Jolene has spent eight years working in her cubicle surrounded by three co-workers in their cubicles. She is not the office sparkplug nor does she want to be-at first she tries to get along with her co-workers but after constantly getting knocked down, all she wants is to put in her time, do her job, and leave. At least at home she can blot out her so-called life with booze and reality TV.
This all changes when she emails her nemesis and includes a snarky message which she forgot to erase before sending. Instead of the firing that she expects, the corporate office sends a man from HR to deal with her bad attitude and administer a set of five units on employee harassment. He is authorized to reset her computer so that her correspondence can be monitored, but instead, she finds that she now can receive every piece of mail on every computer in the building. After trying to report it to the (admittedly nice and good looking) HR rep who didn't understand her ranting, she realizes that finally she would learn the truth of what the other employees are thinking and doing-especially considering the rumors of re-tooling and layoffs.
As she subtly shifts power from them to her, she starts to learn that with great power comes great responsibility-and that the workers are very different from those she thought she knew. And why is she starting to let the HR guy into her screwed up life when he obviously has troubles of his own?
I really can't emphasize how much I loved this book. I never reread, I reread. Jolene is a wonderful character who never does any thing that you expect her to. She is very flawed but she has a wicked sense of humor. She learns the importance of her own family as she struggles with her office family. She gets less but deserves so much more, and maybe finally she can see her way to a happy life. Sue writes in a very empathetic way-you know that she's been there and done that. I hope that you pick this one up and enjoy it as much as I did!
Reviewed by Donna Ballard
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