A few months ago I read I Hate Everyone But You and what a nice surprise that books was. Please Send Help picks up a few years after the end of the first book, when Ava and Gen have just graduated from college and are ready to start their first job. Told also through texts and emails this keeps being as fresh and funny as the first book. Their conversations are filled with pop culture references and some laugh out loud moments, and though it may seem as this is just a light read, it manages to impart some powerful messages about important topics such as mental health, therapy, stigmatization of STDs and sex, LGBQT rights and addiction.

Crossing my fingers we’ll have a third installment as I’m not ready to say goodbye to Ava, Gen and their crazy shenanigans.

This book was funny and a very quick read, however the little icons representing the two characters make it difficult for me at the beginning to figure out who was sending which messages. I also would have liked more about their backstories.

Make some new bff’s with these 5 great summer reads about friendship
Sarah Murdoch
By Sarah MurdochSpecial to the Star
Tues., July 23, 2019timer2 min. read
Friendships — between young women, old men and everyone in between — are at the heart of these new novels.

The Great Unexpected, Dan Mooney

Joel Monroe is 76, a recent widower who is fed up with life – until the arrival of his new roommate. His name is Frank de Selby, aka Frank Adams, an irrepressible former actor (the word “popinjay” springs to Joel’s mind when they meet); soon, the newcomer is cheering up the residents of Hilltop Nursing Home, including, reluctantly, Joel. When Joel tells him he has decided to kill himself, Frank pronounces this a fine plan, so long as the exit is “profound, theatrical, wonderful, encapsulating.” A tale of love, survival and finding meaning in old age.

Ask Again, Yes, Mary Beth Keane

This is the story of two families, the Gleesons and the Stanhopes. The men, Francis and Brian, are Irish cops, working at a Manhattan precinct and living next door to each other in a town north of the city. The wives — Lena lonely, Anne volatile — do not bond. It is their children, Kate Gleeson and Peter Stanhope, who find each other in early childhood and become best friends. When they are teens, a violent event sunders their families. A story of resilience, constancy and forgiveness, and a reminder that the past is always present.

The Summer Demands, Deborah Shapiro

Emily and her husband have moved into the director’s house of a former summer camp with the vague idea of reopening it as a retreat for adults. Instead, he has found work and she, on the edge of 40 and grieving a miscarriage, is feeling at an in-between stage. Then she meets Stella, a young woman who has been squatting in one of the cabins. Emily removes a splinter from Stella’s hand. Stella paints Emily’s nails. Slowly, a bond forms – unsettling, sensual, mutable.

The Nap-Away Motel, Nadja Lubiw-Hazard

The Nap-Away Motel is on the Kingston Rd.’s motel strip, a near-derelict artefact from the days before the 401. Orianthi (or Ori, who is sometimes a girl, sometimes a boy) lives in Rm. 11, in Toronto to find her twin, Carter, who left their foster home shortly after their 17th birthday. Suleiman, in Rm. 6, misses his wife, Khadija, from whom he’s separated. Tiffany (or Iff) is a mixed-race child who lives with her mom in Rm. 5. Ori, Iff and Suleiman form a bond, a result of adjacency, loneliness and the discovery of a litter of abandoned kittens.

Please Send Help…, Gaby Dunn, Allison Raskin, St. Martin’s Press

We first met Ava Helmver and Gen Goldman in 2017’s I Hate Everyone But You, an epistolary novel that unfolds through texts and emails when the L.A. best friends are attending colleges on opposite coasts. Please Send Help … continues the correspondence: Ava, the straight one, is an intern at Mind the Gap with Halona McBride, a late-night TV show out of New York; aspiring journalist Gen is a web designer at The Fernandina Beach Centennial, a Florida newspaper. A YA story that speaks amusingly and bluntly to young women. Gen and Ava are much like besties Dunn and Raskin, whose shtick can be sampled on their YouTube channel Just Between Us.

Sarah Murdoch is a Toronto-based writer and a freelance contributor for the Star. Reach her via email: smurdoch49@gmail.com

Oh my gosh, I had so much fun reading this! I requested this based solely upon the fact that Gaby Dunn was a co-author, because I will 100% support anything she does! I didn’t realize when I requested it that this was actually book 2, but I didn’t feel lost by anything at all, and it honestly just made me want to read book 1 even more!

Please Send Help is basically a look into two twenty-something young women’s lives after college, trying to find their way in the world. It is told through their emails and texts back and forth, as they stay in touch and try to keep up with each other while living states away.

This was honestly just so refreshing and fun to read! Both Gen and Ava are adorable, lovable, and hilarious characters and I didn’t want to stop eavesdropping on their lives! Gen is a loud, in-your-face, wonderful queer character with loads of personality; and Ava is a sweet, anixety-ridden, dependable character who clearly just wants to be loved! I could relate to both of them in many different ways.

I know this might not be the book for everyone, but this book and these characters just made me feel so attached I couldn’t help but breeze through this read! I definitely laughed out loud several times and will be on the lookout for more from these two authors!

Book 3 for #reviewathon. This book was pretty bad, objectively. If this is how girls in their early twenties talk to their friends these days, I am really glad I am no longer in my twenties. YIKES. It gets two stars, because some parts were funny, and it was an easy read, but there is really nothing redeeming about the characters and no real plot development to speak of. There is a lot of YA with smart, relatable characters, even for adults. This is not that kind of YA.

This is the second in a series, I read the first a couple years ago and you probably don’t have to read the first to enjoy this one, but they’re such fun and fast reads I would just read both. It’s told via emails and texts making it really easy to get sucked into this one, it goes by really fast and the drama that Gen and Ava have in their lives is addictive!

While I’m AHEM quite a bit older than the characters I could relate to aspects of their angst, although thankfully I didn’t have to deal with social media issues when I was there age. The first book I had a minor struggle with Gen’s immaturity but this time around she didn’t bother me as much and I found her to be much more tolerable and fun. There is quite a bit of humor here, and lots of great pop culture references that even a grandma like me understood. This would be perfect when you’re in the mood for something really fun and light told in a unique format. If this series continues I’m here for it!

I enjoyed the first book in this series (I Hate Everyone But You) and was excited to get the opportunity to read the sequel. The format (texts and emails) makes this book a very quick read. I would recommend reading the first book in the series before this one to have a better understanding of the characters.

Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC. This is not as good as the book that came before it, but it is good. Young people need to read this because it is real and funny. Dunn and Raskin occasionally drift into crazytown here, but they always pull it back. There is a big heart in this book. If you have anyone in your life who is in college or who is just venturing out into the world, give that person this book and the one before it.

Since I read and (mostly) enjoyed the previous installment with these characters, I really looked forward to Gaby Dunn & Allison Raskin’s sophomore effort, Please Send Help. Having now graduated from college, Gen and Ava struggle to maintain their long-distance friendship as they’re propelled into 20-something chaos. Their texts and emails were hilarious to read, and their experiences were relatable for anyone who’s ever struggled at adulting.

what I liked
• the two different voices from the first book are well-maintained in the second
• the use of text threads & emails to convey plot through the two friends telling each other about their lives
• highly relatable 20-something content: life is messy and painful, and I loved seeing that portrayed here
• frank discussion of toxic relationships and STIs
• Ava’s awkwardness & anxiety were so relatable to read
• Gen’s openness about her bisexuality is incredibly affirming
• getting to watch both characters grow through their experiences

what left me hanging
• I felt like neither of the authors really took their material seriously; the whole story reads like a joke, and I wanted a small dose of seriousness when it comes to the topic of mental health & toxic relationships in particular
• both characters just felt like projections of their respective authors
• sometimes the content felt too timely, with the constant references to pop culture, memes, emojis, etc.

Overall, I flew through this book in only a few hours, but I wasn’t left with any strong feelings about it. Because of the light-hearted nature of the storytelling, I was left without much sense of the serious nature of a lot of the stuff Ava and Gen deal with in the story. While I enjoyed reading the book (and probably would’ve enjoyed it much more if I were 22), I was left with some expectations that just weren’t met. That being said, I’d still recommend this if you’re looking for a light read that deals with millennial 20-something angst.

I'm in the middle of reading tons of book this year that are told in alternate form (letters, emails, lists, etc.) This book falls into the emails and text category. I found it a quick, readable, enjoyable story about two friends newly making their way in the working world. Their friendship felt believable. I wish that rather than little icons for the texts the authors had chosen to use the characters' names instead. Otherwise, was easy to follow.

Fun, if light and insubstantial. Not necessarily my genre, but I appreciated the realistic characters, aspirational friendship, and good message about relationships.

Reading Please Send Help is like being part of an ongoing conversation between two best friends. It picks up four years after I Hate Everyone But You, but you never feel lost. You could probably read this one as a standalone, but I wouldn't recommend it--these girls are too much fun! Told entirely through emails and text messages, it reminded me completely of my own college days when my best friend and I were separated by the east coast and still managed to talk all day through AOL Instant Messenger. Anyway, Ava and Gen have definitely grown emotionally since the first book. They resolve fights faster, and have more empathy. But their humor is still right on pitch!

Thanks Net Galley for the preview!

I was a little surprised to find out this was a sequel and almost didn't read it because I hate reading books out of order. I felt like the characters were introduced enough for me to understand-however, there were references such as " you know how I am" or "you remember how I was in high school" and that made me miss the information from the first book, It overall was an easy read but didn't grab me and keep me engaged. I also didn't like that it was sometimes hard to tell who was writing. The ending also seemed abrupt.

The story is about besties Ava and Gen navigating life after college. Ava is an intern for a late night tv show. Ava is a little bit high-strung, she handles her anxiety on the daily, and sometimes it gets the better of her. Gen is the outgoing half of this duo. A bisexual young journalist ready to take on the injustices of the world, or even just the injustices at Fernandino Beach, Florida.



One of my favorite things about this novel was the format - it's an epistolary novel so it's entirely email and texting conversations. It's a breeze to read and it kind of feels like you're a part of the conversation.



Both characters are witty beyond measure. They're clever and funny and... well I don't think I can use the word woke because I'm pretty sure I'm too old to, but they're progressive and aware.

Trust me, you'll fly through this one, I'm hoping there will be a third installment of Ava & Gen's chronicles because I am eager to find out what happens next.

Super cute YA book that follows Gen and Ava's hilarious lives 1,000 miles apart while they embark to new places with roommates. Very quick read and light content. Definitely recommend.

Gen and Ava are the best of friends; they have been since high school. Anyone who reads their emails and texts can see that. They share their confusion and their heartbreaks, their jokes and their insecurities. They spill all about their hookups and their bosses, and even about hookups with their bosses. And they do it all with spirit, humor, and intelligence.

Ava is in New York City, rooming with a wannabe comic and working as an intern for a female talk show host who is not known for her emotional stability. Gen is in Florida, working at a small newspaper and trying to make inroads in getting recognition for her fellow LGBTQ individuals in the small Southern town. But despite their distance, they keep in touch daily.

Their emails and texts include lots of snark and emojis, a homeless man, a possible mentorship, a feral cat, an unpaid intern, a barre class, psychotherapy, catfishing, and a sexually transmitted disease. As Ava and Gen try to navigate their first real jobs, apartments and roommates, and relationships after college, will their friendship be able to last? Or is the distance just too far between New York and Florida?

Please Send Help is the latest novel from authors Gaby Dunn and Allison Raskin, whose previous I Hate Everyone But You introduced these characters in their first year of college. Do you have to read the first novel before this one? Nope. I know this for sure because I have no yet read I Hate Everyone But You. But now I have to, because I have fallen in love with these characters.

Almost immediately, I felt a kinship with these fun, wacky, clueless woman who are just trying to live their best lives by sharing everything with their best friends. The epistolary format makes Please Send Help so easy to read, and the honesty between these friends make it a joy to experience. As their stories unfolded and they found themselves getting into and out of sticky situations, I just found myself more and more drawn to these women. These are the best kind of friends to have.

So while this book ended way too soon for my liking, I am happy to know that I can catch up with the first one, and I will be keeping my fingers crossed for a third one coming my way in the near future!

Galleys for Please Send Help were provided by Wednesday Books and St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley, with many thanks.

Please Send Help is the sequel to I Hate Everyone But You. Like the latter, it is told through written communication such as emails and texts. It tells the story of two best friends, Gen and Ava who just finished Uni and moved for job opportunities, one to Florida, the other to New-York. We get to see what they discuss and only that.

To be honest, I didn't remember I Hate Everyone But You all that well, but I didn't really mind. I still enjoyed this. I liked how it was told. It kept me engaged and I could picture a lot of the scene without really going through them. It made my imagination work even more than with usual storytelling styles. I liked the characters a lot, even when they were infuriating and fucking up. They are both very endearing and I related to them a lot on some stuff and not at all on others. It was interesting. The end was so frustrating though. I didn't feel like I got a proper ending but I guess it makes sense considering how it ended. Anyway, I enjoyed this quite a lot, I had fun reading it and it was such a quick read too.

Great read. The author wrote a story that was interesting and moved at a pace that kept me engaged. The characters were easy to invest in.

Wednesday Books and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Please Send Help. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

Please Send Help continues the saga of lifelong friends Ava and Gen, as they suffer through the pitfalls of being separated by miles. Their internships are in different cities in different states, so the pair provide each other a running commentary on their daily lives. In between the quips and the sarcasm, the real friendship of Ava and Gen takes shape.

The first book, I Hate Everyone But You, was unique in its format, as Gen and Ava communicate via text message and emails. Unfortunately, Please Send Help is more of the same and, with the newness worn off, the story becomes stagnant. There is nothing really new here, so readers of the first book with not discover anything earth shattering. Please Send Help was a quick read that may appeal, in particular, to those who meet the target demographic. Texting and social media loving teens will enjoy the banter between friends, especially because of the familiarity of the chosen communication format.

Please Send Help made me smile and was a super quick read. I really enjoyed the banter between Ava and Gen, and it was clear they knew each other really well. Their conversations felt realistic and their situations were relatable. They had their disagreements and fights, but those never lasted very long. Their friendship was more important to them than whatever they were fighting about, and I liked how self-aware they seemed to be. They apologized when they did something wrong, and they were quick to forgive for the sake of their friendship.

I've rewritten this paragraph ten times trying not be too spoilery, but I feel like it's an aspect that should be addressed. Okay, eleventh time's the charm... one of the characters has sex and gets more than they bargained for (stop here if you don't want specifics). I think it's great the author's chose to address sexually transmitted diseases, because it's something that real people deal with every day. It's also not a topic I've personally come across while reading YA, likely because it's not an issue most people want to discuss. I thought it was handled well and offered a different perspective.

I liked the overall story, and seeing how the two main characters progressed over time, but I never felt connected to them. They're both struggling with serious issues (mental health, alcoholism, depression, anxiety), and I wish those things had been expanded on a little more. I appreciate what they authors were trying to do, but I also felt overwhelmed my how much was going on throughout the book. It was like they tried to take every touchy subject and cram them all into one book (therapy, boss hitting on an intern, LGBTQ, homelessness, corruption in politics, family bias in business, a ménage, plus the things I mentioned earlier, and others I've already forgotten).

As far as connecting with the characters... it's just hard to do when you're only reading text messages and emails. There's very little depth to those, and we don't really see how the characters are feeling, just what they say they're feeling (and we all know that our perceptions of ourselves can be a little skewed). It also felt like the topics were all over the place, and sometimes I got lost in their conversations.

Please Send Help was an interesting read that I often found humorous, although I wish it had delved deeper into the characters and their individual stories. Also, the ending felt rushed and a little too convenient. There's an epilogue that's super short, but somehow manages to tie all of the loose ends together. Maybe if this had been more than just conversations, it would have worked better for me, but in the end I felt like the story just stopped without really going anywhere (a problem I seem to be having with a lot of books lately). It didn't feel open-ended, just open.

Side note: I didn't read the first book, but I don't think you need to.

Originally posted at Do You Dog-ear? on July 16, 2019.