Reviews

Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center

beckychristina's review against another edition

adventurous emotional lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

Post-divorce, Helen signs up for a 
 wilderness survival course to find herself. She’s disappointed when the company isn’t what she imagined, but three weeks of hardship has a way of changing people.

After enjoying some of Center’s recent books, I checked her backlist but didn’t find anything that appealed to me. Seeing Netflix adapted this book, I thought I’d give it a try and I’m so glad I did! It’s very well written, the characters have a lot of substance, and it’s not too cliché. This isn’t a book I thought I’d like but I sped through it and miss the characters already.

climbing_bookstacks's review against another edition

funny lighthearted fast-paced

5.0

This book was so cute, I flew through it!! 

amy_macbeth_aotearoa's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

artistic_monkey's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

yaziis's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

its_mellee's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The romance in this book is why I devoured it so quickly. It was a sweet, quick read that makes you feel good. I just wish it were longer so I could spend more time with the characters. 

anna_bibliophile_sue's review against another edition

funny hopeful relaxing fast-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

Katherine Center never fails me. This is a fun and sweet book. I felt like the beginning moved too quickly, but by the end, I understood why she wrote it that way. There were some very good quotes throughout this one. And Jake is just a sweetheart of a man. I flew through this one, I did not want to put it down!

erg91007's review against another edition

funny hopeful

3.5

rosemwood's review against another edition

4.0

I watched the movie on Netflix first and I think the book is much better, of course. The movie follows the book a lot but somethings have been taken out or added or done differently as this normally happens. It is a character driven story, told in Helen's narrative. It is a love story but more importantly it is a story of growth, of finding one's own identity. A journey through the wilderness with an amazing group of characters. My recommendation is read the book instead of watching the movie.

missrossblog's review against another edition

funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75