Gen and Ava are the best of friends; they have been since high school. Anyone who reads their emails and texts can see that. They share their confusion and their heartbreaks, their jokes and their insecurities. They spill all about their hookups and their bosses, and even about hookups with their bosses. And they do it all with spirit, humor, and intelligence.

Ava is in New York City, rooming with a wannabe comic and working as an intern for a female talk show host who is not known for her emotional stability. Gen is in Florida, working at a small newspaper and trying to make inroads in getting recognition for her fellow LGBTQ individuals in the small Southern town. But despite their distance, they keep in touch daily.

Their emails and texts include lots of snark and emojis, a homeless man, a possible mentorship, a feral cat, an unpaid intern, a barre class, psychotherapy, catfishing, and a sexually transmitted disease. As Ava and Gen try to navigate their first real jobs, apartments and roommates, and relationships after college, will their friendship be able to last? Or is the distance just too far between New York and Florida?

Please Send Help is the latest novel from authors Gaby Dunn and Allison Raskin, whose previous I Hate Everyone But You introduced these characters in their first year of college. Do you have to read the first novel before this one? Nope. I know this for sure because I have no yet read I Hate Everyone But You. But now I have to, because I have fallen in love with these characters.

Almost immediately, I felt a kinship with these fun, wacky, clueless woman who are just trying to live their best lives by sharing everything with their best friends. The epistolary format makes Please Send Help so easy to read, and the honesty between these friends make it a joy to experience. As their stories unfolded and they found themselves getting into and out of sticky situations, I just found myself more and more drawn to these women. These are the best kind of friends to have.

So while this book ended way too soon for my liking, I am happy to know that I can catch up with the first one, and I will be keeping my fingers crossed for a third one coming my way in the near future!

Galleys for Please Send Help were provided by Wednesday Books and St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley, with many thanks.