This was a wonderful novel to start 2026 with! Is This a Cry for Help? deals with loss, grief, mental illness, relationships, diversity, and societal issues that are current and relevant. Despite it dealing with some serious subject matter, Emily Austin provided some humor that had me laughing out loud and reading snippets to my husband. It’s always a good book when I feel the need to share parts of it.

In my opinion, it’s the characters that make a novel. Yes, it helps to have an amazing story for them to be in, but the characters make the story come to life. I loved the characters in this book. Who wants to read about perfect, flawless characters? Not this reader. Darcy’s life had been going well. She enjoyed her job as a librarian, had a nice house, and she loved her wife and cats. When news that her ex-boyfriend from years ago had passed away, she suffered from a mental breakdown that left her on sick leave for two months.

It would be stressful to return to the workplace after two months off, but Darcy didn’t just have to deal with what she missed at work, her nosey but well-intentioned colleagues, and her own mental preparedness. Nope. It seemed like anything bad or peculiar that could happen at the library, waited for Darcy’s return. Every day seemed to bring about more controversy for the library.

With all of the events that were occurring in Darcy’s work life, she was also still going to therapy to deal with the issues that caused her breakdown. In her sessions, she went through her guilt, her feelings toward her ex-boyfriend, and their overall relationship.

Is This a Cry for Help? was a captivating reading experience. I enjoyed my time with these characters (I loved Mordecai) and witnessing them navigating life as best as they could. That’s all any of us can really do.

*4.5 stars