My first general market YA read of 2024 was so engrossing, I finished it in one sitting! "Snarky and romantic, I Hope This Doesn't Find You is Never Have I Ever meets To All the Boys if Lara Jean wrote hate emails instead of love letters." Read on for the full review!
Author: Ann Liang
Published: 2024 by Scholastic Press
About the Book:
"Sadie Wen is perfect on paper: school captain, valedictorian, and a 'pleasure to have in class.' It’s not easy, but she has a trick to keep her model-student smile plastered on her face at all times: she channels all her frustrations into her email drafts. She'd never send them of course -- she'd rather die than hurt anyone's feelings -- but it's a relief to let loose on her power-hungry English teacher or a freeloading classmate taking credit for Sadie's work.
All her most vehemently worded emails are directed at her infuriating cocaptain, Julius Gong, whose arrogance and competitive streak have irked Sadie since they were kids. 'You're attention starved and self-obsessed and unbearably vain . . . I really hope your comb breaks and you run out of whatever expensive hair products you've been using to make your hair appear deceptively soft...'
Sadie doesn't have to hold back in her emails, because nobody will ever read them... that is, until they're accidentally sent out.
Overnight, Sadie’s carefully crafted, conflict-free life is turned upside down. It's her worst nightmare -- now everyone at school knows what she really thinks of them, and they're not afraid to tell her what they really think of her either. But amidst the chaos, there's one person growing to appreciate the 'real' Sadie -- Julius, the only boy she's sworn to hate..."
The Artist Librarian's Review:
Sadie Wen is a people pleaser focused on being the perfect student and getting into the best college, which will lead to a stable job to help support her family. But even nice girls get frustrated, so instead of letting it out, Sadie vents in her email drafts, until the day that they're accidentally sent out ...
As someone who has accidentally sent one too many email drafts out before I had completely finished what I wanted to type, it stretched my suspension of disbelief a bit that Sadie had not at least removed the email addresses in the "to" field before venting, but the fallout was enjoyable to read. I could relate to Sadie in some aspects, but there is a balance between being polite or nice and being a pushover. I loved seeing her slowly realize this and find her voice and agency as the novel progressed.
Liang did an excellent job in establishing just enough motivation and backstory for her main characters that made them believable and sympathetic. This extends to Julius as well, he definitely gave off some classic Mr. Darcy vibes to me, if Mr. Darcy was a 21st century Chinese-Australian male teenager that is. The hints of his family life explained a lot and while he may had been mean or immature to Sadie in the past, there weren't any glaring red flags in the present that I couldn't wholeheartedly root for their friendship to deepen.
I also appreciated that it wasn't intense or graphic, so I could definitely recommend it for certain younger YA readers, despite the main characters being seniors. All in all, a very refreshing read. I've had my eye on Ann Liang's novels ever since her debut and I'm glad I finally took the time to enjoy I Hope This Doesn't Find You. I can't wait to read more from her.
[Disclosure: I received a review copy of this book from the publisher via Colored Pages Book Tours]
About the Author:
"Ann Liang is a graduate of the University of Melbourne. Born in Beijing, she grew up traveling back and forth between China and Australia, but somehow ended up with an American accent. When she isn't writing, she can be found making overambitious to-do lists, binge-watching dramas, and having profound conversations with her pet labradoodle about who's a good dog. You can find her online at annliang.com."
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