The Very Nice Box: A Novel

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! The Very Nice Box revolves around Ava, a dependable engineer for STADA, a Nordic furniture company. When I read the synopsis and heard there was going to be a twist, I immediately thought of Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix, one of the more original books I've come across. The Very Nice Box is not a thriller, although there is a twist. At its core, for most of its plot, this book is actually a romance. Ava is dealing with a lot of things emotionally, such as PTSD from a car accident and the end of a long-term relationship with her ex-girlfriend. All she wants to do is make a Very Nice Box during her Passion Project hours at work. Unfortunately, or fortunately, she gets a handsome new boss who wants to draw her out of her shell. Here's an excerpt from Chapter One when Ava meets Matthew for the first time: "His name was Matthew Putnam, and he had gripped the attention of Floor 12, not just because of his fancy degree but because he was categorically handsome... His charisma was palpable. Around him, her colleagues smiled and laughed more... "Mat Putnam," he said, sticking out his hand. "It's awesome to finally meet you." His voice cut through Ava's Peaceful Headphones." The best aspect of The Very Nice Box is that it is a wry and sarcastic send-up for corporate culture. Here's an excerpt from Chapter Two that explains how off-sync Ava is from the rest of the corporate culture at Stada: "The walls were flanked with half-erased notes from the Manager Training that had taken place before the party. KEY TAKEAWAYS Be aware of Unconscious Bias. Climb the Ladder of Perception. Practical Radical Compassion. Am I in a cult? Ava wondered vaguely." Reading this book reminded me of The Other Black Girl, which was actually the best book I've read this year.. Both of these books use sarcasm to point out the hypocrisies and idiosyncrasies of office culture from the point of view of an outsider. However, I took off a star because at the end of Part One, the book stopped seeming innovative and started seeming bland. The idea behind this book had so much potential, so I don't know why I started getting bored near the middle of the book. Overall, if you're into interesting stories that haven't been done before, you should check out The Very Nice Box when it comes out in July!

This book definitely is a satire of office life that critiques male entitlement and corporate culture. It is entertaining the way it makes fun of an Ikea type business with the names and what they build (Like SHRNK app, color tests, the name of the company even, S.T.A.D.A). It took a bit to get used to all the lingo but after the first couple chapters it was pretty easy and then I sped through this story. Ava is an engineer who designed and built the Very Nice Box and I think it represents very well what she is trying to make her life like, minimalist down to managing time by half hour "units" (which she learned during PT after the accident that upended her life). Life does not fit into a neat little box though (it is actually quite sprawling and messy and grand!) and so this is about Ava learning and growing and meeting Mat (her new boss and maybe something more?) who may or may not be suspicious. I really liked Ava and this book was a joy to read and I was very happy with the ending and everybody got what they deserved.