On the Shelf: Happy Place and The Stranger in the Water

By Courtney Warren

Another month, another book! 

Next month, I will talk about summer reading; but this go ‘round, let’s talk about two books I immediately went out to purchase after seeing them on social media. 
The first is Happy Place, by Emily Henry. Henry’s books have become so popular over the last two years that every single one of them has already been picked up for a movie deal. When she announced her latest release, I didn’t even read the back cover to see what the book was about. 

I inhaled this story within 24 hours and can honestly say, Henry has an incredible talent to make simple stories ones you cannot put down. 

Harriet and Wyn have been the perfect couple since they met in college—they go together like salt and pepper, honey and tea, lobster and rolls. Except, now—for reasons they’re still not discussing—they don’t.

They broke up six months ago. And still haven’t told their best friends.

Which is how they find themselves sharing the largest bedroom at the Maine cottage that has been their friend group’s yearly getaway for the last decade. Their annual respite from the world, where for one vibrant, blue week they leave behind their daily lives; have copious amounts of cheese, wine, and seafood; and soak up the salty coastal air with the people who understand them most.

Only, this year, Harriet and Wyn are lying through their teeth while trying not to notice how desperately they still want each other, because the cottage is for sale, and this is the last week they’ll all have together in this place. They can’t stand to break their friends’ hearts, and so they’ll play their parts. Harriet will be the driven surgical resident who never starts a fight, and Wyn will be the laid-back charmer who never lets the cracks show. It’s a flawless plan (if you look at it from a great distance and through a pair of sunscreen-smeared sunglasses). After years of being in love, how hard can it be to fake it for one week… in front of those who know you best?

The second book I want to recommend because I watched a Tik Tok video of a girl reading it on the beach and absolutely losing it over the last thirty pages. Now I understand why. It has easily become one of my favorite books of all time and left me in tears while also wanting to scream sing worship music in my living room. This one is called The Stranger in the Lifeboat by Mitch Albom. Many of you might be familiar with this other work, including Tuesdays with Morrie. 

This book gives us that “what if” type of question. 

Adrift in a raft after a deadly ship explosion, ten people struggle for survival at sea. Three days pass. Short on water, food and hope, they spot a man floating in the waves. They pull him in.

“Thank the Lord we found you,” a passenger says. 

“I am the Lord,” the man whispers. So begins Mitch Albom’s most beguiling novel yet. 

I have loved hearing about you reading some of the On the Shelf recommendations. If you have any books you’d like to recommend, please email [email protected].