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A review by me_alley
We Could Be Rats by Emily Austin
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This is @emilyraustinauthor 's third novel and the third one I have rated five stars; this is beautifully written although a lot more sad than funny. Her first two novels (Interesting Facts About Space and Everyone In this room will someday be dead), both with a female main character that is neurodiverse and gay, made me laugh and definitely fall into the narrator's voice. Those novels were both very endearing. I absolutely loved those FMCs, and this novel is just as well written while having a distinct, sentimental tone. It is just much, much more sad.
trigger warning for suicide and suicidal ideation.
Sigrid and Margit have a sacred bond between sisters, they are fiercely protective of each other and understand each other like no one else can. They have experienced the same volatile childhood in differing ways, we get to read both POV and see each sister through the other's eyes. I can relate to having a loved one that is suicidal and you try to make sense of it in any way you can. File this one under "unreliable narrator" times two. Their parents both struggle with anger; and politics have sadly broken this family in two. We all probably know families like this, that have sadly lost the ability to relate to each other. Sentences like "I think my mom didn't understand how I could be gay because she wasn't." and also "God, if you exist and you're mad at me, I'm sorry." The purity and simplicity of Sigrid's voice wrecks me.
Thank you to @netgalley and @atriabooks for the ARC. Book to be released Jan 28, 2025.
trigger warning for suicide and suicidal ideation.
Sigrid and Margit have a sacred bond between sisters, they are fiercely protective of each other and understand each other like no one else can. They have experienced the same volatile childhood in differing ways, we get to read both POV and see each sister through the other's eyes. I can relate to having a loved one that is suicidal and you try to make sense of it in any way you can. File this one under "unreliable narrator" times two. Their parents both struggle with anger; and politics have sadly broken this family in two. We all probably know families like this, that have sadly lost the ability to relate to each other. Sentences like "I think my mom didn't understand how I could be gay because she wasn't." and also "God, if you exist and you're mad at me, I'm sorry." The purity and simplicity of Sigrid's voice wrecks me.
Thank you to @netgalley and @atriabooks for the ARC. Book to be released Jan 28, 2025.