my second read from emily austin and man oh man… i will be a forever fan. anything they write i will read. the way she can create characters that feel so real and get to the heart of their psyche will forever amaze me. felt so new but had the classic emily austin witt and charm!

Mixed thoughts. I didn’t particularly like Darcy. I thought she was always just on the edge about to tip over, and it got a little redundant to read about. Her partner seemed to just go with it and have a “it is what it is” mentality and I wish she pushed Darcey to bloom more.

This is my first book I read by Emily Austin and now I want to go ahead and binge all her books.

I loved this one.

Darcy is a librarian who loves working at her local branch. She lives with her wife Joy and her two cats. She receives some news about her ex boyfriend Ben and has a hard time coping.

This book addresses many important topics like sexuality, freedom of information, coping with guilt and trauma and mental heath issues. Emily does a fantastic job crafting realistic characters that are easy to care about. I’m a big advocate of libraries and I loved that this book addresses how important they are to the community.

I can’t wait to get my hands on her next book.

Is This a Cry for Help reaffirms exactly why I’ll read anything Emily Austin writes. I was fortunate to receive an advance copy (thank you to Atria Books ); the book will be published on January 13, 2026. There’s so much here to make you think—grieving an ex’s death, the role libraries play in our communities, and navigating other people’s perspectives. The recurring bird questions and answers were an unexpected delight, beautifully woven into the story.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books Publicity & Marketing Departments for providing me with an ARC!

A heavier read with a lot of important conversations such as dealing with grief, homophobia, censorship, eating disorders and the importance of libraries. I enjoyed reading about these topics particularly about libraries/librarians but I think I had different expectations as it felt a little forced & ultimately took me out of the story.

Emily Austin’s characters always feel so real to me. She perfectly captures human flaws, anxieties and emotions. I related to Darcy multiple times throughout the book and found myself rooting for her. I especially LOVED Darcy and Joy’s relationship. I wish we had more time with them as it felt like we only saw glimpses of them together.

All in all, I’d definitely recommend this and cannot wait to see what Emily Austin writes next!!

4.5 stars
I devoured and adored this! Darcy is complex and fully real, and her insightful exploration of grief, modern politics, and adulthood was so refreshing and a bit of a mirror for me. This book was a love letter to public libraries, and as someone who's made a career in this field, it was wonderful to see an exploration of the recent trends in book banning, that was able to still humanize everyone involved. A moment I loved so much that I had to put the book down and process it was when Darcy theorized that why certain white conservatives hate Critical Race Theory is because they hate the idea that their life is automatically better than those of other races, because their life is still hard.
I've enjoyed previous Austin works, and this one cemented my recommendation of her novels, and that I will definitely be checking out future works.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Austin’s newest novel follows a lesbian librarian recovering from a mental breakdown after learning about the unexpected death of an ex. Much of the plot revolves around drama unfolding at the library as a right wing newspaper incites outrage about all the “leftist, liberal” books and programming offered by the library.

Let me first say that Austin writes relatable main characters really well, and this book is no exception. Sadly, the plot and writing all fell a bit flat for me. It’s difficult for me to put my finger on why the writing didn’t work for me, and it’s surprising because Everyone In This Room Will Someday Be Dead is one of my all time favorite books. Unfortunately, this book reads quite choppy, like someone’s journal entry. It’s almost too self aware, with the narrator using lots of therapist speak as well as lecture-y explanations of what libraries do and why they are important. I agree 100% with the message of the book and I related so much to the main character, but perhaps the writing just lacked subtlety?

Regardless, I remain a huge Emily Austin fan and will continue to read everything she publishes!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC!
Emily Austin does not miss - her characters are so well written and its so easy to feel all the things when reading her books. She captures complex feelings in such a genuine way, it makes it so easy to feel like you're experiencing everything with the characters.

I will happily read anything she puts out and this is no exception. I think i devoured this in a matter of hours, I actually could not put it down. This may be my favorite of hers yet.

I am finding it hard to put into words how much this novel meant to me while reading it. I sat and wept for a while after finishing. To feel so seen in fiction, by a stranger, (who happens to live in my town, a claim to fame for Ottawa literary nerds) feels so good. I needed this book right now, at this moment, and honestly everyone should read it.

I'll be back with more thoughts.... but thank you to the publishers and netgalley for the e-arc. and biggest thank you to Emily Austin.

This is my first Emily Austen read, and if they’re all this well crafted, I’ll be making my way through every single book of hers.
This book made me laugh, cry, and at times made me full of rage- at book banning, censorship and homophobia, which are all topics this book tackles.
Emily Austen writes beautiful, romantic, raw, heart wrenching characters. I felt so connected to Darcy, like she was plucked out of my own head and put on page. The way Darcy moves in the world around her and how her internal monologue vocalizes her experience as a mentally ill queer woman feels the exact same way my brain interacts with the world. Her thoughts about her own sexuality and her rawness around her mental health…. I haven’t felt so seen in a while.

Thank you NetGalley & Atria books for this ARC

Emily Austin’s Is This a Cry for Help? is a warm and powerful story that feels personal to those of us who’ve fought for the freedom to read, simply held space for others, and have grieved parts of life that may not immediately make sense to others. At its core, the novel honors librarians and anyone who’s found refuge in a library.

Austin doesn’t shy away from timely themes like book bans and the backlash against diversity and inclusion efforts. These scenes felt especially courageous, and made me feel even more proud to be a librarian myself!

Darcy, the protagonist, is one of the most admirable characters I’ve read in a long time. She is flawed, funny, and deeply human. Her emotional journey reflects the quiet resilience of those who feel deeply and entirely. Her relationship with her wife, Joy, is tender and always real.

Unlike some of Austin’s previous novels which leaned into darker, existential territory, this book adopts a gentler tone. There’s still palpable grief, but it has a stronger overtone of humor, hope, and connection. It doesn’t hit quite as hard emotionally, but maybe that’s the point? It’s a homage to the human condition and a gentle reminder that it is okay to be human.

Thank you to NetGalley & Atria for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. And thank you to Emily Austin for writing this beautiful mash-up of humanity, grief and public libraries.

Darcy works in a public library as a librarian, who lives with her book-binding wife Joy and their two cats. Their life is very peaceful until one day Darcy gets the news that her ex-boyfriend Ben has passed way and her conflicting feelings lead her to a mental breakdown. Due to this, she takes a medical leave from the library. Darcy comes back two months later and just in time, community starts protesting against some library policies, that they deem unfit, calling for book bans. Juggling the outrage and her own mental health is not easy to her, but slowly, by processing her past, Darcy is able to have a breakthrough and understand both herself and other better than before.

I had a soft spot for Emily Austin since I read Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead and loved it to bits. Although Is This a Cry for Help? is quite different from it, I still got those familiar dark and sad undertones that the other book contained. Darcy is nowhere near perfect, but it is very clear that she's trying very hard (and sometimes failing, but still trying) to become a better person and to help others as much as she is able to. She is quirky and bold, she doesn't shy away from saying what she thinks out loud, because it is very clear that she cares about her community and is not afraid to talk about her beliefs. Joy is also very sweet in her own, she is a supportive partner to Darcy and their relationship seems very healthy and wholesome. It was very interesting to see how Darcy was dealing with Ben's death and her reflecting on their previous relationship. It was clear that she wanted to see him as this positive figure in her life, but the more she thought about it, the more she realised, that not everything was perfect, Ben wasn't perfect and she wasn't perfect either. The letter that she wrote to Ben at the end very much reflected how her feelings towards him and his behaviours changed since she was eighteen and was able to gain new perspective on this old relationship. I love how the characters that Emily Austin creates are not either black or white, how they have different qualities that make them grey. At times, you might judge these characters or even find them unlikeable, but I think that's what makes them realistic and human. And that's the beauty of it.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinions!

I'll admit that when the story began, there is a scene that shocked me so much I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into. It definitely comes full circle and explains it all by the end.
I enjoyed the library backdrop and the strong support for public libraries. What Darcy deals with made me stop and rethink what being a librarian is really like. I enjoyed Darcy as a character and Joy was a delight. The book is well written and covers many hot topics with great care.

Darcy is a blue-haired, queer librarian who’s recovering from a mental breakdown. Back at work, Darcy does NOT stop a patron from watching pornography on the library computer and finds herself in the crossfire of an angry right-winged journalist.

There is a lot to like in Is This a Cry For Help? Darcy is a likable character. Her anxieties are relatable, even if they’re not always rational. I loved her views on free and accessible information for all. My partner and I spent a walk debating the pros and cons of viewing pornography in public, or other subjectively unsavory content.

Some of it didn’t flow as well. There were portions that felt like short lectures or diatribes—like the explanation of the Dewey Decimal System. It was interesting, but it didn’t flow with the story. And sometimes the story felt like it wasn’t moving. The ending felt a little rushed.

Nonetheless, I love a librarian story. This was fun and something different. Recommended.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 3.5 stars rounded up.

Favorite quote:
“Before I broke up with Ben, I felt like a lab monkey living in a cage who spent her days being tested on. When we broke up, it was like I’d been released back into my natural tropical forest habitat, and when I found Joy, it felt like I finally met another chimpanzee.”

This story was different in its writing style. It wasn’t my favorite. The premise of a librarian dealing with life changes and a loss of a former lover, was engaging at first but didn’t keep my attention.

A digital ARC of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for my opinions/a review.

I enjoyed aspects of this book - mainly the setting and all that came with the FMC's workplace. It was difficult to read about mental health.

Emily R. Austin has a gift for writing characters who feel both flawed and endearing, and Is This a Cry for Help? is no exception. Darcy, a librarian returning to work after a mental breakdown, is the kind of narrator who draws you in with her mix of vulnerability, wry humor, and hard-earned resilience. I appreciated how Austin balances the personal—Darcy’s grief over an ex, her loving but imperfect marriage, her struggles with guilt and mental health—with the broader, very timely issue of book-banning and the fight for intellectual freedom.

The novel does a lovely job of highlighting the quiet power of libraries as community spaces, while also showing how messy and complicated personal healing can be. Darcy’s relationships, especially with her wife and her colleagues, felt authentic and sometimes a little raw in the best way.

That said, the pacing meandered for me at times, and a few sections dipped into repetition, but overall the warmth of Austin’s writing carried me through. I closed the book feeling hopeful, grateful for the messy humanity on display, and reminded of why libraries (and stories like this one) matter so much.

If you enjoyed Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead, you’ll find the same darkly funny, tender voice here—tempered with even more growth and heart.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. It will be published on January 13, 2026.

Note: I read this advanced copy of “Is This A Cry for Help?“ due to be published on January 13, 2026 thanks to NetGallery, I recommend that you put it on your TBR now, it is that good.

Darcy has just returned to work as a librarian following a leave of absence due to a mental breakdown. Her wife, Joy is self employed as a book binder. Darcy learning that her former boyfriend, Ben, had died, and assuming the worst and feeling responsible for his unhappiness and his death was the impetus for her breakdown. Although her relationship with her mother likely added to the stress. In her mother’s eyes Darcy can do nothing right and ladles the guilt on her. Darcy sees her therapist regularly as she attempts to understand her feelings.

Darcy strongly believes in libraries. When a library patron complains that another patron is using a library computer to watch porn she responds that hers is “a public library” and that all are welcome. Shortly thereafter a man claiming to be a part of ‘Liberty Lately” comes to interview Darcy about the library’s policy. He questions her religion, her values and accuses her of being gay (which she is) based only on the color of her hair (blue). All because she disagrees with his ideas of what should be allowed at the library. “The public library is a democratic institution. For democracies to work, citizens need to be able to freely educate themselves. Anyone without home internet or a device can come here to access information… “.

The members of Liberty Lately voice their complaints about the library’s offerings and rules. Ultimately a public hearing is held with the library board members and members of the community most of whom do not agree with the push for restricting use of the library or books. A captivating story with a writing style has made me a true Emily Austin fan. A book that is particularly relevant in today's political world, it supports libraries, freedom to read, LGBTQ, inclusion, people like us and those who are different. Very thought provoking. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you to Net Gallery, Atria books and Emily Austin for this Advanced Copy.

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This book really surprised me in the best way. The therapy scenes with Darcy stood out the most. They were raw, honest, and super relatable as she worked through her past relationship. I also loved how real the librarian parts felt, showing just how important libraries are when it comes to fighting censorship and book bans. On top of that, Emily Austin weaves in queer experiences with so much empathy and care. Overall, it’s a character-driven story that hits hard and would definitely spark some great book club convos. 4.75 ⭐️

Thank you NetGalley for the early release.

Loved this so much, I’ve really fallen in love with Emily Austin’s humor/writing style. This is so funny and heartwarming. I loved the complex grief story and the pro library story felt important.
I’ve only read Everyone in this Room Will Someday Be Dead before this and I def plan on reading her other books.