About Books #85: Please Send Help

If you’ve been on the internet for any amount of time, odds are you’ve come across the “Just Between Us”-channel on YouTube. Gaby Dunn and Allison Raskin first rose to fame as part of Buzzfeed, and then branched out into independence with sketches, confessions and international questions. When they published their first book, I Hate Everyone But You, I knew I wanted to read it. And then I never did. Luckily, though, I did get to read the second part of the series – and guess what? Please Send Help did not disappoint!

I was offered an ARC by Netgalley in exchange for a review. All opinions are strictly my own.

Story

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.

Opinion

This is one of those books that is almost too relatable. It captures that moment when you’re just out of college and trying to figure out what to do just perfectly. And what’s even better, it manages to do so in two very distinct voices that capture extremely different experiences of making your way in the work force for the very first time.

And yet, at the same time, their experiences are very similar – universal, almost. After all, who hasn’t felt that doubt – not really being sure whether this is where you’re supposed to be? Whether this is it? Really? that future you’d been working towards for so long?

Plus, the dry wit of Ava and Gen as they tell/yell/mail each other live’s happenings? It actually had me laugh out loud a couple of times. Just as their unwavering support for (or, occasional, wake up call to) each other made me smile for them. I always love it when I get to read about great friends, and this book showered that with just the right amount of post-college jitters for me to absolutely fall in love with it!

Rating: 4/5

I mean, what more need I say, right? Please Send Help gave me everything I needed – and then some. The perfect kind of book to read if you’r just getting out of college, almost getting out of college, or want to remember what it felt like – to first start out in the “real world” (Goodreads)

-Saar