On the HahaFiction shelf
I Hope This Finds You Well
Jolene keeps her office insults in white type at the bottom of emails, until she forgets to hide one. The resulting IT intervention accidentally opens her coworkers' private messages to her. With layoffs approaching, she has a tempting way to learn what everyone wants and protect her job.
From the publisher’s blurb
“Would you want to know what your colleagues say behind your back?”Read the full description at The Borough Press
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What makes it funny?
A complaint about a coworker's smelly lunch creates an anti-harassment problem, followed by a much larger breach of workplace etiquette. Readers in book groups single out the hidden email insults and accidental snooping; several describe finding the story funny as well as moving.
The comedy at work
Jolene thinks her colleagues are enemies, then gains access to the private troubles behind their office behavior. Sue puts petty grievances and corporate procedures beside a lonely employee's growing attachment to the people she has been avoiding.
Try this if…
The office-party awkwardness and break-room grudges will feel familiar to readers who enjoy workplace comedy. Kirkus also emphasizes the loneliness beneath Jolene's defensiveness, so there is an emotional story alongside the email trouble.
Good to know
The reader report flags anxiety, alcohol problems and a damaging work environment. Jolene's story includes heartbreak and a developing attraction to an HR colleague, as well as the office jokes.
A few distinguishing details
- Invisible insults at the bottom of office emails
- A security fix that grants access to coworkers' secrets
More funny workplace comedy
Sources & further reading
- Reader discussion
Reader discussion
- Kirkus review
Review
- Publisher
Publisher
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