Thank you so much to Atria Books Publicity & Marketing Departments for this ARC!

I’ve deeply appreciated every Emily Austin novel thus far, and this is no exception. For someone who’s done extensive research on book banning in the US, and is a lesbian, I felt magnetized to this book.

Darcy deals with grief and guilt in the most humane way: non-linear. She’s learning how to give herself grace and is learning most things in life slip through the in betweens.

So excited for everyone to read this book and have their lives change once again by Ms. Emily Austin!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆
Title: Thought-Provoking but Not Quite What I Expected

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of Is This a Cry for Help by Emily Austin.

I really enjoyed Darcy’s character and her unique perspective — she felt authentic, vulnerable, and compelling. However, I think I must have missed the humor that many other readers seem to be finding here. Instead, I felt a bit overwhelmed by the heavier political themes, which at times overshadowed the narrative I was hoping for.

While this one didn’t entirely land for me, I can see how readers who connect more deeply with the tone and social commentary will really appreciate it.

Oh this made me feel so much. I had both cried and laughed out loud less than 40 pages in, and that really set the tone going forward. I'm not the first reviewer to say that this feels like a love letter to libraries, but it bears repeating. The way this touches on book banning and censorship and very real, very current issues going on right now is done so well. I don't know how Emily Austin managed to fit so many themes and heavy topics into one book and explore each one so beautifully and thoughtfully, but she did so masterfully.

Her writing style just scratches the right itch in my brain, so darkly funny and meaningful at the same time. A must-read author of mine, and this was as beautiful as I expected.

This book! I absolutely loved Darcy from the very start. This book packs a punch so get ready! There were emotions galore! This book hits on a lot of hard topics and does it so well. I loved reading about a librarian and her love for books and community. I loved seeing the mental Health rep and the personal journey that Darcy went on. The community, the friendships, the life struggles were also real and so well done! This book wasn’t easy five stars.!!!!

Emily Austin is great a mixing humor, serious topics, and heartfelt emotions. I love reading her books and could not put this one down. How can a book be uncomfortable and cozy at the same time.

Is This a Cry for Help? is sharp, messy, and deeply human. It swings between funny and gut-punching in a way that feels true to life. Not always even, but it lingers—and I kept thinking about it after I finished.

So perfect for the current political climate and how it's impacting our libraries.

Darcy is a librarian returning to work after a medical leave for a mental breakdown. She's happily married to her wife Joy and loves their two cats and small home on the lake, but when she learned her ex-boyfriend of ten years died, she spirals into memories and wonders if she ruined his life. It doesn't help that the library has become the target for a local conservative news pundit who is constantly posting, emailing, and arranging protests at the library.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of this novel.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Emily Austin is one of my “auto-buy” authors, and I was so excited for the opportunity to read this book after giving We Could Be Rats five stars earlier this year. Austin paints a really excellent portrait of grief and navigating that grief through Darcy throughout the novel. Adding the backdrop of the local library, book banning and questionable vigilante journalism showed the story in a variety of lenses without compromising on the emotional depth.

For me, there were several places where I felt the story could have been tightened up and other areas that continued on or were repeated too many times. I also would have loved if her family dynamic was expanded on a bit more for one of the major plot points.

Still an excellent read and would highly recommend to fans of Austin’s previous works! 4.25/5.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Marketing for the ARC.

I am not exaggerating when I say I screamed when I got the email that I was approved for this ARC. I’ve read all of Emily Austin’s books and she never fails to leave me speechless. This was no different.

In my opinion, this was her finest work yet. Her characters are always so complex and messy, but this one was a little bit different. Usually her characters are complete hot messes with no part of their lives together. Darcy is different. She’s in her thirties and married to a wonderful woman, she’s a librarian and seems to be very good at it.

However, when her ex boyfriend dies, she has a mental breakdown and this book follows her trying to put herself back together after that. It was such a complex tale of grief that rang so true. Her feelings were complicated and messy and human.

Along with that, we get a story about the importance of libraries which is more timely than ever. As she weaved everything together I was captivated to figure out what was going on.

Usually her books leave me numb as I finish them, but this one left me almost… hopeful.

Emily Austin wrote one of my favourite books (Interesting Facts About Space) and I was thrilled to receive this advanced copy. It didn't disappoint, with the same deep dive into the mind of a unique human. I'm probably the target audience for this book as a queer, bookist, neurodivergent woman with a history of mental illness. We really descend into Darcy just exactly where she is at, and amid the messiness we see an earnest woman trying to learn from her past and make sense of complicated feelings. This is not a plot driven book. There is a thread that ties it together - a library controversy - that pops in and out (and I was interested in seeing more of it), but then it keeps coming back to her trying to rationalize and understand herself in the context of a past relationship and her current one. There were times I kind of sighed at all the pontificating, and some of the mental traps she was clearly stuck in, but that's part of what makes the writing great - humans are complicated and our brains are busy and not everything easily wraps up in a tidy bow. Thanks (and I will be buying a copy to support the author and add to my physical collection).

Incredibly gay and loud about its opinions, this book was a quick read focusing on Darcy, who had an amazing character arc. The writing was easy to follow and I can’t wait for more from this author

Darcy is a librarian recovering from a mental breakdown. Unfortunately, the climate of the public library in which she returned to work is being disturbed by intellectual freedom challenges from somewhat menacing patrons. Although she's now happily married to her wife, Darcy is processing a lot of grief... abruptly heightened by the sudden death of her first long-term boyfriend. Darcy's remembrance of this relationship before she realised she was gay certainly prompts us to reflect upon the insidious nature of compulsory heterosexuality and the importance of being able to express one's truth without anxiety or judgement. What does it mean to care for others in community and build a life you're proud of? What purpose do public libraries serve (and who do they really serve)? Emily Austin addresses those questions in her signature style that will be accessible and endearing to so many readers... but not everyone (and that's okay because the freedom to select reading material according to one's own preferences is the cornerstone of the public library).

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for access to this eGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Emily Austin has been on my favorite authors list since I read her book “Interesting Facts About Space” as a Book of the Month pick last year. I had to read this one as soon as I got the ARC from Netgalley. I read it in less than 24 hours - I couldn’t put it down. The writing style is just everything and I found myself craving more and more and more. I highlighted so many good quotes in this book that I can’t wait for the rest of the world to read.

I felt particularly close with the main character. My experiences with an ex-boyfriend before I realized I was a lesbian was eerily similar. I felt like I was back as my 19 year old self, meeting this boy and thinking I liked him, being in sort of a “haze” about who I was and my life before I became a real fully fledged adult. And then being in a relationship now with a wonderful woman who I’m marrying and I’m finally happy with my life and my relationship. This book was just exactly what I needed right now and I’m so thankful to have been able to read it early. Emily Austin is a gift to this world and I can’t wait to read all of her future works (and re-read this one when it fully releases!!)

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Emily Austin has a gift for writing characters who are messy, vulnerable, and completely relatable—and Darcy is no exception. Coming back from a mental-health leave, she’s grieving, guilty, and trying to find her footing in a small-town library that’s suddenly a battleground for censorship.

What I loved most is how Austin balances heavy themes—grief, queerness, identity, book banning—with humor and warmth. The story isn’t loud or flashy, but it’s tender and deeply human, reminding us that healing often happens in community, not in isolation.

Quirky, heartfelt, and timely—this book made me ache and smile in equal measure.

Loved it! As usual with Emily Austin books, this book has a complicated and endearing main character and a writing style that will make you laugh, cringe, and maybe even cry (I did all three). The plot of this book is very straightforward, a little more than the author’s other books, but it still definitely has her signature style and I adored it. Read if you love main characters with a strong internal voice, public libraries, birds and cats, and books featuring a healthy loving relationship. Cannot recommend this book (and all Emily Austin books) enough!

Is This a Cry for Help? offers a timely look at the intersection of personal healing and public resistance. I especially appreciated the realistic portrayal of librarians and the vital role libraries play in the fight against book banning and censorship. The novel doesn’t shy away from the complexities of intellectual freedom, and it’s refreshing to see that explored through a character who is deeply embedded in that world. The therapy scenes were another highlight. Darcy’s introspective journey, especially as she unpacks her past relationship with her ex-boyfriend, felt honest and thoughtfully written with many interesting insights. Emily Austin also does a beautiful job portraying the challenges faced by queer individuals, weaving those experiences into the narrative with empathy and nuance. This is a powerful, character-driven story that would spark meaningful conversations in any book club. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

This was an incredibly good read. It was cute, while also hitting some powerful topics. I highly recommend

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Emily Austin’s fourth book did not disappoint and somehow managed to exceed my already high expectations of her work. This book touched on so many topics near and dear to my heart, from the importance of public libraries and their devotion to upholding intellectual freedom to the experiences of lesbians who came out later in life.

Is This a Cry for Help? made me laugh, cry, and feel seen in a way that only a truly good book can.

As a lesbian who has an interest in pursuing a career as a librarian (and also happens to love cats and struggles with mental illnesses), I felt connected to this book. It’s a fast-paced, stream of consciousness, gripping novel. Emily Austin has a particular talent for writing about specific lesbian struggles. She showcases the heteronormative values of society and how those are pushed onto girls and often makes them repress queer feelings. It was also interesting to see throughout the book how Darcy’s views on ben changed.

Shout out boygenius references!

Emily Austin once again proves her talent for blending dark humor with sharp cultural critique in Is This A Cry for Help?. What struck me most about this novel is how it uses the setting of library culture to open up conversations that feel urgently relevant today. Through its exploration of censorship, community spaces, and the extremism simmering in society, the book does not shy away from the messy questions of who gets to decide what is “acceptable” knowledge and how those decisions ripple through individuals’ lives. The library is not just a backdrop here, it is a battleground for intellectual freedom, personal identity, and moral responsibility.

At the heart of the story is a protagonist with a richly layered backstory, whose inner conflict keeps the narrative both tense and deeply relatable. Austin captures the tug of war between longing for acceptance and pushing back against societal pressures with honesty and nuance. The character’s journey of self discovery, particularly around her sexuality, feels especially poignant. Her transition from heterosexual relationships to queer ones is framed not as a neat resolution but as a lived, complicated process shadowed by guilt, internalized expectations, and the difficulty of redefining one’s sense of self. That emotional honesty gives the novel its weight and resonance.

What I admire most is how Austin balances the personal with the political. The protagonist’s struggles mirror the larger cultural issues at play: the policing of stories, the danger of unchecked ideology, and the courage it takes to claim your own narrative in the face of judgment. This is not only a book about one woman figuring herself out, it is also a reflection of the broader forces shaping what it means to live authentically in a world that often demands conformity.

Austin’s writing is sharp, wry, and compassionate, making Is This A Cry for Help? not only an engaging read but also a necessary one. It is a reminder that libraries are more than shelves of books, they are places of resistance, discovery, and sometimes, survival.