Good Intentions (Jessy Wu, Macmillan)

Personal and professional integrity face off in Jessy Wu’s highly engaging debut, Good Intentions – a fast-paced millennial romance set in the worlds of investigative journalism and futures trading. Nadia Kuan and Jake Sullivan are in their early 20s, hardworking, ambitious and idealistic. While studying for an honours degree and working at the student newspaper, they want to write about impactful issues. Their exposure of financial fraud within the university’s administration earns widespread attention, strengthening both their reputations as journalists and their blossoming romantic relationship. When an influential newspaper offers them cadetships, Jake accepts, while Nadia takes a role at an elite trading firm in Manhattan, setting them on divergent paths and leading to their breakup. Nearly a decade later, Nadia returns to Sydney. Both have built reputable careers and navigated moral and ethical challenges. When irregularities emerge at a biotech startup, they find themselves drawn back into each other’s orbit. Wu uses a third-person perspective to move effectively between Nadia’s and Jake’s experiences, capturing both their professional convictions and personal vulnerabilities. Whip-smart dialogue, authentic settings, cultural references and clever plot twists propel the story forward. Well-drawn interactions with family, friends and colleagues add depth, but it is the enduring power of first love that resonates most strongly. Drawing on her experience as a tech-sector columnist, Wu lends authority to the novel’s world, creating a compelling page-turner. Fans of Dolly Alderton and Diana Reid will delight in and welcome this new Australian voice to the genre.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Alida Galati is a freelance reviewer, secondary school librarian and writing and reading enthusiast. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

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