The Incredible Kindness of Paper: A Novel

For fans of Matt Haig and Clare Pooley, an enchanting novel about a pair of long-lost childhood friends who find themselves magically linked through origami flowers as adults--from the New York Times bestselling author of the "tug-at-your-heartstrings winner" (Sarah Addison Allen, New York Times bestselling author) The Hundred Loves of Juliet.Can one random act of kindness change the trajectory of a life? In elementary school, Chloe Hanako Quinn is assigned Oliver Jones as her pen pal partner. Before sending her letter, she also whispers a note into it...and he hears her. Little does she know it would be the beginning of a friendship that would bloom into something more. That is, until disaster strikes, and Oliver and his family disappear without a trace. Now over twenty years later, Chloe is a high school guidance counselor in New York City. But life in the Big Apple is not what she dreamed it would be as she faces a layoff, rising rent, a situationship, and loneliness. Desperate for encouragement, she gives herself a pep talk via uplifting messages written on yellow origami paper that she folds into roses. When one of the roses unexpectedly finds its way to a neighbor in need of cheering up, a desire to spread kindness and optimism is sparked in Chloe, who begins folding more roses and leaving them around town. Across the city, Oliver has picked himself up from the rough circumstances that forced him to leave everything behind as a teenager--including Chloe. Now a successful financial analyst, Oliver's past continues to haunt him. But when the city is suddenly inundated with yellow origami roses, a specific one finds its way into his hands and changes his life forever...
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Community Reviews
3.5 ⭐️
“People smile at kids when they make mistakes and as they figure out their way in the world but forget that even as adults, there's still no road map and everyone's bumbling along as best they can. Maybe if grown-ups could see the kids they once were -- the kids who were still inside -- then everyone would be a little better for it.”
I just finished this one and honestly, it was such an uplifting little escape. ✨ The story leans a bit on the unbelievable, and perhaps a little saccharine side for me, but sometimes that’s exactly what you need…a reminder that kindness and hope can still surprise you.
It’s about a woman, Chloe, who folds yellow origami roses with little random notes inside. These roses always find their way to the person who needs that message, and these acts of kindness, a paper rose movement, becomes a global phenomenon.
If you’re in the mood for a cozy, feel-good read that leaves your heart a bit lighter, this is a lovely pick.
“People smile at kids when they make mistakes and as they figure out their way in the world but forget that even as adults, there's still no road map and everyone's bumbling along as best they can. Maybe if grown-ups could see the kids they once were -- the kids who were still inside -- then everyone would be a little better for it.”
I just finished this one and honestly, it was such an uplifting little escape. ✨ The story leans a bit on the unbelievable, and perhaps a little saccharine side for me, but sometimes that’s exactly what you need…a reminder that kindness and hope can still surprise you.
It’s about a woman, Chloe, who folds yellow origami roses with little random notes inside. These roses always find their way to the person who needs that message, and these acts of kindness, a paper rose movement, becomes a global phenomenon.
If you’re in the mood for a cozy, feel-good read that leaves your heart a bit lighter, this is a lovely pick.
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