I Hope This Doesn’t Find You

The winner of the The Readings Young Adult Prize 2023 for her debut novel If You Could See the Sun, Ann Liang returns with her third novel I Hope This Doesn’t Find You, an enemies-to-lovers rom-com about what happens when you reveal your true self: who leaves you behind, and who stays by your side, no matter what.

Sadie Wen is the perfect student. She’s school captain, valedictorian, and gets the best grades for all her assignments. But with all the stress and frustrations that come with being an A-grade student, Sadie’s method of venting is to draft emails to all the people she hates, listing the reasons they have wronged her – whether it be a teacher who refused to round up her percentage score on an essay; a classmate who copied Sadie’s idea and took the credit; or to Julius, her arch-nemesis and co-school captain, who has been competitive towards Sadie since they were kids.

She would never send them, of course. Until one day these draft emails are mysteriously sent to every student and staff member and Sadie becomes the most hated person at school. Except to Julius, who seems interested in knowing who the real Sadie Wen is.

Liang continues to amaze me with her addictive stories full of ingenuity, drama, and humour; they make me incapable of putting her books down until they are finished! As Sadie and Julius become closer, we learn what’s hiding beneath their plastered smiles, and if the feelings of hate they have for each other are actually covering up another suppressed emotion inside, one that’s almost too terrifying to think about. This book will leave you swooning, laughing, maybe a bit in tears, but never wanting the story to end. Ann Liang, I am looking forward to reading more of your books in the future!