A review by lunep
I Hope This Doesn't Find You by Ann Liang

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This was so fun, I enjoyed it SO much.
Sadie was a little annoying at first, but only bc I wanted to shake her and tell her to have some self-respect, but she grew on me, and I actually saw myself a little in her,

once we got to the part where she realizes she likes Julius

. Julius was a little infuriating at first, bc I wasn't expecting him to actually be so mean, but their rivalry just became funny after a while (specially bc you can see their obsessions with each other are more than hatred), and he was actually sweet at times (and ofc, he had his own shit for which he overcompensated through his rivalry with Sadie).
I really, really enjoyed the book, it had me laughing and going "girl..." every time Sadie said something that made it clear she actually liked and not fully hated Julius, or every time she wondered why Julius did something and the obvious reason was that he liked her. I loved loved loved when they were alone and got all soft with each other, and then acted like it didn't mean anything; the angst was goood. And GOD, the CONFESSION SCENE!!! THE CONFESSION SCENE. I cant even express myself clearly, it makes me insane, makes me wanna bite a table, I cant be normal about it. I havent been this affected by a confession scene since I don't even remember when. Julius Gong the man that you are, istg.
The only things I have little gripes about is that I wish we had gotten a little more of them as a couple 😔 I always feel a little unsatisfied when the book ends just after they get together, and due to their prior dynamic with each other I ended up so curious about how their dynamics as a couple would work (specially bc I love me a couple that "argues" and challenge each other as a love language), so I wish we had gotten a glimpse of that at least. Also,

the whole "oh, turns out my brother who only cares about basketball (but i never mention if he's trult good at it)is being scouted by a professional team" thing left me a little uninpressed. Yay bc now Sadie can stop worrying about him but I feel like it came out of nowhere, its only purpose being to give Sadie a reason to start letting go of feeling like she has to be responsible for all her family, with which there's nothing wrong, only that it felt kind of tacked on, bc I feel like the book didnt make it clear that he was good enough to go like, pro

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Abandonment, Alcohol

Moderate: Bullying

Minor: Misogyny, Violence, Vomit, Car accident