Is This a Cry For Help is classic Emily Austin. It feels comfy and familiar but also feels a bit more grown up than her first three books. Her characters are usually younger (Darcy is 32) and the problems that exist within those books mostly affect the main characters and the people around them. But this one was greatly influenced by current events, and while Darcy does deal with some deeply personal things, there is also commentary on libraries, the work of librarians, and the people working against libraries calling for book bans.

As always, Emily Austin’s writing is on point! It’s amazing to me that Emily can create a main character in each of her books that I relate to so strongly. How does she do it? This time, Darcy’s early expectations for her future (shaped purely by familial and social expectations) and her childhood relationship with her mother really hit home for me the most. I loved Darcy’s wife Joy, and her patience and understanding as Darcy dealt with her grief over the death of her ex-boyfriend. I really enjoyed their banter and the way they loved each other. Also, I love the cats.

I had several laugh-out-loud moments, though there weren’t as many as I had when reading Emily’s other books. I don’t see that as a bad thing though. When Darcy was in the library, I was laughing at the antics of the patrons, but when she was reflecting on her past, it felt like I was reading a heartfelt memoir. I loved the back-and-forth between the story of a librarian fed up with some BS and the story of that same woman grieving for both her ex and the years she spent with him.

I can tell that Emily is passionate about libraries, and I love that because I am too. Peppered throughout Darcy’s story is so much information about libraries, the good they do, and how harmful it is to call for the loss of the funding and support they receive. I feel profoundly sad that the people who could learn the most from this book are likely to never read it. I feel angry that this lovely book about a woman who discovers who she truly is, leaves her straight relationship, and finds herself an amazing wife is one that those people would be happy to ban from library shelves.

I’m really excited about this book and grateful to have received an ARC. I can’t wait for everyone to read it! I’ll post my review to social media a little closer to the release date.

Emily Austin is incredibly talented. I have read every one of her books and will continue to do so. I am deeply impressed with her writing and the characters she creates. Her ability to depict highly nuanced characters without ever turning them into a caricature is so special.

This book is about Darcy. Darcy is an introspective librarian who brings us into her world and shares candidly about her job as well as her past and present relationships. The book begins as Darcy returns to the library after a two month mental health break. The story was well paced and the characters were well developed.

I will eagerly await Austin’s next book.

I think there needed to be more to it. THe description mentioned somethiing about book burning so I thought that was going to be a more major conflict in the story. I also thought it would dive deeper into the mental breakdown as well. The thing that was real touched on was the history with Ben. Which I was hoping would come to a head between Darcy and Joy. There seemed to be no consquences for the fact that she spent the entire book fantasizing about her ex boyfriend. I get that she is feeling regret about the relationship but it seems like a major plot whole that Joy never finds out and she is never confronted over the incessant ruminations about her past relationship.

Yeah so I unfortunately have to DNF this one as it’s giving poor AI. It’s honestly all over the place and it’s impossible to get into even halfway through it.

Anything by Emily Austin is an immediate buy for me. I loved that this was set in a public library.

The main character felt so authentic. It felt like i was reading her diary entries.

while her wife is out of town helping with their new niece, Libiran Darcy is dealing with the death of her ex-boyfriend and a crisis at the library.

title: Is This a Cry for Help

author: Emily Austin

publisher: Atria Books

publication date: January 13, 2026

pages: 304

peppers: 2 (on this scale)

warnings: violence, abortion, homophobia, acute mental illness/anxiety, death (before the story)

summary: While her wife is out of town helping with their new niece, librarian Darcy is learning to deal with the death of her ex-boyfriend and trying to handle a library patron who launches an attack on the library's diverse offerings and "political agenda."

tropes:

discovering one's sexuality
coping with loss
therapy
book-banning
libraries as safe spaces

what I liked: 

 library information
humor
the main character's marriage
therapy sessions
political non-agenda

what I didn’t like: 

 sometimes soapboxy

overall rating: 4 (of 5 stars)

Emily Austin has a very unique gift as an author. With every novel, she has something profound and thought-out to say, and manages to weave a pitch-perfect story around it. I am an Emily Austin stan/completionist, so I was ready to love this book from the get-go, and this time she has completely surpassed my expectations and given me a new favorite book. It is a love letter to librarians and book enthusiasts, and gives vocabulary for so many different matters of the heart in a way that I don't think any contemporary author has. All hail Emily Austin.

You can’t really describe an Emily Austin novel, can you? Some more so than others. I certainly can’t describe this one, other to say it was incredible and that everyone should read it. I am far too indecisive to determine what the “best book I have ever read” would be, (I mean how do you compare genres?) but this would be in the running and its definitely the best book I have read in a while.

There is a lot going on, and probably through the filter of some mental health issues and a slightly uncertain narrator. It’s a masterpiece. This novel is incredibly topical and addressed some issues related to current events yet does so in a way that allows it to be somewhat timeless (and make you realize today’s issues are not very original). It tackles important topics yet doesn’t feel the slightest bit heavy handed. In the same way it also does a lot of educating and explaining without ever feeling like that’s what is happening, because it’s entirely an organic flowing stream of consciousness from the narrator. This novel is powerful and important, and I can’t remember ever using those words to describe another book before.

I think this novel would be impossible to summarize without missing so much that you would ultimately miss the whole point.

Assorted things this novel contains or discusses:
-The IMPORTANCE of Libraries!
-Like 70% of this novel represents extremely quotable lines. Probably not actually that high considering I just pulled a number out of the air, but it’s a LOT more than most books.
-A therapist who actually talks like a real-life therapist. Something almost unheard of in novels.
-Mental health. The good, the bad, and the unusual.
-Great cat characters
-Great human characters too.
-Who is seriously named Mordecai without being an omen in a horror novel????
-Humor and sadness sharing the same page (or paragraph).
-Invasive questions about birds.
-Demonstrates how ridiculous certain right-wing viewpoints are by depicting them accurately.
-Shows how prejudice and discrimination negatively impacts people who don’t even belong to the group you are hating.
-Cooking a crockpot of meatballs in a public bathroom (unattended) is not ok.
-Complicated and messy people (that is, real people).
-Love.
-Calling police “pigs” in casual conversation without making a whole thing out of it.
-Messy and/or complicated family dynamics.
-A beautiful view of the world, our place in it, and how we understand it.

If you are familiar with Emily Austin you know exactly what you will get from her new novel. Her tone is singular and unique and so full of emotion and depth. I have loved all her books so far. Every time I read or reread a book I'm convinced its my favorite until I read the next one. This is no different. I loved it and the characters are so endearing and complex. The political climate of today's world obviously influenced this story of a lesbian librarian dealing with protesters and book banners. It handled it in a very calm and straight forward approach while also showing a lot of the complexity from multiple angles. Emily Austin will always be an autobuy author for me.

If you know me, you know I absolutely love Emily Austin. They are one of my favourite authors, and their unique writing style is truly one of the reasons why, besides her weirdly loving characters.

This book centres around Darcy, a queer librarian. The story begins as Darcy returns to work after a mental health crisis following the devastating news of the death of her ex-boyfriend (someone she shared a home with for five years). Her journey of healing is rocky, set up against of a tense political environment in her community, where she must navigate the challenges posed by alt-right group who are intent on misrepresenting what libraries truly represent.

What I love most about this book is the way it seamlessly weaves between the present and the past creating a captivating narrative flow that just pulls you in. It also fearlessly addresses a wide range of pressing social and political issues. The book delves into themes such as compulsory heterosexuality, systemic racism, immigrants, censorship, “grooming” , reproductive rights, and the experiences of the LGBTQ+ community. In addition, it explores topics like sex, grief, death, and mental illness with sensitivity and depth.

This book is especially relevant in today’s political climate, where debates about identity, freedom, and inclusion are more urgent than ever. The characters are authentic, the emotional landscape is raw, and the narrative is infused with a sense of hope and resilience.

This is a must-read for everyone. It’s a moving, thought-provoking work that stays with you long after you finish reading. A. Conversation. Starter.

p.s. I found it very educational, with clear definitions, and it used fun words like gallant and tepid. I also love how it references queer culture, and my favourite part was about how to identify if a source is credible. This is particularly important because one of the key themes in the book is how the alt-right failed to do proper research and instead spread unfounded claims. The book also has a little mystery that adds an intriguing layer to the story.

5⭐️

Thank you NetGallery ✨

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for early access to this book.

Emily Austin has this amazing ability to write incredibly complex queer characters that feel so real and relatable. I feel like each book of hers throws me into someone’s life and I walk away with a deeper appreciation of humanity and more insights into myself.

This book was an amazing snippet of the life of a librarian going through a mental health crisis. The way that the trauma from a decade ago comes back around and impacts daily life felt so real. The way that as the trauma gets unpacked, it reframes how she saw her relationships and herself was phenomenally done. Very true to life.

I also loved the library and the conversations surrounding how important public libraries are. Very relevant.

The only downsides for me was the amount of sympathy for the more problematic characters. I love that the main character had the patience to explain basic decency and find empathy for people who have hurt her but I wish it was more earned from the antagonists. It was very true to life though. And I appreciated the “community means dealing with people I don’t agree with” aspect. Because that’s very true.

Emily Austin delivers another powerful, emotionally resonant novel that blends humor, heartbreak, and social commentary with ease.

Austin continues their reign writing darkly quirky, complicated and endearingly flawed heroines. Through Darcy—a flawed, queer librarian navigating grief, guilt, and identity—we get a raw, honest portrait of mental health and healing. The coming of age book tackles timely issues like censorship, LGBTQ+ rights, and the role of public libraries with insight and urgency.

Austin’s signature wit and quirky, deeply human characters shine, making even the heaviest topics feel accessible. The library setting is a vibrant backdrop for exploring intellectual freedom and community resilience. Funny, moving, and smart, this is both a cathartic read and a meaningful conversation starter.
I would definitely recommend this book to Austin fans. It has a slightly different feeling to me from past books, and it made me reflect about my own life and choices.

Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Atria Books for the free e-ARC via NetGalley!

I'm a recent Emily Austin fan, but after reading Interesting Facts About Space, I had to read everything she's ever written. This book made me feel emotional because of a certain monologue later in the book, you'll probably know it when you come across it. Darcy's past before she came out was incredibly, INCREDIBLY, relatable to me as an older lesbian. I'm around her same age, which is different from Austin's previous books, and I appreciate this older take on being gay, mental illness, grief, and how this is all intersects and creates storms within us.

I also appreciate how she tackles book banning and censorship! It's such a hot topic right now and hearing it from someone with library experience is refreshing. It's so easy to hear it from my fellow bookworms who have corporate jobs or university jobs or retail jobs or literally anything other than working in a library or bookstore, so hearing it from someone who has real life experience in that environment and has likely experienced the vitriol that stems from fear of the different was really very nice.

I literally cannot wait until January to hold this in my hands.

is this a cry for help? is a novel that covers a lot of current (and very relevant) issues: homophobia, transphobia, freedom of speech, public services (like libraries), book banning, abortions, and more. however, what got me was a specific type of grief that i think is hard to get right, which is the grief of feeling guilty that this person passed while you're still living. i realize that i'm not doing this description justice but you know how when someone passes, it's often hard to reconcile anything that may have been weird or unsavory about your relationship with them. it's this but also doing the work to realize that you weren't responsible for their actions. the many coming of ages that happen as a result, not just with the main character darcy, but with other side characters that happen touched my heart truly. it's a sentiment to the lived in community that austin is able to build not just here but time and time again with each novel.

This is pure beauty in literary form. Very rarely does a book as powerful as this one come along in modern times.
If there has ever been a moment where I sincerely hope that other readers listen to me- this is that time. Read this book.

Darcy has recently returned to her job at a public library following a metal health crisis she experienced after learning about the passing of her ex.
She must now work on learning, growing, healing and removing guilt.
She must do this while in the midst of trying to save her library from protesters who wish to see it defunded, and the books about race theory, gender and LGBTQ+ experiences removed.
This book tells a fantastic story of grief, mental health and the relevant social issues.

There really aren’t enough words to explain how gorgeous I thought this was.
Truly I had no idea what to expect going into this, but it surpassed every single expectation that I think I ever would have had.

Darcy is such a likeable character and her story spoke to me so much. I felt so deeply for her at every single point, and felt as though she was a real person, whose experiences and pain were jumping out at me through the pages.

I appreciated her and her sexuality struggles so much. Hearing about the guilt she felt when separating from her ex, and how hard it was for her to understand her own identity was quite tragic- but so realistic.
Her feelings on the experiences of womanhood, and how girls are taught and programed by society to feel and want certain things- and how it exists to a degree that makes you completely unaware of your true self and your true feelings. Powerful. So incredibly powerful.

What is also powerful is the discussions this story has about censorship, and how it can affect media and libraries. Diverse content and representation is so important. Supporting your local library is so important!

Overall, this is just a stellar display of so many important topics. Nothing short of fantastic. This is my first Emily R. Austin book, but I can assure you it will not be my last.

Atria Books invited me to review this title, and I am so grateful for that. I likely never would have thought to read this story on my own, but now I could not be happier than it was shown to me.
Thank you to Netgalley, Atria Books and author Emily R. Austin for providing me with the eARC of “Is This a Cry for Help?”, in exchange for my honest review.
publication date: January 13th, 2026
*I will be reviewing this title on goodreads closer to its official publication date. I have posted my rating to goodreads, and have included the link. This will be updated to include the actual review at that time!

If you grew up loving libraries, found comfort in them, and fell in love with reading as a kid because of them, this book will speak to you. It has all that nostalgia, but told in a funny, queer, and modern way. Additionally, it serves as a timely reminder that libraries need our support now more than ever.
I have read every single one of Austin’s books, so I was stoked to receive this ARC. Just like her other books, I flew through it. There is always some mystery woven in, and this time we are trying to figure out who is sending these strange emails to Darcy’s work account.
What I love most about Austin’s writing is how she makes you feel understood. She has this way of showing that the things we go through, even when they feel isolating, are profoundly human and shared by so many of us.
Like her other books, this one covers a wide range of topics. However, it feels the most real to me because it tackles significant issues such as conservatism, book banning, mental health, and identity. It also delves into the choices we make as we grow into adulthood and how we reflect on them in our late twenties and early thirties.

If you have ever checked out a book that changed you, you will find a piece of yourself in these pages. 4.5 ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. 🐈

4.5 stars!

Emily Austin somehow always writes exactly what I need to read at any time, and "Is This a Cry for Help?" is no different. I was swept into Darcy's life, and experienced the joy and heartbreak as she felt it. I really truly enjoyed this book, and will be recommending it to all of my friends as soon as it releases. And, as always, you need to read the acknowledgements for the soundtrack of the book! (I'm biased, every song she named was one of my favorite songs)

emily austin does it again!! i see myself so much in every book she writes. every thought darcy had felt like it was straight out of my head. i loved following her daily life as a librarian and her relationship with joy was so wholesome and aspirational. the exploration of grief was beautiful and meditative. i love books like this that depict happy lesbian relationships. emily austin’s first book is actually what helped me accept my queerness and I’ll forever be grateful. please read this!!!

At 1:48 PM, I received the ARC link for "Is This a Cry for Help?" by Emily Austin.
By 1:50 PM, it was downloaded to my Kindle.

I’ve read all of Austin’s brilliantly neuro-spicy novels, and while this one isn’t my absolute favourite, it still delivered everything I’ve come to love — and expect — from her voice: awkwardly lovable characters, hilariously offbeat moments that make you laugh out loud in public, and emotional gut punches tucked inside casual one-liners.

Darcy — a librarian just returning to work after a mental health crisis — feels heartbreakingly familiar. I’ve been off work myself for over a year, and reading about her slow, stumbling, painfully honest process of reintegration was more than relatable; it was quietly cathartic. Her daily effort to show up when it’s hard, to navigate both the mundane weirdness and emotional landmines of workplace life, to reconnect without losing herself — it all hit close to home. She's quirky, flawed, vulnerable, and fully human. Never a caricature. I adored her.

What Austin captures so well — and what feels especially timely — is how healing doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Darcy’s recovery unfolds not in solitude but in the absurd, sometimes exhausting company of others: coworkers, patrons, strangers, and people she’s trying to forgive (or forget). Is This a Cry for Help? Gently but pointedly explores what it means to recover in public — not just from mental illness, but from shame, disconnection, and the internalized pressure to be “fine.”

The library setting is a character of its own — modern, chaotic, and alive. It’s a space where radical inclusivity collides with budget cuts, where intellectual freedom becomes a battleground, and where even the most mundane interactions can feel like high-stakes emotional theatre. Austin doesn’t romanticize it, but she does something better: she shows us why these public spaces matter, and how the people in them — especially the overlooked or oddball ones — carry more humanity than they’re often given credit for.

Yes, this book is funny. Yes, it’s sharp, fast-paced, and full of deeply satisfying character beats. But more than that, it’s topical in the best possible way — an accessible, emotionally intelligent look at what it means to try (and fail, and try again) to be okay in a world that rarely pauses for breath.

Is This a Cry for Help? is a generous, warm-hearted meditation on resilience, reconnection, and how even the smallest acts of survival can feel like quiet revolutions.

Out January 13, 2026, from Atria Books. This one is absolutely worth adding to your list. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC.