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Book club questions for Funny Story by Emily Henry covers all the key developments in this charming romance. There will be spoilers so for more context about the story, check out my spoiler-free review first.
I mentioned this in my review, but I think this is my favorite Emily Henry story yet! I do enjoy all her novels but this one is very special. Everything just felt right and it’s such an enjoyable read.
I always appreciate how her books feature readers and highlight different aspects of the book community from writers to book editors to librarians. It’s such a wonderful touch that adds so much to her stories.
The Synopsis
Daphne always loved the way her fiancé Peter told their story. How they met (on a blustery day), fell in love (over an errant hat), and moved back to his lakeside hometown to begin their life together. He really was good at telling it…right up until the moment he realized he was actually in love with his childhood best friend Petra.
Which is how Daphne begins her new story: Stranded in beautiful Waning Bay, Michigan, without friends or family but with a dream job as a children’s librarian (that barely pays the bills), and proposing to be roommates with the only person who could possibly understand her predicament: Petra’s ex, Miles Nowak.
Scruffy and chaotic—with a penchant for taking solace in the sounds of heart break love ballads—Miles is exactly the opposite of practical, buttoned up Daphne, whose coworkers know so little about her they have a running bet that she’s either FBI or in witness protection. The roommates mainly avoid one another, until one day, while drowning their sorrows, they form a tenuous friendship and a plan. If said plan also involves posting deliberately misleading photos of their summer adventures together, well, who could blame them?
But it’s all just for show, of course, because there’s no way Daphne would actually start her new chapter by falling in love with her ex-fiancé’s new fiancée’s ex…right?
Book Club Questions for Funny Story
- Do you have a favorite Emily Henry novel? Where does Funny Story rank?
- Funny Story covers a lot of romance tropes from closed proximity, opposites attract, fake relationship, friends to lovers, etc. Are you drawn to a specific romance trope or do you enjoy them all?
- When we first meet Daphne, she’s happily engaged to Peter and has her entire life planned. Do you feel she was in love with Peter or was it more the idea of him and the life she could live with him?
- After Peter confesses his love for his best friend, Petra, Daphne is without a house and moves in with the most unlikely person—Petra’s ex, Miles. Why did Daphne move in with him?
- What was your first impression of their dynamic? When did everything begin to shift for them?
- After receiving their wedding invite, Daphne tells Peter she’s now with Miles. Why did Daphne feel the need to pretend she was in a relationship with Miles?
- Daphne and Miles are quite different. Why do you feel they work so well together, despite all the differences? What did they both learn from each other?
- Overall, what was your impression of the romance with Daphne and Miles? Do you think they are a good match?
- How did Daphne’s complicated relationship with her father, and the constant moving around with her mother, impact how she viewed relationships as an adult?
- In romances, there are always a big conflict and a breakup. What are your thoughts on the conflict in this story and especially with Miles helping Petra move?
- Why was it important for Daphne to live alone before buying a house with Miles?
- What does the future look like for Daphne and Miles?
- Who would you cast for the lead roles for the film adaptation of this story?
Additional Recommendations
Hope you enjoyed book club questions for Funny Story! Here are some more recommendations and links to book club questions.
The Husbands by Holly Gramazio
For a unique take on relationships, consider The Husbands by Holly Gramazio. I quite liked it! Check out my book club questions here.
When Lauren returns home to her flat in London late one night, she is greeted at the door by her husband, Michael. There’s only one problem—she’s not married. She’s never seen this man before in her life. But according to her friends, her much-improved decor, and the photos on her phone, they’ve been together for years.
As Lauren tries to puzzle out how she could be married to someone she can’t remember meeting, Michael goes to the attic to change a lightbulb and abruptly disappears. In his place, a new man emerges, and a new, slightly altered life re-forms around her. Realizing that her attic is creating an infinite supply of husbands, Lauren confronts the question: If swapping lives is as easy as changing a lightbulb, how do you know you’ve taken the right path? When do you stop trying to do better and start actually living?
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
If you haven’t read Book Lovers yet, you should read it! It’s another great book by Emily. Check out my book club questions here.
Nora Stephens’ life is books—she’s read them all—and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laidback dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby.
Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters’ trip away—with visions of a small town transformation for Nora, who she’s convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story. But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute.
If Nora knows she’s not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he’s nobody’s hero, but as they are thrown together again and again—in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow—what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves.
Happy reading!
