Cover Image: Please Send Help

Please Send Help

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Member Reviews

File this another another book Deanna read and had NO idea it was actually a sequel. HOWEVER, I feel like not reading the first book didn't take away from this novel AT ALL. I love books that are written in interesting ways, and this one was written in emails and texts, and was really fun to read. It reminded me a lot of Meg Cabot's The Boy series that was written similarly. I LOVE books like this, mostly because they are quick to get through and are just an interesting way to tell a story.

There were parts of this book that really just made me laugh so hard because Gen and Ava are just so outlandish, mostly it was Gen. Gen was a CHARACTER! She was a lot of fun to read about, and Ava's neuroses was something I could definitely understand. I loved reading their correspondences and it really rang true that they have a strong friendship. It also made me realize that I am really bad at being friends with people, because I definitley don't have any close friendships like this. GUYS! Do I have friends??

I also liked the representation in this book. Early on Gen mentions between gender fluid, although I believe she used She/Her pronouns, but it's also clear that she's bisexual. I love all the bisexual characters I am finding in books lately. There is also a side character that is trans, but it's almost like it's a footnote in this book. I was still glad it was included, and I wonder if it's more prevalent in the first book.

I ripped through this book. It was a funny look at friendships in the digital age, while also dealing with the issues that a lot of young people right out of college deal with. I definitely recommend if you are looking for a funny read.

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Thank you to St. Martin’s Press And NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I wish I would have known this book was a sequel, I want to read the first one! I loved the format of the book by including Texts and emails, and was struck by how much I loved Ava and Gens relationship! I was able to put myself and one of my best friends in Ava and Gens place while reading and it made the book even more relatable! Must read for anyone who it’s a bestie!

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I would officially like to apologise to Gen.
I was a little bit harsh on her after the first book.
But, yes, she's grown and I actually found her character interesting and funny.
Problematic, but funny.

Storywise, I wasn't as impressed as I was with the first book.
Maybe I just didn't expect for it to jump from girls' freshmen year at college to their after-graduation life.
I signed up for a fun contemporary YA, not NA!

All in all, not a great work of art, but still very enjoyable and easy to read.
Probably more like a 3.5 stars.

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Definitely the book to get you over any reader's funk. Like its predecessor, Please Send Help is a terribly fun, silly, yet smart book that incorporates feminist-forward themes in a conversational style between two best friends. If you're a young adult, but not an ADULT adult woman who wants something to look forward to reading after a long day of quarter-life-crisis-ing, settle into Gen and Ava dishing their own navigation of their early 20s.

It's a pleasure to be able to enjoy something so fun that I don't feel the need to mark with a 'problematic fave' disclaimer. Please Send Help can renew your hope in friendship, or at the least keep you on your toes for the Ava to your Gen, or Gen to your Ava that is STILL OUT THERE SOMEWHERE. Personally, I'm bisexual Ava. Much appreciation to the publishers for allowing me early access to this delightful read!

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Wow! This book was so good! It was super relatable while also being intersectional and funny and it was also an emotional roller coaster (in a good way). Once I started reading, I couldn't stop! I really enjoyed being able to read and review this book.

*Book received through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

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I like Gaby and Allison's YouTube channel, and I enjoyed their first book in this series.

When I was younger, a favorite book duo of mine was "PS Longer Letter Later" and "Snail Mail No More", both written by Ann M. Martin and Paula Danziger. This book and the one before it have aspects of them that remind me of those - all those books do talk about different, very real issues (queerness, anxiety, Being an Adult, to name only a few of the ones that this book discusses). It was fast paced and interesting, and I am glad I read it.

It is a fun, modern epistolary novel, and the voices of the two main characters are distinctive in voice and make it an enjoyable read.

3.5 stars, rounded up.
Thanks to St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for letting me read this!

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Excellent follow-up! A great read for young/new adults just starting out. Includes very believable conversations on queerness, anxiety/depression, money struggles, sex/relationships, new jobs, and friendship.

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4.5 stars

I received this book from NetGalley for free in exchange for my honest review.

Last year I, very belatedly, discovered the YouTube channel Just Between Us, and quickly fell in love with the banter between hosts Allison Raskin and Gaby Dunn. I quickly checked out their first novel, I Hate Everyone But You, from the library, and read it in one day. I was so excited when they announced the sequel, Please Send Help!

Just as with the first novel, Please Send Help is written through texts and emails exchanged by best friends Ava and Gen. Now 22, they have graduated from college, and are starting jobs for the first time. Ava is at an unpaid internship in NYC, and Gen is working at a small, nearly-forgotten newspaper in Florida. The book follows the first few months of their new jobs, and the adventures that ensue in post-college life.

I read Please Send Help in just two days, and I completely fell in love with it. These novels are extremely fast-paced, and the writing style is addictive. What makes the experience so enjoyable for me, is that I can hear Allison and Gaby's voices while reading. If you're not a fan of their YouTube channel, you will not get this added layer, and you might not connect to the characters as much as I do. Nonetheless, Ava and Gen's friendship is incredible. I love that they have disagreements, but they always work though them.

Moreover, it's great that Please Send Help touches on important topics in a light-hearted way. Discussing STDs, alcoholism, and other issues are more approachable through a comedic lens. I think this approach is good for young adults who are reading this book, and learning that it's okay to talk about these "taboo" topics.

In the end, my only critique of Please Send Help is the abrupt ending. Readers go from spending three or so months with Ava and Gen, and then jump to a future day in a one-page epilogue. I would love a bit more! It almost feels like the authors reached their page count so they stopped writing. Perhaps I'm just sad there was no more Ava and Gen for me, at least in this book.

I highly recommend Please Send Help for fans of Just Between Us, and I encourage non-fans to read this series as well. If you enjoy modern epistolary novels, these books do not disappoint. I look forward to any and all sequels that may follow!

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When I requested this book, I wasn't aware that this was a sequel and was very lost when I started reading this one. I went back and tracked the first one and read snippets to get the background on the characters but unfortunately, it didn't make me like them any better. I typically really enjoy the format of books like these, dealing in texts/letters but I think the constant switching between the two made it confusing. I also was very annoyed with how immature the characters were. I was pretty excited to read about the first experience of adulthood post-college but this fell short for me on that end.

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Please Send Help is a thoughtful, funny, endearing, and relatable look into the lives of two young adult best-friends trying to find their place in the world as working adults. Already being fans of the authors from their Youtube careers, I expected to look this book, but I can honestly say that it greatly exceeded all my expectations. The characters and their experiences felt truly genuine, the relationships in the book felt organic, and the plot line was realistic but also entertaining throughout. There were never any slow points and drags, and the writing was fantastic. On top of all that the book is genuinely hilarious, like laugh out loud, goofy smile on your face funny, I read the book in one sitting, and the book left me with a happy and satisfied book hangover. Gen and Ava's friendship feels super supportive, while also showing the ups and downs even best friends go through. The quick and witty style of writing make it a quick and easy read, but it has genuine substance and depth, overall would highly recommend this read!

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This was just the book I needed after a string of books that didn't hold my interest.

I read the first book, 'I Hate Everyone But You', I enjoyed this one more. It was a quick read both because of the format (emails and text conversations) and because I liked reading about Ava and Gen.I liked reading what each of them was up to post-college.

The book tackles some heavy topics in a somewhat lighthearted manner (excessive drinking, dysfunctional childhood, work relationships, mental health, etc), but I didn't mind. I think I was too focused on the dynamic between the two friends to really be bothered by the superficialness. My only gripe would be with the ending, which seemed really rushed. I would love to read more about Ava and Gen. :)

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'Please Send Help' is such a fun and honest book about two friends, Ava and Gen, who are starting new jobs in NYC and Florida respectively while figuring out... well... life in general with all its ups and downs.

It turned out to be the sequel to 'I Hate Everyone But You' which I didn't realise at the beginning of the novel. (Full disclosure: I haven't read 'I Hate Everyone But You' but was still able to properly enjoy the second book and get the heroines' friendship and shared past.)

The two women send each other emails and text back and forth complaining about their jobs, asking for and giving advice, relaying the mundane and not-so-mundane things happening in their lives. Both Gen and Ava are hilarious and relatable.

I loved the humor and abundant references (I live for references).

All in all, a very enjoyable book to read.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the authors for sending me an eARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.

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Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with ARC!

When I requested this book, I wasn't aware that this was a sequel and was very lost when I started reading this one. I went back and tracked the first one and read snippets to get the background on the characters but unfortunately, it didn't make me like them any better. I typically really enjoy the format of books like these, dealing in texts/letters but I think the constant switching between the two made it confusing. I also was very annoyed with how immature the characters were. I was pretty excited to read about the first experience of adulthood post-college but this fell short for me on that end. This book is about friendship and supporting each other as times change and discovering yourself but these girls were so...petty. I was hoping for a light and funny read and while it had some funny bits, it seems like the characters are stuck in a teenage mind (which would be fine and make more sense if they were teens but they weren't). Not for me, I'm afraid.

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I didn’t realize this was the second book when I requested this but I enjoyed this it was a really good read!

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Thank you so much to NetGalley for this ARC! I fell for the first book in this series like someone had pushed me down a flight of stairs. The friendship between Gen and Ava is so genuine and they warm my heart. I was so glad to see that the authors decided to continue with another installment, because not only do I love these characters, but it is written with my most favorite story telling device! The fact that these are through text messages and emails makes it feel so modern and intimate. It’s like we’re seeing things we’re not supposed to, getting to know two people through the places where they are most open, unlike in real life encounters. I feel like we all wear masks, but when we’re at home, behind the safety of a screen, we are more free to be ourselves. I really love how these books are primarily about the relationship of these two friends, while life changing things happen in the background. They find jobs, make romantic connections, act on poor decisions, but through it all they are still friends even on their worst days. It’s extremely heartening to see them get in fights but come through it stronger than ever. It’s realistic in the way that no relationship is perfect, but love really does conquer all. I was so excited by the ending which brought our two protagonists together again, and I would not say no to making this a trilogy!

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2.5 stars.
I didn't realize this book was the second in a series when I originally requested it on NetGalley. I ended up tracking down and reading the first book before I read this one, and I didn't enjoy the first book. I still gave the second book a chance, and it was moderately better than the first book, which is why I gave it 2.5 stars, but still wasn't very good.
A major problem with the first book was the toxic relationship between the two main characters. It was slightly better in this book at first, but then fell back into a pattern of one character treating the other like garbage a lot of the time. I don't know if their relationship is meant to be toxic in order to carry/create the "story" (there isn't really a plot, otherwise?...), or if the reader is expected to see this relationship as normal, but either way, it doesn't work. Very little actually happens in this book, and the communication between the two characters becomes so uncomfortable to read that it's hard to ignore the many reasons they just shouldn't even be friends.

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Super fun and continuing the story started by Dunn and Raskin! I loved the characters and to see where life had taken them. I also really enjoy the format of this book. Thank you netgalley!

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A fun followup for fans of Dunn and Raskin's first book. A bit of a lighter sequel, and one that depends pretty heavily on having read the first book, it still does deal interestingly with the new adult topics of finding a career, significant other, and handling financial/personal life post-college (particularly the difference between those with a supportive and/or fiscally solvent family and those without), and retains the breezy, best friends tone .

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I really thought I'd like this book more than I did. I love reading books written with e-mails and messages, but this one fell short for me.

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This book tells the story of Ava and her friend Gen through e-mails, instant messages, and texts.
This is the second book in a series, but I did not read the first, and I do not think it is necessary. Both young women have embarked on career events: an internship and a first reporting job.

While the book does deal with serious issues: harassment, relationships, and how to be apart from your support system while forging new bonds, but I found both young women to be somewhat immature and unlikable.

I do not enjoy epistolaries for the most part, and in this book, I found the addition of texts or instant messaging to be further confusing, although the authors do a great job inserting touch points without seeming to shoehorn them in.

There were parts of the book I found hilarious, but much of the story was uneven, and I felt the ending was rushed. I assume the authors are planning for a third book

I would recommend the book for young women who are embarking on their first post-college jobs and the rest of their lives.

Thanks to the authors, publisher, and NetGalley.com for my advanced copy.

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