Member Reviews

Love an author who writes about fictional towns that I have absolutely been to. The beginning of Austin's new novel felt meandering for me, I almost didn't continue but I am so so glad that I did.
I don't love going into plot summaries when I review because these are mostly for future Kira and I can just look up to see the summary..but ill give some quick points. Sisters, suicide, queerness, not fitting in, fitting in, guilt, escape. A really beautiful and funny testament to pushing through and a forever shout out auto-buy to a fellow Ottawa gal.

Thank you to the publishers and netgalley for the e arc. I will be buying this when it comes out because also LOOK AT THE COVER.

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You get to know the story of two sisters and their differences growing up in this book. Trigger warnings for suicide.

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Was really excited to receive an e-ARC for this one because I’ve really enjoyed Emily Austin’s other books but didn’t enjoy this one as much as I expected to. The structure did not work for me. I appreciated the sentiment of the difficulties of adulthood and insecurities but the chapters felt disjointed. However, the writing is still wonderful. It just felt very stream of consciousness to me and I didn’t connect emotionally as much as I anticipated.

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It is important to note that most of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, therefore, touches on these topics as well. Many people might find the book's subject matters & those detailed in my review overwhelming. I suggest you steer clear of both if this is the case. Please note that from this point forward I will be writing about matters that contain reflections on self-harm, suicidal ideations, attempted suicide, grief, physical abuse, parental abuse, rape, bigotry, xenophobia, substance abuse, & others.

The scene opens with an untruth; the narrator’s cause is made clear yet the tone shifts with delayed wit & muddy watered honesty lending shade to a darkness clear as sunshine. Such is the way of the author. By this time, you will have seen my name associated with two previous reviews depicting issues & adoration with Austin as a creative & writer. I would not begrudge your curiosity & harsh judgment upon seeing it for a third time. When I saw that Austin had written another novel, I was apprehensive to lend my enthusiasm to the crowd; we had not grown beloved of each other as I found redundancy in her quirks yet, here we stand again, familiar strangers in the literary world.

I find Austin’s work curious. At once, the books she writes offer readers from an array of levels, & who hold certain preferences, the opportunities to explore something different without requiring them to expound effort into understanding her stories. The characters she crafts are fraternal twins, each one nearly identical to the other except when it comes to the minute details that add background to the otherwise redundant plot lines. Yet, I wonder if this is intentional.

Certain authors pleasure their talents by toying with the utter strangeness of the unknown character. The story they pen wedges into the psyche in the wee hours of neutrality. Austin seems intent on offering readers the opposite experience; I cannot fault her for this.

In creating a world where each character is all the more disadvantaged due to their misbehaviour, Austin allows readers the opportunity to adopt the role of the harsh critic. Indeed, my role here is mute as the cymbals have chimed sonorously & what I will write may seem altogether repetitive though, as a promise for the book, & out of profoundly personal necessity, I write this anyway.

In essence, this is a story about a pair of sisters in their early twenties who confront the seething effects of their toxic family dynamic. The story opens with Sigrid who is attempting to write her suicide note & soon divulges into the dual inky goo of Margit, who goes over Sigrid’s original entry in a bid to make it more palatable for their parents.

The flow of this story is quite the opposite of seamless. Rather than peruse a story that sees the characters become transparent versions of themselves while they shed their human fallacies; Austin’s narrator—the tormented & bemused Sigrid—tries desperately to shadow herself from the truth & in turn, hopes that her last punctuation mark will prevent readers from seeing any honesty in her words.

When I started reading this book, I was hopeful. The feeling is a result of enjoying the clear & pointed flow of Austin’s work without necessarily appreciating the overtly chronically online personality that makes up her main characters. Certainly, this is a subjective opinion & the reason why I find myself so conflicted with my feelings. At surface value, Sigrid & Margit are a pair worth reading about & a sister duo who resemble many a family dynamic. Yet, their overt need to subdue the truth via meme-formatted humour leaves this story squarely on the sidelines as soon-to-be Classics take their place.

Is it wrong to appreciate a book that will not stand the test of time? While making my way through the first section of this story I wondered how many readers would be able to appreciate the deep-rooted need that both sisters had to masquerade as something else; leaving them sheltered from the emotional & physical horror that prospered around them.

While recent years have proved to be the Millennial playground, shedding light on better ways of communicating, smoother formats for connecting with others, & overall experiences that highlight the human ability to function in empathy; the generational divide remains stark & not all who claim torment have been traumatized.

The wiggling worm of truth slithers in the bind of the tale at hand. Sigrid has been left to feel utterly worthless at the young age at which we find her in her letters. The early twenties in the life & times of most people are not a time when a person has their life, all figured out. In fact, most people are just beginning to experience what it means to live in the real world & their twenties are the decade during which their rose-coloured glasses are shelved, seldom to be worn again. Amid these crowds of joyous over-eager onlookers, one finds people like Sigrid & Margit.

Categorically, the sisters are trying their best to live in a world that has been made clear to them; a world that they know too well to be surprised to see during a Christmas dinner; a world in which their deranged, angry parents have lived & prospered. It is not surprising that they should wonder how on earth they are meant to find their place among others who do not seem to see the pain inflicted on them by their caretakers—their parents—& in which others are burdened by simple household Commandments.

If readers pause, they will be given more of an opportunity to truly appreciate what I have written. Sigrid boasts about a happy life because who wouldn’t be happy with a nuclear family & all the opportunities in the world of Middle-Class Canada? The breaks between recollections—which the reader will later note have been penned by Margit—speak more clearly of what Sigrid is trying to stifle. The quirky jokes & misplaced squawks become blurred in the periphery of the bleary-eyed sadness looking at the reader through Sigrid’s handwritten notes when the reader takes the time to look up.

Though I will not be among the crowd of toe-sucking admirers once this book’s pages heat with the print, I readily admit the value & importance of the plot. Whereas it seems that the snow-covered fields reveal a tundra; suicidal ideations are not as common as one may choose to believe. It is imperative that readers learn to appreciate the catastrophically morbid experience that Sigrid is grappling with as she introduces herself to the reader. As she pretends that her life isn’t all bad, rather as she claims that her memories silhouette a beautiful flowery life; Grey Gardens sprinkle their paws around her being, burying her alive.

What is a reader meant to deduce from this book? I have experience in this field, we shall leave it at that. Suffice it to say that I would not wish this reality on anyone—no one at all. The people I know who experience this reality, no matter the spectrum of experiences that contributed to a malady invisible to them save when they look in the mirror, would not wish this on anyone either.

With Austin’s care, Sigrid’s pain flows over the words she masquerades as truth. Perhaps a reader who is experienced or one who has lived enough years on earth to muster empathy & patience will see the characters for who they truly are; sickeningly terrified children in adult bodies.

I highlight a shared sentiment in the paragraph above because it is easy to forget that people who experience suicidal ideations & those who advance on attempted suicide are not living the same experiences as others. It remains nearly impossible to truly transfer the weight of emotions & experiences to another person; some among us feel it easier to simply stop trying & leave this realm altogether. We are lesser as a whole in their absence.

While Sigrid writes in sloppy penmanship & hopes to correct the tract of a life where she feels she is the failure her parents made her out to be, her sister, Margit, suffers a pain all too familiar to me. What I hope readers will appreciate about this book is the woven relationship that exists as a consequence of being alive. It pained me to close the book as I read it; I wanted so badly to whisper kindness & promises that the world was not, in its entirety, identical to the sister’s domestic upbringing. The reader is in the impossible position of watching someone drown in water set warmly by their very own parents.

Behind the scenes of this letter is the truth. Early on readers will note the shift from Sigrid to Margit as revisions to the original content happen directly under their noses. The childhood that the characters experienced is wrought with fear, violence, substance abuse, bigotry, ignorance, & isolation.

Though I will not ravish the somewhat tedious humour that is used as a crutch by the characters, its inclusion in this story felt authentic & true. It is no secret that humour is used, quite actively by many, as a coping mechanism. To watch the slow-moving story of sadness divert from what is tormenting the narrator in an attempt to appease the faceless reader, allowed this story to become more than what it was.

Readers have the opportunity to take their time consuming & digesting this book. The appearance of antagonists in sheep’s clothing & apprehensively mystical allies, sees the plot welcome the page-turning fingers of strangers into the world of small-town Canada, a place that could be anywhere familiar to anyone.

The downward spiral of Sigrid’s best friend following years of societal disregard & a suffocating experience at the hands of a blasphemous man; the ignorant haven of extended family; & the passing of love; Sigrid’s life will be all too familiar to many readers & for this reason, they may find some semblance of comfort in her goose-chase down memory lane.

Ultimately, this is not a bad book. It is not one I would have had recommended to me but, I am glad to have read it. I’m certain to run into Austin again as we covet the space where words meet in rash-staining-haste. Her ideas of a literary world where her convenient internet personality may flourish on the page draw me to her work in a way that cannot be replicated as it feels quaintly & devilishly authentic to her quiet moments.

The stylistic choice of this story will not make it a daring Classic among Titans but, it will allow the reader in mind to materialize between the shelves, seeking the one book that will allow them the privacy & pleasure of a laugh amid sorrow.

For those who may find the subject matter altogether derogatory & unsavoury, I wish for you the malevolence of God’s full attention. Perhaps, He will be more forgiving as we march through a world of His own creation where neighbours, strangers, friends, & family, render the shape of the globe concave with nightmares, each more ghoulish than the next.

There is no laughing matter to be had in the onyx of a mind plagued by one’s inner voice; may the whispers of a rose sooth softness into the crevices where despair can be left to rot, for those who ponder the possibility of an end of their road.

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books, & Emily Austin for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

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~ ARC provided by NetGalley ~

At this point, I am committed to reading everything Emily Austin writes. While her books are at times hard to read, I think they each portray multifaceted and complex depictions of queer women. "We Could Be Rats" has a complicated structure and network of semi-reliable (or unreliable) narrators, but ultimately tells the story of two sisters in the aftermath of one of their suicide attempt. Some aspects of the structure can be confusing, but ultimately it pays off if you keep reading. I think that as time goes on, Austin's books are becoming more amorphous, but I still found this one really compelling with a strong emotional core.

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Not my favorite from Emily Austin. I thought the concept was interesting and I actually enjoyed the alternating POVs between the sisters. It just dragged, tbh.

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We Could Be Rats is about the relationship between two sisters as they navigate their relationship with each other and the different ways they interact with the world around them. Told in alternate perspectives, we hear from both sisters ruminating on their upbringing and their family dynamic.

I have read both of Emily Austin's previous books. I think that fans of her work will find a lot to love here. Hallmarks of Austin's work include a misunderstood main character who is slightly at odds with the world around her. Sigrid fits right alongside Austin's other main characters. This book feels even more focused on the interiority of the main characters, as very few plot elements occur. The novel is told in mostly in diary entries or letters. While I felt like Austin's last book, Interesting Facts About Space, had too much going on, I think this book has perhaps not enough going on. I felt as though I understood the main characters pretty early on, so some of the book felt repetitive to me. I also felt like the book wrapped up extremely quickly, without clear resolution to the plot. I understand that life is sometimes like this, open ended, but I wish that there had been more of a character arc for both of our main characters. It made the book feel a little bit meandering.

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Thank you NetGalley and Atria books for this arc in exchange for my honest review! 🐀💓

I haven’t had the chance to read Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead (but definitely on my to read list), but I loved Interesting Facts About Space, so I was so excited to be able to read this arc! Emily Austin is quickly becoming a favorite author and I will for sure be picking up any future releases.

We Could Be Rats follows Sigrid, a high-school dropout who spends her early twenties in the small town she grew up in and longs to escape, working at the Dollar Pal. Despite living in the same town as her family, she feels increasingly alienated from the people around her and frustrated with the ignorance that tends to fester in a small town environment. Sigrid often spends her time daydreaming and thinking about her childhood, when she could escape with her toys in her basement and create a fictional world for herself to escape in. Meanwhile, Sigrid’s older sister Margit has gone off to college, and the two have zero contact unless forced together at family holidays.

Although the goodreads summary does not mention suicide, I think it’s extremely important to know that suicide plays a major role in this story before going into it. Overall this book deals with some emotional topics including suicide, drug addiction, and grappling with adulthood, but I think Austin did an incredible job at inserting humorous moments to balance out the darker themes. This book will make you cry one moment and laugh the next- not in a way that feels like whiplash, but in a way that feels raw and human. I adored Sigrid’s character, and although I am so extremely different from her, I related to so much of her thoughts and feelings. I think everyone can relate to her in some way. Emily Austin is very talented at writing weird, sad female protagonists that don’t feel like they are trying to be quirky for the sake of it which can easily feel cringey. I think if you like Ottessa Moshfegh protagonists, but want to add a more humorous element, you would definitely like Emily Austin characters.

This book is not quite a five star read because I felt that the beginning of the book felt a bit repetitive at times- but as the story progressed it got much better with this. That’s my only real criticism with this book- other than that I hope people pick this up!! Loved this one 💓

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Perfection.

“I get this desperate feeling sometimes. Like I’m a kid banging inside the cage of my adult body, dying to escape to the moon.”

I feel like I never want to read another book again if it isn’t this one because I will never feel as connected to any character the way I felt with Sigrid and Margit.

This is about growing up and realizing that people aren’t always good and that streets aren’t made for unicorns. This is about looking back and finding the moment you realized your childhood was over and all of your dreams of magic aren’t coming true. It sounds sad and depressing and it is, but it’s a work of art and Emily Austin has once again shattered my heart to pieces in the best way possible.

We could all be rats, and we would all be better for it.

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Absolutely phenomal book that you NEED to have tissues next to you for! Somehow, the last line, made me cry more than the rest of the book put together. Oddly funny at times, yet devastating book of sisterhood, adulthood, childhood, and the oddities of life and death. Genuinely cannot explain how much everyone needs to read this immediately! With that being said, definitely read trigger warnings, which include: suicide, off-page drug abuse, domestic and familial violence, and emotional abuse.

I was given an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review, by NetGalley!

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We Could Be Rats by Emily Austin combines humor and heart in a story about two sisters finding their way back to each other. I love the mix of quirkiness and darker themes, and Austin’s dry, witty writing feels like hanging out with a funny friend. However, the past-tense and rushed narration of the first half made it difficult for me to feel connected.
Fans of PEN15 will likely enjoy its nostalgic, offbeat vibe.

Will post a Goodreads review closer to publish date!

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Emily R. Austen has quickly become one of my favorite authors, with Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead and Interesting Facts About Space being standout reads for me. So, when I received an advanced copy of her upcoming release, We Could Be Rats, I was thrilled. While this book ended up being my least favorite of the three, it still captivated me in the way that Austen's signature writing style always does.

The introspective and raw thought processes of her characters continue to resonate with me deeply. However, the central theme of this book—suicide—hit much closer to home. This might be why I found it more challenging to enjoy fully.

Interestingly, despite the heavier subject matter, the book also feels like it's geared toward a younger audience compared to her previous works. This shift in tone was a bit unexpected and may be another reason why it didn’t land as strongly for me.

That said, if you’re a fan of Emily R. Austen, there’s no doubt you’ll appreciate We Could Be Rats. It carries the same poignant voice and reflective style that defines her work. For me, though, this one falls at the bottom of the list—still good, but not quite at the level of her other novels.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an advanced readers copy so that I may give my honest feedback and review.

This has been posted to my Goodreads and will be shared on my IG account closer to its release dage of publication.

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just... so breathtakingly real and poignant and stunning. i'm so, so grateful to have been given this opportunity to review this book - it simply spoke to me in a way not many books have, with the sisterly relationship at its core but having so many other themes that shone out to me and made me fall in love with this book. PLEASE READ IT.

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I always find myself in a daze when I finish one of Emily Austin’s stories. This was no different. I finished it feeling grateful to have read it. This is a beautiful story of “figuring it out” in a world that doesn’t make it easy. I’ve never felt more safe and understood than I did after reading We Could Be Rats

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"Everyone in My Family Has Teeth" is a fascinating novel about the complicated relationship between two sisters, Sigrid and Margit. Sigrid, who hates her job and never finished high school, prefers to wander her small town with her best friend Greta. Her older sister Margit doesn't understand why Sigrid can't just fit in. The story dives into Sigrid's struggles with her past, including her parents' fights and losing Greta to the opioid crisis. As Margit tries to understand Sigrid better, both sisters realize that reconnecting with their childhood imagination is key to moving forward. Emily Austin's writing is engaging and relatable, making this book a touching exploration of family and growing up.

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Emily Austin has a very distinct writing voice: if you’’ve read any of her previous work, you would know immediately what I’m talking about. This is very much in the same vein: an very closed first person, neurodivergence galore, desperate attempts (and failures) to connect. To me, they are a mixture of highly relatable and highly aggravating things at the same time, and I find it very hard to put her books down.

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“If I could have picked what I was born to be, I would be a fat little rat at a fair. I would ride the Ferris wheel all night. All the carnival lights would reflect in my happy, beady eyes. I would feast on candy apple cores, discarded peanuts, and melon rinds. I would spook ladies and carnival workers for kicks.”

I was initially interested in this book purely from the title. It led me to read something I don’t know that I would’ve organically picked otherwise, though, and I’m so glad I did read it. It was nothing like I was expecting. What I thought would be this heartwarming tale about the power is sisterhood amid trauma was actually much more of a look at growing up and adulthood from varied viewpoints and how we maybe don’t always know what’s going on in a person’s head.
It was beautifully written in a way that was hard to put down with its multiple jumps to different side stories and memories.

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This book was super interesting and engaging. I love Emily Austin's writing style and how her books are so deeply in her characters' heads. I relate so much to the way they think and act even if I don't relate to exactly what they're going through.

This book had twists I didn't expect that kept it fascinating the whole way through. I also am convinced Sigrid is autistic lmao.

If you like Emily Austin's other books then absolutely read this!!! I think I like the other two better but this was still 100% a five star read for me. I want to read everything she ever writes forever.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for the chance to read and review this ARC.

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I really admire what Austin has done here—this unique approach to a very emotional topic. The strongest part for me is the examination of the two sisters, the way that they perceive each other, and how at odds it is with how they perceive themselves.

Despite this appreciation, I struggled to connect with the character and the story in the way I feel I should’ve. I *wanted* to feel this grief intensely and instead. felt like I was at an arm’s distance—perhaps because of the form (told mostly in notes and diary entries). I’m not usually a fan of epistolary stories in general but this was among the stronger, in my opinion.

I do also commend Austin on the inventive twists in this book: playing with the “truth” and the perception of the reader.

I would recommend this but I’m very particular instances

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We Could Be Rats by Emily Austin is a beautifully written exploration of sisterhood, identity, and family. Austin’s sharp prose brings to life the complex bonds between women, highlighting the joy, tension, and deep love found in these relationships. The portrayal of sisterhood, both biological and chosen, is tender and authentic, making the characters feel raw and real.

While the novel centers around suicide, Austin handles the topic with remarkable sensitivity and care. The heavy theme is treated with tact, allowing the story to focus on healing, connection, and the unbreakable ties that bind us to those we love. It’s a heartfelt and thought-provoking read that will resonate long after the final page.

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