"Did You Find Every Thing You Were Looking For?": A Novel About Hollywood, Love, and Your Neighborhood Grocery Store

by T. W. Bristol

438 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 5, 2024

Reviews

[Lisa MacCarley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genuinely charming and LOL funny

This writer has a wondrous sense of humor and brilliantly uses the keyboard to turn words into life, hopes and everyday worries. But for one unfortunate misstep, this could be the perfect summer read for any gurl who moved to LA in the last 30 years. Bravo, Tess.

[Nets · Rating 2 out of 5]

No no no. Sorry this just wasn’t to my liking. No depth, no point. Felt like reading about a Trader Joe’s drama. It had so cute aspects, but not enough to make me recommend this book.

[Audrey Gardner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tess Bristol arrives in Hollywood from Texas with a newly minted theater degree, a film script that has been sold into the Hollywood abyss, her dog Jasper, and, according to her, fifteen extra pounds to lose. That script isn’t paying the bills, though, so on a visit to a store which sounds remarkably like a local version of Trader Joe’s, she sees a “Hiring” sign in the window and on an impulse, applies.

This is no ordinary store, though, in Hollywood where movie stars are in line right along with everyone else (and forget their bags like everyone else, Tess tells us). She learns to “cook” for the demo stand and the author thoughtfully adds an appendix with most-loved recipes from the sample rotation. In fact, there are multiple epilogues, funny but informative, “How to Bag Your Own Groceries,” was one of my favorites.

Tess has her priorities, so her weekly lists start with “Number of Zits” and “Number of Pounds Lost.”
There were a number of LOL moments, most hilariously involving her dog and a neighborhood skunk.
The core of the book is the community both within the store and among its customers. That community comes together, under Tess’s rather chaotic direction, to support a local homeless man following a disastrous accident, with life-changing results for all.

I really hope we haven’t heard the last of Tess and her dog. It’s refreshing to read a novel featuring a woman that isn’t primarily romance. Anyone who wants to know what happens behind the scenes at their local neighborhood “specialty market” will also enjoy this book. The author has a sharp eye for details and her characters could be inhabiting a branch near you.This is a fresh voice I’d like to hear from again.

[Heidi Dugger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m reading this now and it’s so hard to put down! I love love love this book and the author! So very funny but also sweet. I looked for more books she may have written but I see this is a debut. Well done! Now I can't wait for her to write some more so I can laugh out loud instead of doing everything or anything on my To Do list! I'm pretty sure this is best book I’ve read this year--or at least by far the funniest and most entertaining.
Edit after finishing: Wow, this book continued to be even better than when I first started. Yes, continued literal LOL, but much more. Adventurous ups and downs, then back up again; magical and colorful (oh, so colorful) characters, and of course our adorable heroine. She is so real, so clever, so very funny, and so relatable, and you just want to see what comes next in her world. I found myself sometimes in tears, then cheering out loud when the sunshine comes back in her life. The appendices are are something to look forward to, or read as you go along if you like. Great fun nuggets of truth. And if you've ever worked in a grocery store (or written screenplays in Hollywood), they will be especially poignant. I'm hoping to read her next book as soon as possible!

[Christina Kenway]

I really loved the voice of the narrator, and I especially appreciated a story about a late-20s/early-3os young woman struggling to find her happiness in the world. So I thought I would adore this book and gobble up every page.

I got about 100 pages in and nothing had really happened yet. She bought some used lingerie and got a job at a fictional Trader Joe's. That was about it.

There were a ton of typos just in the first hundred pages, too. Maybe this was because the author was a screenwriter first, novelist second. But it was distracting trying to sort through the incorrect dialogue tags and missing quotation marks.

I do hate to leave a review like this for a debut novel, but it just didn't keep my interest. I had high hopes it would be great based on the first chapter, but I decided to DNF it.

[Sarah Blizzard · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was like reading a private journal that held my attention because of the protagonist’s courage. I was drawn in by the whole set-up: single gal living on a tight budget in Hollywood of all places. I especially liked the woman’s vulnerability, her self doubts and her willingness to act on her gut feelings even though it scared her. Loved the backdrop of Captain Jack’s, the grocery store modeled after Trader Joe’s, my favorite store. Clever use of details hooked me early, especially the silk pieces she bought and resells. That skunk though. I was ready to throw the book across the room when her dog Jasper got sprayed. Without telling too many details, I’ll leave it here but will add how much I liked reading the turning points and the blessed hope that was in the air at the end.

[Doria · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you love Trader Joe’s grocery store, You will love this book.

You are basically reading the diary of a screenwriter who took the summer off to work at a captain Jack’s A.k.a. Trader Joe’s To hopefully find material for a new screenplay.

Her name is Tess, She’s from a very small town in Texas, in her 30’s. With a dog named Jasper, who she adores.

Her diary covers her three months at the store.

Read it you’ll like it.

[Coll · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mind numbingly boring diary of a young texas women who moves to Hollywood and works for the equivalent of a Trader Joe’s. Thought it would have more substance but just not for me. I kept waiting for something to happen. But nothing much ever did. Here’s the jist: she list her dog Jasper, went on a few bad dates, inherited a bunch of silk underwear, helped a guy out with a fundraiser, found Jasper, found a guy to date. The end. SNORE.

[Carolyn Clarke · Rating 5 out of 5]

A BETTER REVIEW TO COME.....I'm only on "Week Three" - page 29 of this adventure with our main character, Tess, but my goodness, I'm hooked. I plan to spend the weekend devouring.....it's the writing, it's witty, refreshing and entertaining and I look forward to the ride!

[Kim Payne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love first-person stories, and this one is done well. It feels autobiographical. Written in a quick, snappy voice that is sometimes told through journal entries. I hope she's planning another novel.

[elise buhn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting!

Having worked retail in a past life, this was so familiar, but Tess, the narrator, tends to take everything further than most and ends in the strangest fixes. It's a very gratifying and humbling story, well worth reading.

[Melanie Uggen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well. If you loved the movie Pollyanna, you will probably like this book. It reads like someone’s diary. It isn’t terrible, but it is a tad on the sickeningly sweet side. A very easy read if you were bored at the beach and wanted a mindless story to digest while you relax in the sand.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a fun escape to LA, and might be especially enjoyed by readers chasing Hollywood dreams.

[Laura Marquardt · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not for me.

[Beverly · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF

[Buneesa K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Too Good For Words

You know you've found a great read when you keep thinking of people you want to tell about the book you have in your hand. When you dread the end. When you start writing down the most clever or startlingly true lines so that you can share them. How could this be a kindle unlimited gift of a book? I would have paid a premium for this jewel of smart and funny writing.

Yes, I loved it. Write fast and give us more, please!!!

[Allison Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute

Definitely a cute and witty book. Had some
Funny and relatable moments. Just a warning it’s a book with no real plot. But still a cute story.

[Sally Kennedy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not that great

I am the wrong age group for this book
I'm sure some Gen As will like it
Ran out of words

[Debra A. Bachmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was wonderful! Please keep them coming!!