May 15, 2019
A budding journalist and a television intern share their lives via emails and texts in this second installment chronicling a long-distance friendship. The internet comedy duo Dunn and Raskin (I Hate Everyone but You, 2017) continue the story of besties Gen and Ava, now college graduates. Queer Gen moves to small-town Florida to work at a local newspaper; straight Ava moves to New York City to intern on a TV show. Gen searches for a gay scene, develops a flirty friendship with a straight woman that goes sideways, and befriends a homeless man--and in publishing his story, exposes the shelter for LGBTQ discrimination. Ava develops feelings and gets romantically involved with her supervisor despite knowing his history of seeking relationships with subordinates. The girls' friendship alludes to economic differences, as Gen worries about student loans while Ava remains financially comfortable. These fast-paced, often funny exchanges cover everything from sexuality to feral cat adoption, but the hyperbolic humor that may make friends laugh doesn't always translate coherently to the page. Some of the portrayals of queer desire veer uncomfortably close to perpetuating negative stereotypes of predatory and unethical behavior. Main characters are assumed white. The frenzied misadventures of this duo almost congeal into a comic look at the challenges of friendship in a digital age but never quite deliver depth. (Fiction. 14-18)
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July 19, 2019
Gr 10 Up-After graduation, best friends Ava and Gen jump headfirst into the real world, Ava working as an intern at a late-night talk show in New York City, and Gen as a journalist at a tiny newspaper in Florida. Via text and email, they support each other from afar. From Ava dating her boss who ends up leaving her with more than a broken heart to Gen adopting a feral (and pregnant) cat, the young women learn to cope with the harsh world that is their new reality. Duo Dunn and Raskin are back in this sequel to I Hate Everyone But You, with a laugh-out-loud funny, heartfelt, and deep look at what it's like to stumble along your first "real world" job after college. With foul language, sex, and other new adult themes, the authors provide a realistic look at the journey of self-discovery. VERDICT An excellent look at the emotional aspects of maintaining a friendship, a job, and a life, with a side of humor. Perfect as a stand-alone novel, although readers of the first book will clamor for this one.-Erin Holt, Williamson County Public Library, Franklin, TN
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