Funny Story by Emily Henry
- May 12
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 27
Emily Henry is a New York Times Bestselling author with several of her novels currently being adapted into films. Funny Story was only published in April of 2024 and became one the New York Times Most Notable Books of 2024 and a Must Read Book of 2024 by Time. It is being adapted into a movie with the script being written by Emily Henry herself! It deals with infidelity, abandonment, and emotional abuse.
Daphne is not having a good time. She moved to Waning Bay, Michigan, where she didn't know anybody except for the boyfriend she was moving with, Peter. She and Peter moved into a house together, she met all of his childhood friends and set about making them her friends as well, she got a job that she loves, they got engaged... things were great! And then Peter went on his bachelor party and realized that he was in love with his gorgeous childhood best friend Petra. Petra was in, Daphne was out, and the only person she knew that had an empty bedroom available was Miles - because his ex-girlfriend just moved out of their apartment to move in with Peter. But as awkward as the situation is, Daphne only has to stay in Waning Bay until the end of the summer and Miles is a great roommate, mostly leaving Daphne alone. Until the day they both get a piece of mail that changes everything and Daphne accidentally tells people that the two of them are dating. They'll need to keep up the charade or look foolish in front of Peter and Petra, but it's only until Daphne leaves at the end of the summer. There's no way that anything too bad could happen in that short amount of time. There's definitely no way that Daphne could start to develop real, actual feelings for Miles.
Funny Story took me by complete surprise. From the first moment, I loved it. In the first chapter, I snorted from laughter and then found myself giggling for a full thirty seconds, before realizing I'd only been listening for about 3 minutes total. Long story short, I didn't stop loving it. I laughed through the whole thing, I cried (just a little bit, no ugly crying with this one), I celebrated. The characters are delightful. Both Miles and Daphne are incredibly likable and charming as hell, plus the secondary characters are wonderfully colorful and quirky and add so much to the story. I aspire to be more like Ashleigh, if I'm being quite honest. The writing was great, easy to read and relatable, it really brought the characters to life in a realistic and slightly self-deprecating way. The plot was fun. Yes, you have your fake dating trope but that really doesn't take up much time. More important is Daphne's quest to raise money for the local library while slowly letting down her walls and becoming part of her community. This book has become my comfort read. I got it from the library but I will definitely be buying. I've already listened to the penultimate chapter probably five times, whenever I'm feeling a little blue.
I'm giving Funny Story by Emily Henry 5 stars. I loved the entire thing from the first page to the last. I read it in three days because I just could not get enough. Absolutely delightful. I had never read a novel by Emily Henry before but I went out and picked up another one the next day. The tension between Miles and Daphne was delicious. There's only a few spicy parts, and there's nothing particularly creative about what the characters were doing in them, but damn were they hot. Level 3 on the spicy scale. You'll definitely be seeing more reviews from Emily Henry, she's got herself a fan.
For more from Emily Henry, check out her website at https://www.emilyhenrybooks.com/
Pairs well with lavender shortbread cookies and trying a sunrise kayak tour, and realizing maybe they're not for you.
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