This was a fun concept for a plot but the writing just didn’t hook me. I liked the alternating stories but I felt like I really didn’t connect with any of the characters. I also felt like it leaned a little heavy on Joan being old and not understanding anything the youngins do. Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC!

Joan Dixon doesn't really want to be working at a place where her bosses are a decade younger than she is, but it's hard to be a working journalist and Bloom was hiring copywriters. As she adjusts to working at the tech start-up, she starts to make friends among her coworkers. But the good times don't last--Joan discovers there may be a major problem with her idyllic company. This could be the story of a lifetime, but it could also destroy her only steady job in years and the relationships she has been building.

The Nobodies is unfortunately not my favorite Liza Palmer novel. Joan is a tough character to follow, as she seems to fumble everything in her own life. But Palmer really captures the feeling of failure well. When Joan's latest story is rejected by an editor or an attempt to make a friend goes awry, it's enough to break your heart and bring back every terrible memory of your own rejection. If you love a book set in the world of tech start-ups or a story about a woman determined to make her own way in the world, The Nobodies might be the perfect pick for you.

The Nobodies
By Liza Palmer
Flatiron Books September 2019
266 pages
Read via Netgalley

I have only heard good things about Liza Palmer - how funny and relatable her books are. I have quite a few on my physical bookshelves to read. So I was really excited when I was approved for The Nobodies. My first Liza Palmer read!

WHAT I LIKED: There are 2 storylines going on at the same time here. One is Joan trying to figure out her life, and the second is the mystery of what exactly her employer, Bloom, does. Especially when she is a 30-something working around a bunch of 20-somethings who don't care that they have no idea what the company does, or how their role works in the bigger scheme of things. The storyline that kept me turning the pages was the Bloom storyline. As we were nearing the end of the story, I found myself also wondering what it was they did. But was it enough to drive the whole book? Well...

WHAT MADE ME SCRATCH MY HEAD: The character development really left something to be desired. I never really felt like I connected to any of the characters, including Joan. And why was she written as though she was a dowdy old boomer who never caught onto technology? There were mentions sprinkled throughout the book about how she didn't know what acronyms, like SMH, mean (you know - shake my head?) and constantly spoke about the "younger generation." Ummm...soooo...this is awkward because I am a closer-to-40-than-30-year-old. And I know what all that "text speak" means. We were in our 20's when all of that hit. And we finished growing up as the digital age sparked. We spent our high school years on AIM. So why didn't she know any of it?

FINAL THOUGHTS: I think the face on the cover of the book sums up my feelings perfectly.

It wasn't horribly bad, but it wasn't the best book I've ever read. For that reason, I will give this 3 out of 5 stars.

I liked this book.... it definitely held my attention, which says something during these times. I had a hard time really engaging with some characters, but I don't feel that was an issue with the BOOk, but rather, with ME. If you are in your late 20s or 30s, this one is for you.

Unfortunately, The Nobodies was not for me - I am having a hard time focusing lately and this one just did not grip me or hold me.

I love Liza Palmer and have read all her books, dating back to the brief period where chick lit books were all the rage and 5 Spot was a big time imprint (long since shattered but like Borders, not forgotten!)

Anyway! The Nobodies is pretty good--much better than The F Word, but not as good as Nowhere But Home. The Nobodies has Palmer's trademark knack of writing about family in a honest, heartfelt, and very funny way, and her spin on "older worker at company full of youngsters" is familiar but still very charming. Liza Palmer books make me smile and feel, and I'm so, so glad I got to read this!

My overall feeling on this one was just a big "meh". I couldn't really engage with the characters and it felt forced throughout the story. I have loved others of Palmers books however and will read more of her in the future.

Liza Palmer writes a very entertaining novel. The premise of The Nobodies, an almost 40 woman going to work with people in their early 20's seemed interesting. Throw in a bit of romance and a little mystery, and The Nobodies is an entertaining light read.
I was impressed bythe depth of Ms. Palmer's characters. They were engaging and complex. She writes with humor, sometomes even a bit of snark. I think that the dialogue fit both the characters and situations. The story itself kept my interest. I would definitely read more from Ms. Palmer.
I received my copy through netgalley under no obligation.

As a reporter by day, I sympathized with the main character in The Nobodies and found her likable. It was an enjoyable read, but the plot at time seemed a bit unbelievable.

This book sounded RIGHT up my street. As a journalist myself, I have gone through many of the same issues our heroine does here: doubt over your abilities, lack of job security, young upstarts getting more work with less experience, etc. I truly could not have been more pulled in to the plot but perhaps because I did have such a personal connection to the story, the execution just didn't work for me. I wasn't held captive by the voice, and found it difficult to get through even a chapter. I ended up DNF'ing this one, which I hate to do. But I know that there is an audience out there for this book; It just didn't work for me personally.

I appreciate the amount of M&Ms consumed in this novel. This was fine, but I got another book in at 70% and managed to promptly forget about this completely. I just never quite connected with Joan, and even though the tech takedown happened, her career and success was the focus of the story. I enjoyed hearing more about journalism and what it takes to be at the cutting edge there, but overall, found this rather forgettable.

Thank you #netgalley and Flatiron books for the ARC in exchange for this review.

Liza Palmer is a new to me author, and I’m glad that I’ve found her.!

The Nobodies follows Joan, a mid-thirties journalist who is having quite a bad year. She was laid off from many different jobs, is living with her parents again and also having trouble finding work.
Eventually she gets hired on at a cool up and coming tech company called Bloom...

This book kept my attention and I found it very interesting. I liked the characters, but I don’t think the love connection was very believable.
Anyway, 3.5 stars.

I tried to understand the character's POV as well as get into the plot of the book....but just couldn't.... JOan was not a sympathetic character to me in the fist few chapters and I could not move forward with the book,

36 year old Joan find herself shut out of her chosen field of Journalism. Out of desperation she takes a job as a copywriter at the startup Bloom. When she discovers some shady business at this bright and shiny company, she bands together with other misfits to uncover the truth. But at what cost?

I like the Palmer focuses on women in transition as protagonists. Joan based her entire identity on being a journalist. Much of the book deals with her trying to find a sense of self outside of her career. I think this is very relatable to a many people in specialized career fields. I thought it was interesting that Joan never went to college. 18 years ago, when Joan began her career, it may have been possible for a high school graduate with a prestigious internship to get hired by a major newspaper. Now journalists work primarily as underpaid freelancers and a stint in J-School is required. I can understand why Joan may feel like she doesn't measure up, despite her innate talents.

Another theme in the book is Joan working with people who are around 10 years younger than her. This is presented as a Herculean task. While Joan is continuously surprised by her Millennial colleagues, she also continuously judges them. What's funny is that Joan is also a Millennial. I think this aspect of the book would have made more sense if Joan was in her 40's. I am two years older than Joan and have no problem interacting with relating to younger Millennials. 10 years is not a huge age difference.

I thought the depiction of Bloom as a workplace was interesting and I wish Palmer had spent more time on the working environment. There's a lot of telling and not a lot of showing. This is typical throughout the book. Joan is almost too self aware of her issues. She thinks almost in a therapist's voice.

I really enjoyed the ending. I think it illustrates some very common corruptions in the corporate world in general and goes to show that even if you try to expose the truth, it can lead to some very ugly consequences.

This was a frustrating read for me. I felt like the mysteries of the tech company weren't strong or compelling enough, and the momentum of that part of the story kept getting interrupted by Joan's insecurity and identity crisis. And while I love a great identity crisis in books, this thread didn't quite work for me either. It was more off-putting than endearing, and it bogged down the other thread of the story. I really enjoyed Joan's family and her quirky friends from work, but I never liked Joan as much as I liked these secondary characters. So there were parts of this that were solid, but other parts were a distraction that weighed the overall story arc down.

There will be a sequel as the tech pieces were not 100% resolved here. I might check it out to see if that story gets stronger or to see if Joan is more like-able after hopefully growing and getting more secure after the events of this book. I may just try it for more scenes with Joan's niece who was precious - one of my favorite parts of the book. (Language, off-page sex)

The Nobodies was a fantastic read. The story follows Joan when she is trying to get back on her feet. She finds herself without a job and back in the parents house. The fun begins when she gets a job where she is trying to figure out what the company does. Since she was a reporter she decides to enlist a few of her friends to help get to the bottom of what Bloom really does.

This book was really enjoyable and I look forward to read more from Liza!

The Nobodies is a story close to my heart! I immediately felt a kinship with the main character, Joan Dixon. The strength it takes to start over and remain true to yourself is admirable. She does it in a classy, yet hilarious way that'll have you fully engaged with the story, not wanting it to end.

I enjoyed The Nobodies, but the story and character development just didn’t wow me.
The protagonist, Joan, is an experienced journalist (fresh out of high school; she did not even attend college), but she finds herself jobless and living at home with her parents at the ripe age of 35 (or was it 36?) after an editor tells her, in so many words, “your writing is stale.”
Joan is talented—she knows this, having secured an internship with the LA Times at 17 years old (how likely is that, really?), but she’s undeniably trapped within an abyss of blame, self-criticism, and validation-seeking.
Joan eventually lands a gig at budding, hipster-run “Bloom,” which bills itself as a data management company with a vision unlike any other, but of course, her preconceptions of the work and her baby-faced colleagues gets the best of her.
She does befriend some of her coworkers (there may even be a cute romance there), but the journalist in her never loses hold of a good story. After discovering a secret that could destroy Bloom’s reputation, she and her new colleagues-turned-friends set out on an investigation that leads to many realizations—some of which, Joan didn’t even know she was seeking.
The Nobodies was cute. As a 35-year old perfectionist who never exactly got a job in my college major, I could somewhat relate to Joan. However, a few of the relationships annoyed me, and I found myself tired of hearing about Joan’s insecurities.
All in all, it was a fun story worthy of 3 stars.

Joan Dixon is having a bad year. She’s an unemployed journalist who can’t even get listicle jobs. This new reality has forced her to sell her car and move in with her parents—at age thirty-six. She truly is one of The Nobodies.

Joan interviews as a junior copywriter at Bloom, a tech company selling digital storage space without using server farms.

Note from my internal armchair detective: how can you sell storage space without any space to sell? Tech, am I right?

Back to review: Bloom is so trendy that its conference rooms are named after dead singers regardless of genre like Tupac, Freddie, and Selena. Not feeling hopeful, Joan is surprised when she gets the job. Unfortunately, once working there, her journalistic Spidey-senses start firing. Is Bloom hiding a deep secret that could be Joan’s way back into journalism?

I have yet to find a Flatiron Book that was not fantastic and innovative. The Nobodies is no exception. Despite being a millennial herself, Joan is a great foil to an entire company full of their nonsense. As the mother of a millennial, I enjoyed the gentle joshing. But if you are 20 and work at Google, you may not. Underlying all the thought-provoking questions bothering Joan, this is a book for women. Joan does find romance at Bloom—and with a younger man. She also finds empowerment in taking control of her own life. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5 stars!

Thanks to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Flatiron and the author for an advanced copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

The Nobodies
By: Liza Palmer

*REVIEW* 🌟🌟🌟🌟
The Nobodies is a story of doubt and acceptance. Joan is a single woman in her late thirties who has lost her job and is living with her parents. Joan is less than thrilled and feels like a failure. She was a journalist before and wants to be again. Opportunities are extremely slim. She questions whether she ever had any talent at all. Joan ends up as a junior copywriter at a hip tech start up called Bloom where the differences between millennials and late thirties are obvious. Joan is lost but fortunate to work with a small pod of people whom she likes, including a romantic intrest with a younger man. Joan asks a question at a company meeting, and the two founders, Chris and Asher, dance around an answer. Later, they meet with her. Joan suspects something is wrong at Bloom. The founders know her background and are assessing Joan as possibly undercover. I wanted to scream while reading this! Chris demeans Joan in the worst way saying she's definitely not a threat. Chris makes Joan feel small, insignificant and angry. Honestly, to appreciate his level of condescension you have to read it yourself. Chris is the classic millennial entitled rich better than you guy. I hate this character with a vengeance. Joan is positive these guys are lying. With the help of coworkers and friends, Joan investigates Bloom to find out if the company is what it claims. I wonder if Joan really wants answers, or is she looking to restart her career? Joan finds answers about Bloom and herself. She realizes she is too critical and negative about herself. She's made mistakes, but you can't unring the bell. There is nothing to do but accept and keep moving. Joan can be a somebody if she will allow herself to just be who she is without wondering what might have been. She is good enough. Don't we all do this? I loved this story. Finally, I've read something authentic about the almost, or already, 40ish generation. I laughed at so many things I relate to at this age. I felt everything Joan felt. So many of us are lost in the tech world and feel like nobodies who have been left behind. Self doubt is creeping up. We were important, once. But, y'all, we are somebodies! Think about all the knowledge and life skills you possess that millennials are lacking. Tech can't solve everything. I'm older, but I do matter. So do you! The Nobodies is a must read full of thought provoking questions, humor, a bit of romance and pure delight. Read this book!