I Hope This Finds You Well

ETA 12/24: I enjoyed this more as a re-read, because I already knew when the cringe moments would take place and could focus on the well-constructed characters instead. I had more sympathy for Jolene this time around; given her past trauma and the toxic workplace dynamics of her soul-sucking job, I might have resorted to the same kind of passive aggressiveness that got her in trouble.
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I had the unusual experience of being both eager to read and anxious to avoid this debut novel. Natalie Sue creates the type of FMC who is usually right up my alley - introverted, socially anxious, hiding a troubled past - but her morally gray behavior made me so uncomfortable that I could only manage a few chapters at a time.

Jolene Smith is an office drone for a supermarket chain who passive-aggressively adds snarky postscripts to her emails in white font so her coworkers can't read how much she despises them. One day, hungover from her nightly drinking, she forgets to change the font color and is reported by her office nemesis. Jolene's punishment is to endure weekly anti-harassment sessions with Cliff, the nice new HR analyst, and to allow the installation of monitoring software on her computer. But the new software mistakenly gives her administrative status, allowing her to read the entire staff's emails and DMs. Tired of being the office pariah, Jolene vows to use her newfound power to avenge herself by sabotaging her coworkers while elevating her own work.

To her credit, Jolene does try to alert Cliff to the technical glitch, but he misinterprets her concerns, leaving her free rein to feed her worst impulses. Frankly, I had to question Cliff's sanity for being so quickly smitten by a woman basically comprised of 75% vitriol and 25% alcohol. At home, Jolene alternates between drinking heavily and trying to avoid the needy, friendless middle schooler who lives in her apartment building. I know, I know - “hurt people hurt people.”

Jolene's situation is complicated by cultural issues; her overly involved Persian parents and community raise the stakes when her plan inevitably explodes. Her redemption arc humanizes her without completely smoothing over her rough edges. Honestly, the fact that I had such a hard time with Jolene's behavior demonstrates Natalie Sue's skill at creating realistically flawed but relatable characters (and that I spent way too much of my working life sucking up to authority figures).

ARC received by NetGalley in exchange for objective review.