com-movie world. And while, yes, I am very excited, it also makes me kind of nervous. To me, these books are masterpieces – little pieces of love and creativity given to us in a way it was supposed to be: through our imagination on paper.

Books can easily flourish on the big screen, but is it so wrong of me to be a little skeptical? It’s incredibly easy to change a plot line important to readers, one that they think makes or breaks a book. But, we know that the authors are thinking this as well. They want not only what is best for the book, but for the audience behind it. One thing that helped settle these nerves was the fact that Emily Henry herself helped to write these scripts (at least the ones that have already been written). With that, comes my first step of overall trust.

People We Meet on Vacation movie announcement

I first started to get the excited jitters when my TikTok blew up with all these “tips” or pieces of news hinting towards these stories on the big screen. But, it wasn’t until the People We Meet on Vacation cast was announced that I flew off of the charts.

“I truly could not feel more confident that my readers and then so many more people who don’t even know about the book are going to completely fall in love with Poppy and Alex.”

Emily Henry

I knew of both Emily Bader and Tom Blyth before this cast was announced, and I love them both! You might recognize Emily Bader in My Lady Jane on Amazon Prime, and Tom Blyth from The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. To me, seeing two performers who I know are wonderful actors instills an immense amount of hope for the production. Whereas unknown actors or actresses can be an opportunity to discover more talent, knowing that both of the main characters have a name already going for them pushes up my expectations a little more (but in the best way possible!). Emily Henry (as seen above) also gives her thoughts on the cast selection, and if she’s happy, I sure am too.

The first time I read Henry’s People We Meet on Vacation was for a summer bookclub I hosted just a few months back. We used this book to kick off the summer, and it was perfect. It includes not one, but two of my favorite tropes that I love to see in a book. The first being: “friends-to-lovers”. In my own life, I have always found it easier to experience romantic feelings for someone after knowing them. Ultimately, after being friends. This always made it easier for me to connect with someone and know who they who before deciding what level of trust I am willing to share with them. I love seeing this in books/films too – seeing characters go from each other’s best friend to realizing that their connection can mean so much more.

Another part/trope of this story that I loved was the time jumps. This book travels back and forth between 12 years (mirroring many moments from the movie When Harry Met Sally) and shares a different vacation/experience each and every year. Poppy and Alex are lovable, hilarious characters that I cannot wait to see shine on the big screen. I love all of the aspects of this book, and I think these characters and plots will be loved just as much in the movie world as it was in the book world.

Ultimately, I see this movie becoming huge for the world of readers. Since COVID, movies haven’t been the same. Not until recently. I have reason to believe that this “Henry-nominom” will throw Rom-Com lovers everywhere back into a place that hasn’t been seen in a long time.

other announced adaptations

Besides People We Meet on Vacation, there are not too many set-in-stone plans for the rest of the adaptations. While all 5 books seem to have found some producers and their joint producing companies, only two other scripts have been moving towards completion. The first one being Funny Story, Henry’s most reason book that came out just this year. This book watches protagonists Daphne and Miles through tropes of close proximity, fake-dating, and an epic friends-to-lovers scenario. It is said that not only is this script in production, but the first draft is being written by Henry herself, instilling a great amount of joy in her readers.

The other book that has seemed to make significant progress is called Happy Place, a story that follows characters Harriet and Wyn through their relationship, heartbreak, and, like People We Meet on Vacation, jumping time frames throughout the piece. The most known information about this adaptation is that it will be a Netflix TV series instead of a movie, and the head producer is — the one and only — Jennifer Lopez. As someone who read and loved this book, I think a TV adaptation is perfect. It will give writers more screen time to really fill in all of the details and story lines the audiences will look forward to.

The two other books, Beach Read and Book Lovers, have found film industries/producers ready and willing, but no exact information about script writing, timelines, or casts has been released.

Bonus: my emily henry Book ranking

1: Happy Place

2: People We Meet on Vacation

3: Funny Story

4: Beach Read

5: Book Lovers

I know these ratings could definitely have some controversy, but I think it is perfect. I choose to rate a book based off of the story, the tropes, the writing style, and ultimately, how well it can keep my attention. The main question I always ask myself: How badly did I want to keep reading? I remember reading Happy Place in one day with how much I needed to know how the story happened and ended.

Each and every one of these books hold a special place in my heart, and I cannot wait for the world to get its hands on it. I look forward to seeing viewers thoughts as these adaptations make their way to the big-screen, hopefully changing their lives for the better.

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