I Hope This Finds You Well: A Novel

I can't help but sing praises for 'I Hope This Finds You Well.' It's not just a book; it's a journey that captivates from the very first page, weaving through the intricacies of culture and the rawness of human emotion with remarkable finesse. I was completely absorbed by the story of Jolene, a character whose battles with depression and anxiety are depicted with such authenticity that it's impossible not to feel a deep connection to her struggles and triumphs.The novel takes an intriguing turn when Jolene, through an accidental setup by Cliff, the office's new HR resource, finds herself with the ability to monitor everyone's emails and DMs. This leads to a rollercoaster of emotions, blending moments of humor with profound sadness in a way that's both thought-provoking and deeply moving. Watching Jolene navigate these revelations, and the impact on her personal life, including her relationship with a teenage neighbor and her complex feelings towards her mother, adds layers to her character that are both beautifully written and incredibly real.What struck me most was how Jolene's Iranian heritage was interwoven throughout the narrative. The subtle touches and deeper dives into her background not only enriched the storyline but also added a rich tapestry of cultural depth that made the book all the more compelling.In short, 'I Hope This Finds You Well' is a masterpiece of storytelling, blending humor, sadness, and cultural insights in a way that's both enlightening and utterly engrossing. It's a book that I found to be profoundly moving and endlessly engaging, making it a must-read for anyone in search of a story that both entertains and enlightens. Do yourself a favor and dive into this book—you won't regret it.

Thank you to netgalley and William Morrow for this ARC.

With all the chaos in our world right now, this book is a sweet and laugh-out-loud escape. The main character is relatable, funny as all hell, and has her own tale of woe that she eventually reveals. I am so impressed with the author as this is her debut novel. I gobbled this book up in a few days. Loved the twists and turns. Admired the characters and their development. Fantastic read for any age. Love, love, love. Cannot recommend enough!

The story has many layers. For those who never felt they belonged anywhere, for those stuck in place, for those who are too afraid to break the chains that hold them back. On one hand it is a hilarious story of life in the soulless cube farm. On the other it is a coming of age story. The narrator is in her early 30s, not a kid anymore for sure, but she has to crash and burn before she can pull her life together and begin to live. The plot hook is clever and well done. It has been a long time since I worked in an office however the writing took me back to those times and it rings true. A good first novel. I wish the author well.

I really liked this book. I think it came to me at a time when what I wanted was a book about an absolute mess of a character that goes through life being a mess and slowly becomes maybe slightly less of a mess but is accepted for who they are, and doesn’t necessarily have a classically happy ending, but isn’t a bad or tragic ending either, and this book gave me exactly that. I wouldn’t say this book is a romance, or a comedy, but it falls along the same lines as maybe Eleanor Oliphant is Alright or something. The characters are all quite fleshed out, and have well-drawn backgrounds and lives and are all also quite repulsive and then all brought around to be relatable and you find yourself hoping for happy endings for them as well, but also know that a lot of their happy endings would directly contradict another characters and so there lies a complexity and compelling story that I was happy to follow. I think this book was really nice, and I enjoyed it. I also very much enjoyed the romance that did transpire between Cliff and Jolene and how human they both were concerning their relationship of being the HR guy brought in to fire people, and the employee forced to undergo harassment training for standing up to her snotty coworker. I enjoyed their clever witticisms to one another, especially when Jolene clearly had no idea what Warhammer was about or something. I also enjoyed Miley the stoop neighbor.

Jolene is 33. She cannot get over the senseless death of her best and only friend in high school. She is a drunk. She’s in a dead end job. She hates her life or lack of a life. She hates her apartment and having to dodge mousetraps when she does her laundry. She is surrounded by irritating, do little, gossiping, haters in her cubicle pod at Supershops where she works. Jolene is put on a plan of sensitivity training at work and if she passes perhaps she won’t be fired. The rumor mill is ripe with news about pending layoffs. Enter Clifford from HR. Clifford will be in charge of her sensitive training and determining who will be fired. During their first class, they exchanged small talk and she begins to feel pretty good about her situation.

Back at her cubicle, she discovers that due to an IT mistake, she has access to every employee’s email, messages, chats…all electronic communication of everyone in the company. A gold mine of information. All she has to do is click…and click she does! Poking around in everyone’s day to day electronic footprint, she finds way more than she ever expected.

A few chapters in I seriously considered this a to be a DNF. I could not stand these out-to-get-you characters. Only one or two have any redeemable traits. With so much hatred, lies, and deceit, I just could not see finishing this book. But I preserved. And I am glad I did.

The book is billed as an office hilarious comedy…not so much…occasionally there is an utterance by Jolene that might show she has a sense of humor instead of being a total liar and cheater without any integrity at all.

Eventually, I understood that this was a novel about taking care of your mental health and being kind to those around you. But was it worth it to take the time to get through the characters many heart aches, disappointments, desires, crazy expectations from home, and the hating self talk? Yes, it was. But be prepared to slog your way through some of the story. If you are looking for a laugh out loud funny comedy, you might want to keep looking. If you’re looking for something a bit different, this book just might be the one. The strong suit is the emphasis on mental health in the latter part of the book. Three stars was my rating for this debut novel. However, the story has surprisingly stuck with me and I stop and think about it. Because of that, I am giving the book I almost gave up on four stars.

Natalie Sue, you made me think about those who people write off as nobodies, those who are alone and wanting their story to be better than it is, and the secret heartbreak of those who just shove it down and put one foot in front of the other to get through the day. Well done. I am glad I read your book.

3.5 - Oomph another one where I'm not sure if was the wrong book at the wrong time. I had seen so many positive reviews of this one and for me it just was so long. I think we were supposed to dislike the main character and if that was the goal, I know it certainly worked for me. She did come off like a regular corporate girlie and I thought the author got that part of the book down. I found myself continuously looking at my phone because I felt like it was taking forever to get through. So much had happened but we still had 3 hrs, 2hrs, 1 hr to go.

I did feel bad for her because she tried to do right and say that she had access to these emails but as usually a man wouldn't listen because how could they possibly have messed up. I am not sure how I felt about the ending. I loved that they all got together and we could see what all the characters throughout the book were up to; I just don't know if I liked who she ended up with. Though I shouldn't have been surprised.