bookishmillennial's profile picture

bookishmillennial 's review for:

Funny Story by Emily Henry
emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial

Thank you to PRH Audio for the ALC & to Julia Whelan for being one of the absolute best audiobook narrators around!
 
"There will always be a Petra. Someone more interesting, someone more fun. Someone who needs less or offers more." 

Though I was wildly disappointed with Happy Place and deemed it my least favorite Emily Henry book, Funny Story has to be my favorite, and what I would consider her best romance (imho).

Though the romance was indeed swoon-worthy and Miles was a LI made of the book baes we all know and love, what stood out for me was Daphne's personal development journey with feeling like she was never enough for folks to stay, including romantic partners, friends, and her dad. It was a familial trauma that bled into her perceptions of herself, and other relationships, that at her core, she was unlovable and had to prove her worthiness of being cared for, loved, chosen.

I'm fully projecting my own issues onto this review, but as I read the book, I genuinely could not help but feel so entirely seen. Daphne's experience with all kinds of love is that she expects people to never prioritize her, to never put her first, and to never seek her out. Daphne's experience stems mostly from her father, who was always full of promises and sunshine, but simply overpromised and underdelivered, leaving her (a child when this behavior begins) to feel like she must work harder to be loved, to receive the attention that one is "supposed to" receive from your parents. In our society and in my culture, I was taught that no one can love you like your parents do, and that your parents are the first ones to teach you unconditional love.

So, if Daphne's dad continued to pay more attention to his romantic love interests or only spent time with her until he found the "next best thing," how is that child going to grow up and think about love and belonging? How is that person supposed to feel when their fiance leaves them (seemingly so easily) for someone Daphne deems as cooler and prettier? How do you ever subscribe to the idea that there could be more or a love that feels better than this? Daphne lacks confidence that she has ever been good enough to be the first choice, especially as she ruminates over the friends she lost with her broken engagement, who didn't take the time or energy to reach out to her, yet seem loyal to her ex-fiance. She notes how hard she worked and how much energy she put into fostering those friendships, and yet, when the shit hit the fan, they were nowhere to be found.

Daphne has always had to find safe harbor within herself, rather than ever being thrown a life jacket from anyone else. Daphne does have her mom, and I'm not erasing her from the narrative, but Daphne actively grieves the childhood, the father-daughter relationship, and the memories she could have shared with her father.
During a visit from her dad, Daphne is angry because of how fondly he remembers her childhood, but she remembers it quite differently. Both of their versions can be true, but it doesn't negate the feelings Daphne felt as a kid, remembering how excited she was to show off her passion of reading to her dad. Her pain also simmers because since he's so happy, she desperately wants to hang onto the current happiness and participate in the revisionist history of a perfect father-daughter relationship. It's easier than confronting the truth that their dynamic is complicated, and it likely always will be.


It's hard to contend with something you've personally become resigned to. Daphne is resigned to her father never changing his habits, but when he continues attempts at any semblance of a father-daughter relationship, it continues to push onto a bruise that simply hasn't healed yet for Daphne. He doesn't recognize the continuous pain it causes her each time he shows up as a "changed man," and Daphne wants to believe it.
When Daphne admits that she would be happy to see her dad again, and she would forgive him after the millionth time he lets her down, I felt that deep in my core.


I really think this book is what Book Lovers tried to do, and Emily Henry wrote a book for every kid who ever felt like they were either "too much" and yet, still "not enough." *sobs*

Funny Story has so many familiar elements that really work when artfully sewn together by Ms. Henry, and I have no doubt that EH fans will adore this one: 
  • fake dating 
  • scorned exes who want to irritate the fuck out of the past partners who wronged them (Peter & Petra -lifelong besties- got together at Peter's bachelor party, causing Peter to break up with Daphne, & Petra to leave a breakup note for Miles - big ouch)
  • roommates & close proximity
  • FMC is a librarian so she’s basically a hero in bookstagram’s eyes
  • FMC with major daddy issues (I don't say this disrespectfully; I say this as someone with deep-seeded daddy AND mommy issues, kthx!)

steam rating: 3.5 out of 5
Expand filter menu Content Warnings