Reviews with content warning for Child death - Happiness for Beginners

Title: Happiness for Beginners
Author: Katherine Center
Genre: Romance
Rating: 3.50
Pub Date: March 24, 2015

T H R E E • W O R D S

Adventurous • Witty • Relaxing

📖 S Y N O P S I S

A year after getting divorced, Helen Carpenter, thirty-two, lets her annoying, ten years younger brother talk her into signing up for a wilderness survival course. It's supposed to be a chance for her to pull herself together again, but when she discovers that her brother's even-more-annoying best friend is also coming on the trip, she can't imagine how it will be anything other than a disaster. Thus begins the strangest adventure of Helen's well-behaved life: three weeks in the remotest wilderness of a mountain range in Wyoming where she will survive mosquito infestations, a surprise summer blizzard, and a group of sorority girls.

💭 T H O U G H T S

When the film adaptation of Happiness for Beginners recently released I knew I wanted to pick this one up off my shelf pronto, so I could watch the movie. Katherine Center has been hit (Things/How to Walk Away) or miss (The Bodyguard/Hello Stranger) for me and so I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. What I did know is that the premise sounded like a whole lot of fun.

I absolutely loved the idea of the wilderness survival course. These types of adventurous trips always spark my interest, and it's easy enough to create a cast of strangers that the reader gets to know along the way. I also liked the brother's best friend trope, although the romance seemed like it came out of nowhere and could have easily been developed at a slower pace to come across less forced. Like all of Katherine's books there is an added layer of depth beyond the romance. Helen is yet another of her strong, resilient female characters who goes through personal evolution in the wake of personal loss (this case divorce).

Where this book didn't work for me is when it comes to the insensitive language in regards to mental illness and particularly, alcoholism. These types of language issues have become recurring and at times I don't think author's are aware of the importance in their choice of words. This is the second issue I've had with Center's work, so at some point you'd think she'd have a sensitivity reader edit out some of these insensitivites.

Happiness for Beginners was very Hallmark moviesque, so I can definitely see why it was made into a film. I have heard great things about it, so I am looking forward to watching and seeing what I think. In my mind, I have a hunch that the movie just might be better than the book and I don't say that very often. Despite not loving this one as much as I'd hoped, I'll definitely continue to read Center's books, but they are not longer among my most anticipated.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of the brother's best friend trope
• readers looking for a summer read

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"But there it was. Life never gives you exactly what you want."

"Happiness is more about appreciation than acquisition."

Content Warnings

teacupsandfirereads's review

Go to review page

adventurous hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.0

Content Warnings

martachbc's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Content Warnings

cinderellasbookshelf's review

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes

3.25

This is a sweet book. I think I fell into the trap of watching the movie first and then reading the movie because I like the movie more. This is still a good read though and I like how it’s focused on Helen finding herself again through the wilderness along with facing traumas from her past. I also like her relationship with Jake, who has always felt something for her.

Spoiler

It was kind of weird though how they established that romance earlier on and then just pretended now to know each other because they almost kissed.

I would have liked to have known the other characters more instead of the few that stood out from the big group. Other than that, if you love Katherine Center’s books, you’ll enjoy this.

Content Warnings