IS THIS A CRY FOR HELP? 📖🏳️‍🌈📚

2.5 STARS ⭐️⭐️💫
Genre: Contemporary Romance

I was SO excited to read this new Emily Austin book because I discovered her books this year and LOVE her writing style. It is always so easy to consume and a quick read. 🤓

That being said - this book did not land for me. I love a book about books - this one imparticular about a librarian. 📚

But, I felt the ending of the book with some of the major topics grief, self-love, and the library political state was not wrapped up well. It was very rushed and didn’t feel finished. The second half of the book fell flat for me as I feel like the character development AND the plot didn’t fully finish.

📚2025 Book 38

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After experiencing Austin’s We Could be Rats – I knew I had to get my hands on this one.
A story about what goes on behind the scenes in the library. It was a very interesting route for a story that was emotionally gripping. Darcy’s story is all too relatable as she battles day to day crises and her past self.
I think part of Austin’s success comes from her style of writing. You can laugh, cry and somehow leave a story partially healed. It’s nothing short of exactly what a book should deliver.

I enjoyed every minute of this short but captivating story! Thank you to Net Galley and Atria book for the opportunity.

This was a quietly story of relationships, family, love, loss and so much more. A story of love in all its forms, and the changes that take place as the years pass as this librarian shares her story. A story of forgiveness over the years, as well as finding the right person to share your life with as the years pass, and as time passes, as well.


Pub Date: 13 Jan 2026

Many thanks for the opportunity to read Emily Austin's 'Is This a Cry for Help?'

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As someone who’s lost a parent and still carries the weight of self-blame—my dad died by suicide, and I was the one who left him alone during that time—this story resonated deeply with me. Grief is such a painful, complicated thing. It often feels like a never-ending maze: just when you think you're finding your way out, you hit another dead end.

I connected with Darcy in the same powerful way I connected with Enid from Interesting Facts About Space. I saw parts of myself in both of them, and their stories have stayed with me. I finished this book in one sitting because Emily Austin writes characters the way a close friend tells you their life story—intimate, honest, and impossible to walk away from. I was completely drawn in, like I had stepped right into Darcy's world and I didn’t want to interrupt her by putting the book down.

As a library worker myself, I'm so impressed by how Emily Austin handled the discussions on censorship, library efforts to mitigate situations, and libraries' overall impact on society. This is such an important book that touches upon bigger issues pertaining to public libraries, as well as issues on a smaller scale, such as dealing with homophobia within your own family.
I can't wait for more people to read this upon its release, and this should be required reading, especially in the current climate.

This book was a good representation of the challenges our society is currently facing and explores the balance between personal ideology and professional ethics with the ultimate question of censorship at what cost. I really want to love Emily Austin books. There is queer representation and themes that relate to my own lived experiences and yet I find them all quite tedious while reading and somehow too tidy of a resolution that makes me wonder what was the point of it all. It was a quick read, but I’m not sure who the audience I would recommend it to. Those who should read it won’t, and the one who will are living it. Overall interesting but not a book that I necessarily enjoyed.

I accidentally stumbled into Emily Austin last year. I picked up her debut novel, Everyone In This Room will Someday Be Dead. I loved it more than words and I read the rest of her novels soon after. I feel like her craft has only grown, every word, every sentence, every novel has shown how her skill and her dedication to storytelling has developed.
If this is only her fourth novel I cannot wait to see what Austin has in store for us. Is This a Cry for Help? Is an emotional novel that deals with themes of identity and sexuality (it is incredibly refreshing to see themes of compulsory heterosexuality), community, grief, mental health, and something I think can save our communities, libraries. This is a tender read, one that feels happy and hopeful even as the main character, Darcy, struggles with a relationship from her past and the way grief and guilt can be a vice on the heart. Austin continues to nail endings that leave you satisfied but always craving a little more.
This book is good for readers looking to maybe branch into something new, folks looking for a read that is diverse in sexualities, and those that are seeking something lightly emotional.

Read this all in one day. I will read anything Emily Austin writes, but this is probably my favorite of hers. I knew I would love it bc the MC is a librarian, but I was able to relate to her so much in other ways besides her profession. I really appreciated the way it differed from Austin’s other books (although I love those too). It was interesting seeing a character actually be in a happy and fulfilling queer relationship. Begging all of my gay friends to read this.

3.5 stars

This is possibly the most realistic librarian book I have ever read. and I am a librarian! This book was filled with real challenges that a public librarian could possibly face. Thank goodness for Darcy and her ability to keep her cool.

It is also a book about mental health and being okay with the choices you have made.

There is no mystery to solve, nor is there a huge gotcha at the end. But there are realistic characters in here. And some good librarian ethics. And cats.

Thank you to Atria Marketing and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

4.75 stars. Emily Austin is rapidly becoming one of my favourite authors and this was a pleasure to read! A love letter to libraries as it has been said in many other reviews but it's also so much more. I really enjoyed the way this discusses 'banned books' and understanding different perspectives through literature but it's also funny and talks about life in a really beautiful way. She consistently tackles mental health with such a deep understanding and care, this being no different. I have nothing but good things to say about this and I could go on but just read it when it comes out instead!

Thank you Atria and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

This was my first Emily Austin book, and it really makes me want to go read everything else she has written. Darcy, the main character, has just returned to work after a mental breakdown after finding out that her former boyfriend has died. She is currently married to Joy, but holds a lot of guilt about her previous relationship to Ben and how it ended. Darcy is a public librarian, and on the first day of her return to work, she ends up having to deal with people who want to censor library materials and programming. I loved the library setting and the amazing work that librarians do to protect their patrons right to intellectual freedom and access to diverse materials, and also really enjoyed the quirky cast of characters.

This book is another fantastic read by Emily Austin. I have so far read her entire backlog, and I believe this new book is my favorite book of hers, if not my favorite book of the year.
It's cheeky, it's upsetting, it's funny, it's relatable, but also just far away enough to not be relatable (hopefully). I enjoyed everything about this storyline. One of the most original storylines that I have read in a long time.
It grabbed me in the first few lines and didn't let me go. I read this is in 3 sittings.
I'm so happy I got to read this book early, but now I'm upset I am once again out of Emily Austin books to read.

Hats off to her, I can't wait to see and read whatever she comes up with next

Is This a Cry for Help is a novel about Darcy, a librarian at a public library. She is recovering from a mental health crisis while also trying to keep it together as she faces a myriad of issues with customers, such as requests to ban books.

I’m a youth librarian who has worked in a public library for the past 15 years and this book definitely hit home. I love my job, but working with the general public definitely takes a lot of patience. It’s increasingly concerning that people/the state government feels that it’s appropriate to dictate what materials are made available at libraries, when the obvious solution is to not check out materials that don’t align with your values, instead of preventing others from having access to them.

I’d recommend this title to anyone who works in a library or anyone who wants a glimpse at what working at a public library is like. In some ways, the tone and writing style reminded me of Maria Semple’s Where’d You Go Bernadette. There were humorous moments and a lot of complicated feelings, but it ended on a hopeful note.

I have honestly been a bit mixed on previous Emily Austin books. I've really loved the way in which Austin writes, but previous novels haven't given me as much to grab on to. This is very much not the case with Is This a Cry for Help?, which is truly a knockout from start to finish.

Is This a Cry for Help? is one of the best books I've read that successfully deals with the challenging times we live in. It doesn't necessarily provide answers but rather shows the ways in which we can all still find joy and meaning in our own lives. It felt like a comforting reminder that we're all just trying our best and that it is a strength to care.

I can't recommend this one more and now just feel at a bit of a loss at how to follow it up with my next read.

Thank you to the author and publisher for the advance copy of Is This a Cry for Help. This was such a heartfelt read, much like all of Emily Austin’s books. I love how her writing always makes me think. I especially appreciated the focus on the importance of supporting libraries, which felt very meaningful in today’s political climate. The characters were so well written, and the story explored grief in such a powerful way, especially the kind of grief that is complicated by guilt over past relationships. It was moving, thought provoking, and beautifully done.

This was a quick read for me, but it spanned all the emotions and the ending was a gut-punch. But do we expect anything else from Emily Austin at this point?

We hear so much about library and book bannings, it was interesting to see all the drama from the librarians point of view and also get Darcy’s personal backstory and growth as well. It’s a reminder that you don’t ever know anyone’s whole entire story. Which leads me to ending, which I think was the most impactful ending I’ve ever read in a book lately.

This book is going to be impossible to review because it felt like the book itself was an exploration of how important access to information and seeing ourselves in literature are while also being a piece of literature reflective of where we are right now. But maybe that’s just projection because I saw a lot of myself in Darcy and I deeply, deeply love libraries.

The power of a great novel, you know?

I’ve read every one of Emily Austin’s books (except We Could Be Rats), and this is honestly my favorite so far! You can really tell she knows the ins and outs of being a librarian—it’s written with such authenticity that it actually made me want to be one myself.

I think she handled every theme with so much care and precision, showing what it looks like to grow in healthy, respectful ways. Darcy and Joy’s relationship was absolutely adorable—supportive, sweet, and so fun to read.

Overall, this was such a charming and endearing story about finding your own voice, connecting with your community, and showing up for the people you love. I can’t wait to see what she writes next.

“Is This a Cry for Help?” has truly been one of the most powerful books I've read this year!

Darcy is a librarian who returns to work after facing a mental health crisis that put her life on pause. While still on the path to recovery, readers follow as Darcy navigates the community unrest threatening libraries while simultaneously working to confront and accept her past to reclaim her narrative.

Emily Austin does such a beautiful job of exploring the deconstruction of people-pleasing, healing from misplaced guilt and shame, compulsory heterosexuality, and the erosion of identity that comes with it. It also highlights the importance of libraries, access to information, and intellectual freedom.

“Is This a Cry for Help?” will be published on January 13, 2026. If you enjoy impactful , character-driven stories that will make you laugh and cry, I HIGHLY suggest you check out this book.

[Thank you, Netgalley and Atria, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.]

Brilliant, insightful, funny— Darcy is all of my anxiety packed into a short and readable format. I appreciate the humanity of this one.