I Hate Everyone But You by Gaby Dunn, Allison Raskin

I Hate Everyone But You

by Gaby Dunn and Allison Raskin

This debut from two emerging YA talents is told through a series of texts and emails sent between two best friends as they head off to their first semesters of college on opposite sides of the country. But as each changes and grows into her new life, will their friendship survive the distance?

Ava and Gen, best friends, are heading off to their first semesters of college on opposite sides of the country. They stay in touch with texts and emails, documenting their weird roommates, self-discovery, coming out, and mental health. As each changes and grows into her new life, will their friendship survive the distance?

Reviewed by Sam@WLABB on

3 of 5 stars

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I am sort on the fence with this one. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate either.

I really liked the concept. Both Gen and Ava are leaving home for the first time, and also, leaving each other. They have been besties throughout high school, and had grown to depend on each other in many ways. Ava got a lot of encouragement and support from Gen when it came to mental health issues, and Gen got stability from Ava and her family, while she had a less than perfect home life to deal with. We follow them and their friendship through that first semester, where they are figuring out a lot about being themselves and being themselves without each other.

I actually loved the format. I am a fan epistolary books, and I thought the format was successful for this story. The banter was witty, and I never felt bored. HOWEVER, I did find myself frustrated with the characters. I read a ton of YA, but I feel like I have found a book that I am "too old" for. For example, a big thing with Gen was that she didn't want to put a label on herself, but she labeled everyone else. She automatically dropped people she didn't even know into buckets and though I understand that she is young and still figuring stuff out, it got on my nerves. I am a big proponent in asking a good source for information. Ava thought she could ask Gen those questions that many wonder about, but feel like they can't ask. But instead of trying to educate Ava, she would berate her for wondering about any of those things. If you really want people to understand you, belittling and berating them is not the way to help, and she was supposed to be Ava's best friend. At the very end of the book, we get a sort of explanation for Gen's behavior, but it was too little, too late for me to forgive Gen.

I struggled a little with this book, because I am a character driven reader. I have to like and care about the characters, and it was a little hard here. I did love the format, and found the many of the exchanges interesting. I also thought an important time in a young adult's life was highlighted here, and I think there are readers, who will really appreciate some of the things that Gen and Ava are experiencing. Like I said, I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it.

*I would like to thank the publisher for the advanced copy of this book.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 16 December, 2017: Finished reading
  • 16 December, 2017: Reviewed