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A review by erinkellyreads
I Hope This Doesn't Find You by Ann Liang
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Thank you to Scholastic for this ARC copy!
"I Hope This Doesn't Find You" feels like a happy mix between "To All the Boys I Loved Before" and the anime "Kare Kano" (His & Hers Circumstances in the English Dub). Our protagonist, Sadie, pressures herself into appearing to be the best at everything - school, sports, clubs, leadership, helping her family, and doing everything anyone asks her to with a smile (even if that smile is forced). However, inside, her resentment for classmates and teachers does have one outlet - her email drafts. She lets it all rip in these emails, with one person receiving her ire most of all - fellow school captain, pretty boy, and general annoyance, Julius. When "somehow" Sadie's decade worth of emails leak to the whole school, Sadie has to grow and find her voice, process her actual feelings (and where those stem from), and, of course, is forced into community service and close proximity to Mr. Annoying Julius himself.
The premise caught my interest because that is literally one of my greatest fears and why I don't write email drafts lol. I felt like I got thrown in right away at the beginning a little too quickly and wished there was a little more ease into the characters and world of the school. I would say after the initial push, however, it was easy to root for the characters, enjoy the will-they-won't-they tension, and read with a smile. I also really enjoyed seeing the inclusion of her mother's bakery and the snippets of Mandarin used to give extra dimension to her mother's quirks (honestly would love even more there about her mother's upbringing - there's a throwaway line about herding goats and throwing rager parties). I kept forgetting that they were in Melbourne - we talk about it at the beginning, and we mention that Julius has an American accent even though he hasn't lived there - but there's not much else mentioned there. I also, as a former high school teacher, thought that the sparse usage of social media was interesting - if something like this happened at my old school, it would be all over TikTok/Insta/Snap, memes would be made, etc. But, maybe it is different in Australia?
Overall, this book is great for people who like anime because it has a lot of tropes you'll find in shoujo (the dueling school captains, the class trip, sports day, etc), and I also think YA romance fans will enjoy the school setting and banter of the characters. It could also make a cute adaptation were it to be picked up by Netflix/Hulu. The hardback comes out on February 4th, and I hope you'll pick it up and let me know what you think!
"I Hope This Doesn't Find You" feels like a happy mix between "To All the Boys I Loved Before" and the anime "Kare Kano" (His & Hers Circumstances in the English Dub). Our protagonist, Sadie, pressures herself into appearing to be the best at everything - school, sports, clubs, leadership, helping her family, and doing everything anyone asks her to with a smile (even if that smile is forced). However, inside, her resentment for classmates and teachers does have one outlet - her email drafts. She lets it all rip in these emails, with one person receiving her ire most of all - fellow school captain, pretty boy, and general annoyance, Julius. When "somehow" Sadie's decade worth of emails leak to the whole school, Sadie has to grow and find her voice, process her actual feelings (and where those stem from), and, of course, is forced into community service and close proximity to Mr. Annoying Julius himself.
The premise caught my interest because that is literally one of my greatest fears and why I don't write email drafts lol. I felt like I got thrown in right away at the beginning a little too quickly and wished there was a little more ease into the characters and world of the school. I would say after the initial push, however, it was easy to root for the characters, enjoy the will-they-won't-they tension, and read with a smile. I also really enjoyed seeing the inclusion of her mother's bakery and the snippets of Mandarin used to give extra dimension to her mother's quirks (honestly would love even more there about her mother's upbringing - there's a throwaway line about herding goats and throwing rager parties). I kept forgetting that they were in Melbourne - we talk about it at the beginning, and we mention that Julius has an American accent even though he hasn't lived there - but there's not much else mentioned there. I also, as a former high school teacher, thought that the sparse usage of social media was interesting - if something like this happened at my old school, it would be all over TikTok/Insta/Snap, memes would be made, etc. But, maybe it is different in Australia?
Overall, this book is great for people who like anime because it has a lot of tropes you'll find in shoujo (the dueling school captains, the class trip, sports day, etc), and I also think YA romance fans will enjoy the school setting and banter of the characters. It could also make a cute adaptation were it to be picked up by Netflix/Hulu. The hardback comes out on February 4th, and I hope you'll pick it up and let me know what you think!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Alcohol