First, this has some TWs so check them out if you have preferences. With that said, this was a beautifully written story, unlike anything I have read. Austin writes so descriptively, allowing the reader to completely picture what is on the page. Parts did ramble a bit which eventually makes sense as you read on. The mental health spiral was handled well and I loved seeing the dynamic between the sisters and how they each viewed the same events.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I’ve been really interested in Emily Austin’s books since Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead. Interesting Facts About Space was a bit of a miss for me, and this book, We Could Be Rats kinda ebbed and flowed for me.

I like to go in books kinda blindly, so it took me a little bit to kinda figure out what was going on, but once I did, I really started to enjoy it.

These characters were some of my favorite I think, and I really enjoyed getting to learn about the intricacies and dynamics between each of the characters. Relationships can be complicated, and this book really encapsulates that.

I really love Emily’s writing style, and I like how easy it feels to read even though it can also be so complex at times.

I still think her first book for me is my favorite, but I think this has claimed the second position spot.

This is a story about two very different sisters. It is a tender, heartbreaking, and a hopeful exploration of sisterhood, trauma, and imagination. The story felt raw, honest, and so emotional. It’s like a love letter to childhood. It looks at the messiness of being human. I think this is a must-read for anyone who has ever felt out of place or struggled to find their way back to themselves. I loved it!

Thank you so much Atria and Netgalley for the ARC.

I love Emily Austin and was so grateful to get an early copy of WE COULD BE RATS.

As a fickle mood reader, I had trouble with this one for things that have nothing to do with the author's talent. I LOVED Interesting Facts About Space, putting unfair expectations onto RATS, and I struggle with epistolary novels. So despite RATS seeming like a short, quick book at first, I needed to work a little harder to stay engaged. The payoff was worth it, and - as expected with Emily Austin - I teetered between laughing and literally crying at many points in this compact story. Emily Austin just gets it. And she cradles life's truths with care and presents them to you gently, like laughing gas before surgery.

I will continue to read anything she writes - she captures the hollowness and tumult of a traumatic childhood, inert adulthood, and neurodivergence so beautifully and, when needed, sillily. Grateful to Atria for the DRC.

Sigrid and Margit are sisters who grew up in a volatile home but have weathered their challenges very differently. Margit is an over achieving student studying Literature in College. Sigrid believes she is a people pleasing, quiet and smart preferred daughter, but sees herself as intellectual and a disappointment. Sigrid struggles with her own ignorance, and remaining in her hometown after failing to graduate high school. We Could Be Rats is a story of grief, finding one's self and strength in the face of challenging stereotypes and adversity.

We Could be Rats is my first read by Emily Austin, and I can confirm that it will not be my last. Austin writes absolutely beautifully, easily navigating between two different POV's. There are elements of unreliable narration, and deep traumatic subject issues. Trigger warning for attempted suicide and sexual assault on this one! Sigrid and Margit are reliably flawed, fully drawn characters who are so relatable to the reader. They are grappling with major personal issues, and their internal dialogue is believably written and understood. The pacing of this one is relatively slow, with little plot points and a lot of the pacing coming from the girls understanding of what is happening to each of them, but the writing is so beautiful that the reader feels locked in on what they are thinking and experiencing. It is rare for me to feel deeply emotionally connected, and to this one I really did. There were a lot of similar experiences to my own life, and while it could be triggering Austin deals with these issues with grace, honesty and the vulnerability of the characters, that the reader feels seen and understood.

An absolute must read for anyone, who like me, likes darker more descriptive literature!

I PUT OFF READING THIS SINCE I KNEW IT WOULD HURT. like I wanted to read this during winter break I was so excited!!!! BUT I realized I didn't want to be a sobbing mess around my family, so I saved it as my first novel of the year!! and I WAS RIGHT. I CRIED SO MUCH WHILE READING THIS. AHHH I don’t know if I can even properly review this book…

Emily R. Austin is just such a talented writer I wanted to inhale this novel but also savour it as well. I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO START. Hmmmm I can’t even decide on a rating like, do I give it 5 stars? or a 4.5… I can’t even decide. (edit: I think it’s a 5. like wow) I know I’m being dramatic but THATS HOW GOOD THIS WAS OKAY?!!)

This novel is told epistolary by Sigrid through her suicide note. We are painted a picture of her life beforehand, in this uncomfortably small conservative town, and how her childhood shaped her current worldview. We get the gist—that Sigrid is imaginative through that worldview—thinking of talking dolls and dreaming of pink cotton candy skies. The imagery in this… is stunning. It read so personally like reading someone’s diary, but I guess I suppose it was, it was Sigrid’s.

I really connected to this, it just really hit hard for me. Part coming of age, part family-oriented story. I love these kinds of tales. This story mostly follows childhood trauma, imagination, and what being a sister is like. I identified with both main characters; I could see myself in both of them. This story broke my HEART. I felt this story so deeply, especially when we get to Margit's chapters. like I imagined what I would have felt like if this story had happened to me. That’s how real it felt.

This book was so funny! like yeah, it made me cry, but it also made me laugh so much. God, does this book make you think. And the dysfunction in this book. so realistically written as well. (Question though is the eye movement coping technique even real? I'll have to look into it 😭.) I absolutely want to get my hands on a physical copy eventually. <3 Luckily I have a few backlisted titles to read from Emily R. Austin still. So I won’t have to miss her writing too much.

Thanks so much to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this as an e-arc!!

Thank you to Atria Books for an eARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I’m convinced Emily Austin will always deliver the *coolest* title and an ending that perfectly balances raw struggles and the hope that exists in everyday life. This book is broken up into three sections, and in the first one, I was a bit confused on where this book was going. The second section which is Margit’s was my favorite. It was so *real* and full of love, regret, sorrow, and ultimately, hope. The third section, Sigrid’s, made me so angry, emotional, and again, hopeful. There’s little plot to this book, but it made me feel SO much in the best way. This is such a compulsively readable book that leaves you comforted with the knowledge that it’s going to be okay.

WE COULD BE RATS follows Sigrid, a young woman penning her suicide note. Each chapter takes the form of a draft of said note before abandoning it and starting over. I mean, how do you honestly put into words why you’re choosing to end your life when it isn’t as simple as “I’m depressed”?

Over the past few years, Emily Austin has firmly placed herself into my upper echelon of writers. I simply adored both EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM WILL SOMEDAY BE DEAD and INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT SPACE; WE COULD BE RATS is no exception. The way in which she writes about mental health is unlike anything I’ve personally ever experienced. She burrows deep into the minds of her characters, turning them inside out for the world to see – warts and all. You get to know them on an intensely intimate level; she allows their deepest fears and emotions to seamlessly rise to the surface almost like a pot boiling over or an exposed untreated burn. Sigrid’s story is both terribly sad at times but also laugh-out-loud funny with the book featuring a big twist that just about made my jaw hit the floor. Austin is operating on such a creative high right now, I simply cannot get enough of her work.

I was lucky enough to get an advanced copy, but picked up my own physical copy this week. WE COULD BE RATS was one of the best books I had read last year and I can’t wait for others to read it when it hits shelves this week.

After reading Interesting Facts about Space, I knew I wanted to read this book as soon as it was announced. Emily Austin writes books that push me out of my comfort zone in terms of genres, complex characters, and books in general. I went into We Could Be Rats completely blind besides knowing the title and while I knew the book would be unique, I didnt predict just how universal this book could be.

The title of this book is utterly perfect, I love the theme of the rats and their one happy day mixed into a book full of sadness, despair, numbness and overall negative emotions surrounding family and the current state of the world. This book is political, but it does so in a way that will connect with most readers as we've all had these thoughts, Sigrid is not on a singular path, even though her circumstances are unique, what led her to these feelings are not.

I found this book to be beautifully written, I was in tears for some of the book, reminding me that others feel what I feel. I loved the way the book transitioned from suicide letters, to Margit's POV of Sigrid's attempt along with Sigrid's POV outside of the letters. I honestly feel like I could comment on each part of this book individually but I won't but I will say I'll be recommending this book to everyone I know!

After reading my first Emily Austin book, I was a fan. Now after reading my third, I don’t think I could ever go back to a world where her quirky & queer characters didn’t exist.

In We Could Be Rats, sisters Sigrid and Margit have always seen the world differently. While Sigrid continues to resist growing up, Margit feels annoyed by Sigrid’s defiance of societal norms. As the novel progresses the two sisters have to use a little imagination to find their way back to one another.

This book’s perspective is so interesting as you don’t fully trust the narrator and the twists are unexpected as you learn more about Sigrid and Margit’s history. I love going into a book with zero expectations and this one completely blew me away. It’s one of those books you wish to read again for the first time.

I highly recommend this five-star novel to readers who enjoy an unconventional read with memorable characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.



I went into this book completely blind and honestly I’m very glad I did! Definitely look up the trigger warnings before jumping in as this book is solely about warnings! It was so raw, emotional, and real I truly felt like I was reading Sigrid’s diary. Emily Austin made these characters feel like people I knew or even past versions of myself in some ways.

Politically this book feels so timely, navigating a family member deep into conspiracy theories, anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, etc. is sadly all too familiar for many people right now. Austin showcased the much more nuanced and layered relationships of individuals in those scenarios showing the good and bad moments.

This book’s framing and overall structure was so unique and will set with me for a long time. About halfway through is the genius turn that Austin perfectly crafted. To find out Margit had edited the notes and drafts of the first half was genius and immediately made me want to re-read the book to try to catch any other clues/hints nodding towards that. And finding out is was Sigrid was the one calling in the bomb threats made me laugh out loud.

This is definitely a book that will stick with me and make me yearn for the sister I never had! Highly recommend, 5/5 stars for me!

This book follows the classic Emily Austin formula that works for me every time- a mentally ill lesbian main character. The growing pains, complex sibling relationships, and unique narrative structure in We Could be Rats made me love this one even more.

Something I appreciate about all of Austin’s books is how she writes about even the most mundane topics in a way that makes you feel things so strongly. At times, this book felt like it could’ve been 20-year-old me’s own stream of consciousness if only I was more eloquent.

Thank you very much to Atria books for the ARC! The ARC was provided to me via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with a digital ARC of this novel for an honest review!

I'm a big Emily Austin fan, so when I saw she had a new book being published, there was no question in my mind that I wanted to read it, no matter what it was about. This one is somehow darker than both of her other novels, so I would recommend looking at the trigger warnings before you pick it up. I would list them out, but there are so many that I'm afraid I would miss one. The story also largely focuses on Sigrid's suicide attempt, even though the description of the novel doesn't mention that - this isn't a book you should read if you're not prepared for its heaviness. I'm not going to describe the plot, because it's much better if you just pick it up and learn about the story as you go. However, it's worth noting that the story is split into three parts. The first half consists of Sigrid's various suicide note drafts, the middle part shows you Magrit's reaction to her sister's suicide attempt, and the final section focuses back on Sigrid. This is a different format than the author's other books follow, but I found it to be effective.

The writing is exactly what I expected coming from Emily Austin, and it's certainly my favorite thing about this novel. It's so beautiful! The author has such a lovely way of stringing sentences together that are easy to read, but also leave you pondering them for long after you've finished the entire story. Had I been reading a physical book, I'm pretty sure I would have highlighted 75% of the first three chapters. Her writing is that incredible.

She also does a great job of establishing her themes and sticking to them throughout the story. We Could Be Rats is a thought-provoking exploration of childhood innocence, imagination, sisterhood and family bonds, and the difficulties that come with realizing the world isn't like you were taught as a kid. I read most of it in one sitting, because I was so drawn into Sigrid and Magrit's lives that I didn't even want to set the book down to grab dinner. As with Emily Austin's other books, I frequently went from laughing to tearing up to getting goose bumps all within the span of a few pages. It's such a wild ride!

The characters are another major strength here - Sigrid and Magrit both feel realistic and fully developed. It's fascinating to see their similarities and stark differences, despite growing up in the same household and being so close in age. I could relate more to Magrit and her struggles to appease everyone in her life, but I found both characters interesting to read about, even if they weren't always likable. I don't have any siblings, so I was intrigued by their dynamic as sisters. The side characters are very minor, even compared to Emily Austin's other two novels, but they still felt authentic and brought different things to the story, so I appreciated their inclusion.

I very much enjoyed this book, but it's probably my least favorite of the author's three novels. I wish the second half were longer and that we got more time reading from Magrit's perspective. The first half has so much build up, which I thought was paced well. The second half, though, throws a lot of reveals at you that feel almost too quickly paced, particularly at the end. I didn't get enough time to absorb them before the story was over. I would have liked more of a conclusion for both sisters, but especially Magrit. Nonetheless, it's still such a moving story that I can't take off more than one star from my rating. We Could Be Rats is one of those books that you could finish and then immediately start again at page 1 to get a whole new experience. I'm sure I'll read it again someday.

This story definitely won't be for everyone - it's sad, full of stream-of-consciousness prose, and doesn't leave you feeling extremely fulfilled by the end. However, it's also gorgeously written, funny in a quirky way (but not obnoxiously so), and I imagine will help many people feel less alone. I'd recommend it to anyone who is interested after reading a few reviews and the trigger warnings. If this is your first Emily Austin book, I might suggest that you start with one of her other novels first, though, because they share quite a few similarities but the others tell more straightforward stories. This one is tougher to read and less structured, so it could be more divisive.

4 stars out of 5 stars. I have a feeling I'll be thinking about how we could all just be rats feasting on treats at the fair for a long time.

This is exactly the book that we need in our current political climate. Beautifully written, heart wrenching, and so important, We Could Be Rats is a coming of age story, a musing on grief and loss, and a rage at societal issues.
At first as you're pulled into the story it feels almost like a fever dream,. You don't know what is real, but you feel so seen. As a young, queer person growing up in America, Sigrid's story felt so much like my own and my heart broke over and over for both of us. I fell truly in love with our characters, and mourned along with them. As more falls apart, and then falls into place I felt as if I was on the edge of my seat, about to plummet down a roller coaster track.
There is so much beauty in this story, as well as sadness. The beauty of rats at a fair, a cotton candy sky, finding that perfect toy at the store, a grandmother's hug, the love you feel even if you no longer like who someone has become. Of skinned knees and camping and a Hallmark main street. The love that Margit feels for Sigrid, even when she doesn't know how to show it. Community.
Everyone should read this book.

Emily Austen continues to find ways to surprise me with her stories. The first time I opened “Interesting Facts about Space,” I was sucked into her writing, but most especially her characters.

I greatly appreciate that her novels feature queer female leads where sexuality isn’t the main focus of the story, but the person themselves — the person inside the confines of the words on the page. “We Could Be Rats” is no different.

Sigrid and Margit’s story is one that I never would have expected to come from a book about attempted suicide. Much like how Coco Mellors astounded with the emotional depth and journey of sisterhood in the aftermath of familial loss, Emily Austen depicts a beautiful tale of sisterhood through Margit’s anticipatory grief for Sigrid.

The story, despite taking place in the present of adulthood, felt like a coming-of-age — learning all about Sigrid’s childhood and the big and small moments that made her entire person. I was, however, interested in seeing more of Sigrid and Greta’s friendship and how it came to such a ruinous end. I absolutely loved this story and wholeheartedly believe it is a five-star read, but I genuinely would read an entire novel set during Sigrid’s high school years.

I, too, would have liked more of Margit’s story and experiences separate from Sigrid’s tragedy; I feel like we gain so much knowledge of Sigrid and her life that led up to this point, but we do not learn much about Margit apart from her relation to Sigrid’s story.

Thank you, netgalley and Atria books for this arc. All opinions are my own.

I've been looking forward to this book since reading and loving Everyone in this Room Will Someday Be Dead last year. Despite the title of that one, this one is heavier in topic and tone. Trigger warnings do apply for this book (suicide, sexual assault, homophobia)

We start off reading drafts of Sigrid's suicide note, which introduces our main character and some of her struggles through various iterations of this letter. I did feel towards the midway point of the book that this structure began to get a little repetitive and strange, though some of that makes sense later on.

In the second half of the book we move out of the letter format to a more typical narrative style and I really liked the parts about Sigrid's family and the side characters in the story. The ending felt a little slow and didn't quite hit for me.

I do think that a lot of people will relate to this one especially as some of the themes and topics are very timely. I think the writing was really lovely and definitely captures Austin's style and voice. I highlighted a lot of sections. Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me an eARC for my honest review

Have you ever read a book that's so good that it actually makes you angry? That's this book for me. It was so good I got angry. I'm mad that I can't ever read it for the first time again. I'm angry that I'll never write anything as good. Mostly, I'm angry that it's over.

We Could Be Rats tells the story of two sisters, both with mental health struggles that mostly seem to come from the ways they each dealt with their not great home life growing up. The first 60% or so of the novel is told in epistolary form, as a series of drafted suicide notes the younger sister, Sigrid is writing. Right, trigger warning: this book talks a LOT about suicide so if that's something you're sensitive to… maybe give it a pass.

Anyway, the letters get progressively more confessional and more confusing. Every time you think you've really grabbed hold of exactly who Sigrid is, she starts a new letter and you have to try to reassemble the picture you've been creating in your mind. And then the letters end and everything changes.

I can't go much more into it without getting too spoiler-y, but trust me, it's a good book. It's worth the read if you are into being sad and thoughtful. If you're up for staring off into space for a few hours (or days) and dealing with the mother of all book hangovers when you turn the last page, read this book.

Emily Austin continues to be one of my all time favorite authors because of how simply, yet beautifully she can capture the complications of the human experience. Her tragic yet hilarious characters feel so real and honest. This book really made me think about growing up and what you leave behind when you are forced to become an adult.

Though I did not like the format of this novel as much as her others (the letter drafts at the beginning felt a little confusing as to who the audience was and took me out of the story a bit) I still absolutely love her writing. Austin does an unreliable narrator so well, and somehow leaves you feeling hopeful even when her characters are hopeless. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an early copy!

While I highlighted a ton of passages and found many of Sigrid's thoughts deeply relatable, I did not enjoy this nearly as much as I enjoyed Interesting Facts about Space. I wish there had been more interaction between characters; I started losing interest about halfway through the first section because of the stream of consciousness writing style Austin employed. I would recommend this book if you enjoy character driven stories, sibling dynamics, and discussions about mental health. Even though I found aspects of We Could Be Rats disappointing, I'm still looking forward to Emily Austin's future releases as I appreciate a lot of her commentary on queerness and mental illness.

“I was Simba; I wasn’t Scar. I thought everyone felt this way.”

I’m still reeling from this. This book had me googling the name of my own Kevin Fliner. It had me remembering my favorite childhood doll. It made me miss my grandma and yearn for my long-distance sister.

Sometimes the voices of the two sisters meshed a bit in my head, but when you consider the narrative format, that is to be expected. I’ve never really gotten into lit fic, but this sort of rambling, intimate style felt very intuitive for me as a reader.