She's ready to resign...until her boss announces a layoff. Anne Wyatt is about to move on to a better job when she learns her mercurial boss will lay off a staff member by the end of the day, bestowing on that employee a generous severance package. Quickly changing course, Anne does her best to become the Worst Employee on the Planet, to win the layoff and its monetary reward. During a crazy day of escalating hijinks, Anne discovers hidden truths about her coworkers and herself -- a kind and handsome graphic designer might be fixing her mistakes, and another staff member might be competing with Anne for the same goal. By the end of the day, Anne gets more than she bargained for as she examines what she really wants from work, life, and love. "This fast-paced, humorous book kept me giggling throughout the night. " - A Novel Menagerie "Fire Me ...had this reader chuckling out loud." - Lancaster Sunday News "Fire Me is a zany, laugh-out-loud novel that will satisfy the mischievous child in all of us; an office worker's dream come true " - Book Reviews by Bobbie "Libby Malin has written a funny and often charming story about life -- and love -- in an office setting. " - BookLoons
The Review This book has a story that happens during the course of 1 day! This fast-pace, humorous book kept me giggling throughout the night. The books that make me laugh out loud, well I just have a special place in my heart (and library) for them. This book certainly gave me plenty to giggle about and loads to remember fondly. Anne and Sheila discover, on the very same day that they had intended to give their resignation notices, that their boss is intending on cutting back staff. To soften the blow, he announces that there is a HEFTY severance package just waiting for the person who will, unfortunately, lose their job at the end of the day. What the readers know and the boss doesn't is that Anne and Sheila have already lined up new jobs. This severance package would just be a great nest egg to compliment their existing plans to move on. So it begins... the war to the finish between Anne and Sheila... who can get fired first? Their antics are the funniest part of this book and I loved them! They were pure genius! For me, the romance aspect of this book wasn't nearly as important as the race to get fired. There was a little romance and it was fine, but for me it was secondary to the main storyline. For anybody who's wanted to really annoy their boss... for anybody who's ever had it "up to here" with their job... this book is a fun read and will bring you lots of laughs. On Sher's "Out of Ten Scale:" If you read my book reviews, you may know that I am a fan of Chick Lit. I just devour it! This was Chick Lit with humor that really set it apart from the others for me. I had a ton of fun with the book and really enjoyed it. For the genre Fiction:Chick Lit, I am going to rate this book an 8.5 OUT OF 10.
Very, very funny
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 16 years ago
I was in a perfect frame of mind for reading FIRE ME by Libby Malin, having just been "let go" myself. Malin has written a very funny and original story - asking the question - just how far would YOU go to get fired? if you knew that you would get a nice, interesting severance package at the end of it? Anne, our wonderful main character is about to find out..... Anne has worked for Mitch for a long time (and feels even longer since she broke off a dead end relationship with him). Unfortunately, Anne found out the hard way that you should never date your boss :( and she decides that she needs a change - and finds it - in a new job in San Francisco. Just as she is about to announce her resignation, Mitch announces to his employees, that one of them will be laid off - and getting a nice severance package. This sounds like a perfect solution to Anne - she will make sure that Mitch "fires her" and she will be able to leave with her head held up AND some nice $$$. The only thing is, someone else in the office has the same thought - her co-worker Sheila has started acting up - and Ken, who works with both of them, but has a secret crush on Anne is making sure that he "cleans up" any mistakes that Anne makes - as he is under the mistaken belief that Anne is making these silly mistakes because she is under too much pressure at her job. What follows is a hilarious series of missteps, miscommunications and ridiculous situations that are both funny, funny and at the same time, strangely touching. None of the characters are horrible and you get the feeling that, on some level, everyone in this storyline is somehow trying to find their "real" place in life and that the "severance package" is almost like a golden opportunity for everyone to re-evaluate their lives and the direction they wish to take in the future. There are a lot of hidden messages behind the laughter here and the author did a wonderful job of passing that along to the readers, while at the same time keeping the upbeat and funny thread of the storyline. I really enjoyed this one.
Tuck this one in your beach bag for a fun summer read
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 16 years ago
Put Fire Me by Libby Malin on your summer reading list. Newly released from Sourcebooks, this is perfect beach bag chick lit! The Burnham Group provides consulting, lectures and it's latest venture - ' camps' for management teams to work on trust issues among it's services. Anne Wyatt works at the Burnham Group and was in a relationship with CEO Mitch Burnham. She heads to the office on Pizazz Day (another team building exercise) to hand in her resignation and move on with her life. But before she can do that, Mitch announces that they need to tighten their belt a bit and he needs to let a staff member go. However, he will be fair and that person will get a generous severance package. Well, Anne could use that severance money. The problem is that a few other people in the office could as well. Sheila and Ken were planning on leaving as well. The money would be an added bonus. Ken was last hired, so he feels pretty confident it will be him let go. But Anne and Sheila are taking no chances...... The entire book takes place over the course of that day in the office. Anne and Sheila do their best to become the worst employee ever, with absolutely hilarious results. It begins with simple things, jamming the copier, bad coffee, loud music and progresses to TV parties, gifts for everyone and completely inappropriate behaviour in an office. Sheila is a formidable competitor though as their efforts to outdo each other escalates. I had to check if Malin had ever worked in an office (she has) as her descriptions of office antics and politics had me laughing out loud. Each chapter begins with excerpts of wisdom from Mitch that are oh so clever! I saw past managers flash before my eyes. (If you like the television show The Office, you will appreciate the office antics in Fire Me) With nothing left to lose, Anne begins to see her life with newly opened eyes. Is she really happy? And what about that Ken - he is sweet and nice looking, maybe.... And Sheila, why didn't she ever talk to her before this? The closer the end of the day and the decision comes, the freer Anne feels. Who gets fired? I'm not telling! Malin has written a light-hearted romp of a book. The race to be fired is the part I enjoyed the most. The romantic and self discovery elements are there, but play a smaller part. I found this to be a quick, fun read. Libby's website mentions that Fire Me has been optioned for a film. I think it would make a great comedy.
A zany, laugh-out-loud novel that will satisfy the mischievous child in all of us; an office worker'
ThriftBooks sells millions of used books at the lowest
everyday prices. We personally assess every book's quality and offer rare, out-of-print treasures. We
deliver the joy of reading in recyclable packaging with free standard shipping on US orders over $15.
ThriftBooks.com. Read more. Spend less.