In theory, Please Send Help is a story I would love. It’s an epistolary novel about two best friends right out of college who have to figure out their path into the world. However, this book really did not work for me on a number of levels.
Through their hilarious, sometimes emotional, but always relatable conversations, Ava and Gen are each other’s support systems through internships, relationship troubles, questionable roommates, undercover reporting, and whether or not it’s a good idea to take in a feral cat. Please Send Help perfectly captures the voice of young adults looking to find their place in the world and how no matter how desperate things seem, you always have your best friend to tell it like it is and pick you back up.(Goodreads) Goodreads
In this hilarious follow-up novel to the New York Times bestseller I Hate Everyone But You, long distance best friends Ava and Gen have finally made it to the same time zone (although they’re still over a thousand miles apart).
Please Send Help needs trigger warnings for discussions of alcoholism, heavy drinking in the main character, catfishing, homophobia, sex without disclosing STD, sex with direct supervisor, and shitty bosses.
I’d like to start with what I liked about Please Send Help. The voices in both main characters really felt like they were two women who’d just graduated college. They were young and true to themselves, even if I didn’t actually like either of them. They were both entirely self-centered and didn’t actually listen to each other even though they didn’t really ask for advice from anyone else that might have been able to help.
I liked the conversation about STDs that they had, and that it turned out well enough for Ava. I also liked that her parents were like “well, okay, here’s how we can help. What do you need?” It was wonderful.
Everything Gen did just made me want to ask her “what the fuck?” Like, literally everything. Ava was a more reasonable person, but neither of them were very good for each other. That was my main issue with this book. It was about how they were supposed to be perfect friends for each other because they both screw up, but honestly, even around the screw ups they weren’t good friends to each other.
I really didn’t love the entire plotline with Coralee. Gen basically outed her at a party with her boyfriend and then had a threesome and expected them to invite her to stay the night. Then she threw a lamp, and then threw away her entire career. It’s a whole mess. I honestly do not recommend this book unless you’re into very, very immature adults making terrible life choices.
Title: Please Send Help Series: I Hate Everyone But You Book 2 Author: Gaby Dunn, Alison Raskin Publisher: Wednesday Books Length: 320 Pages Release Date: July 16, 2019 Rating: Not Recommended Genre: New Adult Contemporary Fiction Representation: queer main character, character with STDs
Want to help support Let’s Fox About It and help it go ad-free? Subscribe to our Patreon!
