Published July 16th, 2018 by Wednesday Books
Genre: Contemporary
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
🌟🌟.5
In this hilarious follow-up novel to the New York Times bestseller I Hate Everyone But You, long distance best friends Ava and Gen have finally made it to the same time zone (although they’re still over a thousand miles apart).
Through their hilarious, sometimes emotional, but always relatable conversations, Ava and Gen are each other’s support systems through internships, relationship troubles, questionable roommates, undercover reporting, and whether or not it’s a good idea to take in a feral cat. Please Send Help perfectly captures the voice of young adults looking to find their place in the world and how no matter how desperate things seem, you always have your best friend to tell it like it is and pick you back up.
Content/Trigger warnings: alcoholism, disordered eating
I read the first book, I Hate Everyone But You, spring of last year and while I don't remember specifics, I do know I have a generally icky feeling when I think back to it. I remember some rep stuff not sitting well with me, and honestly just disliking both of the main characters. I couldn't tell you why I picked this one up except that book 1 had some funny moments and epistolary novels tend to fly by so quickly. I'm happy to say I did enjoy Please Send Help a lot more but it wasn't perfect.
First, this book was just genuinely funnier than the first volume in the series. These characters are now college grads and they're trying to navigate the adult world on their own for the first time. I obviously could relate more to their situations, so the humor struck me more often this time. I had some laughing out loud moments while reading this book. Both the subtler attempts at witty humor and the in-your-face toilet humor worked for me.
The characters were less asshole-ish this time, too. Gen in particular was such a snob in the last book, but she mellowed out a lot here. I found Ava's anxiety to be incredibly hard to read about last time, and while the representation was still on point here, it wasn't so hard to read. I was overwhelmed by her being overwhelmed in IHEBY, but in PSH it was just relatable, if not a little over the top.
So while the reading experience was overall enjoyable and fun, I found the book to be lacking in depth in some more important areas. One of the characters is diagnosed with an incurable STD, and while she spent a good amount of time freaking out about it, I felt like it was brushed off rather easily. Yes, stigma around STDs should end, however, it's still a big deal and a life-changing moment. The other main character was making very questionable drinking choices to the point where the word "alcoholism" was being used, but again, it was brushed off. I think these books would have been better without the two very serious issues thrown in, instead of going the other way and fully unpacking them. Keep this as a comedy.
Anyway, I don't find this series to be absolutely remarkable, but they're easily digested even with my quibbles. I love reading epistolary novels and these, with their text and email formats, go down quick and easy. I didn't love the unexplained time jump, but I did enjoy these characters a bit more grown up with more relatable issues for me. If you're looking for a light, funny read, check these out from the library.
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