I wasn't sure what to expect when I requested this book. I work with teens and have a lot of experience with childhood trauma and abuse so I was in treated but also worried that maybe I get enough of this theme at work and wouldn't enjoy it. What I found when I started reading this was an original voice and approach to a story that could've been very generic or felt forced. The premise is that we have two sisters who we know are five years apart in age. They've been raised by a narcissistic Mom. Dad only returns to their lives because he has no other options. The older sister is a nameless narrator and the younger one either Fawn or May depending on where and how she was living. I especially enjoyed how the story was told in segments ranging from the present, to childhood and young adulthood. I love this author’s style and how the book really shows rather than tells. This was an intense book- the "juvenile rehabilitation" the animal cruelty, mental illness, and gaslighting. Very well done and realistic, but also could be triggering for some.

Don't Say We Didn't Warn You is a tragedy of family deception and treachery. Fawn/May, the younger sister , and the unnamed older narrator have a father who abandoned them and a mother who may as well have. As young teens, the girls orbit each other as Fawn manipulates disasters to blame her older sister, who is sent off to a rehab wilderness school. So much narrative tension exists between the sisters who are pieces of work who can't live with each other, as Fawn/May infiltrates her sister's life.

3.4/5

Talk about a dysfunctional upbringing! The older sister reviews her past, and it’s not pretty. As she catches up to the present time, she makes it unquestionably clear that there’s something very sinister about her little sister, Fawn / May. And then her sister sneaks back into her life again and cuddles up just way too close to be comfortable.
This is a fresh approach to an age-old story, and it really works for me. I love this author’s style; the tension, the confusion, the saying something by not saying much at all is so intriguing. Just wait until you learn about the “Juvenile Rehabilitation'' these kids endured. I stayed up reading this one, and when it ended, I wasn't ready. Looking forward to more from this debut author.
Sincere thanks to Random House Publishing Group- Random House for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. The publishing date is February 15, 2022.

Trauma permeates modern societies. In some countries it is caused by abject poverty, dictatorship, indiscriminate brutality, or climate change. In others it can be driven by war, gang violence, ethnic cleansing, and forced migration. In Western culture, trauma often emanates from abuse, neglect, and abandonment with roots in unstable lack of housing, or affordable childcare, rampant racism, sexual discrimination, and domestic violence. In each case, the prevalence of trauma is far more widespread than commonly believed.

Trauma stigma is strong and therefore rarely well depicted. Ariel Delgado Dixon captures the impact of childhood and youth trauma compellingly in her powerful debut novel "Don't Say We Didn't Warn You". Here trauma is driven by parental neglect, abandonment, and dissociation.

Dixon makes sure that this raw story is told in an appealing and dramatic manner. The characters are finely drawn. Dialogue is crisp, clever, and very witty. The structure of the plot keeps you on your toes. It is written as a kind of a tapestry that weaves plot elements in and out often in mid-sentence or paragraph. Important tidbits are randomly thrown in, so close attention is highly rewarded.

Dixon clearly knows her subject and has a great deal to say. A word of caution is in order: while everything is presented in a hip and subtle way, the themes are weighty, to say the least. Topics including sexual, drug, and animal abuse are presented, if not necessarily in full detail.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the eARC.

This is an amazing debut novel.
I was completely captivated from the very beginning.
Ariel's writing was phenomenal here and she completely took me by surprise.
This is my favorite kind of read, with real depth characters and emotion, such a fun and entertaining, compelling read.
The writing was strong, with unexpected twists and solid character development.
Don't Say We Didn't Warn You was exactly the book I've been waiting for to get me out of this reading slump.

Random House and NetGalley,
Thank You for this eARC.
I will post and tag to my platforms closer to our date.

Mixed feelings about this one. I'm not used to reading these kinds of books, with so many bad things coming one after another. As an animal lover, the animal cruelty hurt me. The writing wasn't bad and the characters as believable as they could get. I'll have to sit on this but for now this is my rating (rating may change). Full review to come!

This is the story of two sisters, five years apart in age, and their absolutely dysfunctional upbringing that includes a self involved mother, an absent father who only returns to their lives because he has no alternative, a boarding school for troubled teens that is horrendous and their interactions with each other. The older one who was the narrator was, as far as I could determine, nameless; the younger one either Fawn or May depending on where and how she was living. The story is told in many segments ranging from the present, to childhood and young adulthood. It will make most readers very involved in their lives. Thanks to Net Galley and Random House for an ARC for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this taut and haunting novel. It follows two sisters who has suffered some parental neglect and have lasting trauma because of it. It explores ideas of place, identity, queerness, and familial ties. The tone was really disjointed and haphazard, but it lent to the themes of the book. I think Dixon will be a writer to watch, I really enjoyed the writing in particular. For fans of Sisters by Daisy Johnson!

This was an amazing, well written story. It grabbed my interest from the first page and had me captivated until the end. The story line was amazing. The characters were great and fully developed. A must read, well done, I highly recommend.
5 stars.

I received an ARC copy from the Publisher via NetGalley for my honest review.

A book that drew me in so well written so involving.The characters come alive secrets keep unfolding could not put it down.A book that stays with you after you read the last page .Will be recommending the author the book.#netgalley #randomhouse.

A compelling, character-driven story thick with twisted relationships and family secrets.
Full of imperfect, complex characters and unpleasant (but very believable) experiences, this is a book that will keep you reading well into the night! Highly recommended.

I didn't know what to expect with this novel, but I ended up really really enjoying it. The characters are complex and nuanced, and secrets are revealed in a way that feels well-paced without being "gotcha"-y. The jumps back and forth in time were occasionally difficult to keep straight, but ultimately I found that kind of worked with the whole tone.

This book was too much for me. It is a very tense book and there are so many wrong things happening. Do not read this book if you are an animal lover or have any difficulty reading about animal abuse. I don't think many of the characters are likeable which made it a hard book for me to keep reading. I also get frustrated when characters with serious, destructive mental health problems are left to their own devices and never get any help or have bad consequences for what they are doing.

I've read murder mysteries with less tension than this story. I was continually waiting for the next bad thing to happen. The relationship between the sisters was complex and confused - and at times confusing. I was frustrated at times that there were no consequences to Fawn's behaviours. and yet it made perfect sense. Their mother and the loft, are characters that are both loud and quiet as they take their in their places in the story. I liked that Fawn's name suggests a gentle and fearful creature! The book is beautifully written and has a great sense of place. It's also a major eye opener if places like Veldt really exist for errant teenage girls. All in all it's a great read.