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A review by gemsliterarygems
I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Jolene hates her job, her colleagues don't understand her and she hasn't much in her life aside from an overbearing mother determined to see her married and promoted, and a needy 12 year old neighbour who hangs around outside her home. But things start to change rapidly at work when an IT screw-up allows her to see everyone's emails and internal messages. With redundancies on the cards, should she use what she has seen to her advantage? Add to that a dose of self reflection and potential friendship in the form of the new and nerdy HR guy, Cliff, who the rest of the office doesn't trust, and you have a cracking story.
The office politics really takes on a different tone once you, through Jolene's snooping, can see what they each actually hiding. There's a few characters that you really will despise early on and in reality are hiding their own problems too. Real life is messy, and a persona at work can hide a million issues at home! It very cleverly done. Jolene has kept herself to herself for good reasons, but once she starts to see just how flawed everyone else really is, she starts to grow as a person.
There are some laugh out loud moments, a heavy dose of Persian culture clashing with a Canadian one and a fair few incidents that had me thinking that this is not going to end well. But underneath all that you have real heart, an traumatised woman trying to do her best while dealing with grief, a mother wanting the best for her daughter and even the bullies are fleshed out into real people.
Anyone that has ever worked in an office will find something to relate to, and while a lot of the plot is predictable, it still had enough depth and intrigue to keep me hoping that everyone would be ok by the end.
The office politics really takes on a different tone once you, through Jolene's snooping, can see what they each actually hiding. There's a few characters that you really will despise early on and in reality are hiding their own problems too. Real life is messy, and a persona at work can hide a million issues at home! It very cleverly done. Jolene has kept herself to herself for good reasons, but once she starts to see just how flawed everyone else really is, she starts to grow as a person.
There are some laugh out loud moments, a heavy dose of Persian culture clashing with a Canadian one and a fair few incidents that had me thinking that this is not going to end well. But underneath all that you have real heart, an traumatised woman trying to do her best while dealing with grief, a mother wanting the best for her daughter and even the bullies are fleshed out into real people.
Anyone that has ever worked in an office will find something to relate to, and while a lot of the plot is predictable, it still had enough depth and intrigue to keep me hoping that everyone would be ok by the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Grief
Moderate: Cancer, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Toxic friendship