*We Could Be Rats* by Emily Austin offers a compelling exploration of grief, sisterhood, and the complex emotions tied to loss. While I enjoyed it, it didn’t quite reach the heights of *Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead,* which remains one of my favorites. This novel had a more YA feel, which was a departure from what I expected from Austin.

However, there were still elements that resonated deeply, particularly the portrayal of grief. The book touches on the profound sense of losing not just a loved one, but also the unconditional love they provided. The dynamics between the sisters were well-drawn, adding a layer of emotional depth. Potential readers should be aware of the trigger warnings for suicide and depression, as these themes are central to the story. Overall, it’s a thoughtful and emotional read, even if it didn’t quite hit the same mark for me as Austin’s previous work.

There are so many books with dynamite plots that fail in the execution - stories that lack depth, real emotion, fleshed out characters. We Could Be Rats is not one of those books.

Emily Austin, who is quickly becoming a must-buy author for me, brings the reader a story of two very different sisters - Sigrid and Margit. The first half of the book is made up of Sigrid’s attempts to write the perfect suicide note. Yup, depressing, right? Weirdly, no. The letters are glimpses of a tired, loving, mentally unstable mind. I felt seen in their honesty - and then more so when a “twist” is revealed.

The second half is Margit’s perspective. Margit, the Smart sister, the Go-Getter, the Perfectionist, who we come to realize has a lot more in common with Sigrid than either sister ever realized.

We Could Be Rats is raw, honest, heartbreaking, yet also heartwarming. With great mental health, LGBTQ+, and neurodivergent representation, this is a book I’ll never forget. I literally could not put it down and finished it in a single afternoon.

Thank you to @emilyraustinauthor, @atriabooks, and @netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

First Emily Austin novel- and I immediately need more. Absolutely loved this story and characters. The way it was written made it so easy for me to read and I absolutely loved it. FIVE STARS!

"We Could Be Rats" is a compelling new novel by Emily Austin, the best-selling author of "Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead" and "Interesting Facts About Space." The story is told from the perspective of two sisters who are very close in age, dealing with coming of age and transitioning into adulthood.

It's worth noting that the novel delves into the topic of suicide. However, there are no depictions of this action. Instead, both sisters share their thoughts and reasons for considering such a drastic step, while also revealing a great deal about their shared childhood, adolescence, and the complexities of entering adulthood.

As a reader, I appreciated seeing how each sister perceived one another, their lives, and events. They are unreliable narrators, often trying to present a version of the truth that would be most acceptable to each individual. The result is a very raw and poignant account that captures the struggle of growing up and the mistaken belief that everyone else has life figured out while you feel like an imposter or a failure.

I actually loved this story and found this novel surprisingly relatable. As someone who has struggled with depression, I was initially hesitant to read it, but I felt that Austin handled the topic with sensitivity and insight. It left me with a sense of faith and hope that, despite our struggles, we could find our way through and someday be rats. I want to express my gratitude to Net Galley and Atria for the ARC.

I am a little bit speechless and don't know where to begin.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

I've read all of Emily Austin's published novels and would consider myself a fan of her work. We Could Be Rats left me speachless. I feel like I will be in a book hangover for days to come. The story is surprising and moving. I feel like I can't say too much without giving the plot away. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of literary fiction. And as I write in every review of her books, the nostalgia Austin weaves into her stories due to the fact that we are the the same age, really gets me every time. A truly beautiful piece of work.

I have been struggling to get into any books lately but We Could Be Rats instantly changed that. The book is smart, fresh and poignant. It perfectly encapsulated how complicated it can be to grow up and figure out your path. I really appreciated the subtle humor and thoughtful observations. I found each of the three parts to be distinctly engaging. I love Emily Austin’s writing style and I will absolutely continue to read anything she writes. We should all aspire to be a little bit more like rats at a fair.

Thank you to Atria Books for providing me with this ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Emily Austin, you’ve once again gut-punched me with this book. Will I ever learn? Probably not - I’d read your grocery lists, I think.

This story is about two very different sisters; one who is haunted by her past, and another who is just trying to move forward. I don’t want to reveal any more than that, because it’s better to go into this novel without any preconceptions of what it’ll be about.

This novel felt heavier than Everybody In This Room Will Someday Be Dead and Interesting Facts About Space. Admittedly, We Could Be Rats hurt the most to read. Emily Austin writes about the bittersweet feeling of losing your childhood one day at a time, and how the magic of youth slowly fades away as we become more disillusioned by the world. She also writes about how that disillusionment can extend to our families – people we love – and how painful it can be to grapple with the question of whether those we care about most are truly good people.

Emily Austin’s characters always make me feel seen; Sigrid is no exception. She’s also an unreliable narrator, which keeps you on your toes throughout this book. Despite her imperfections, it’s hard not to be smitten with Sigrid and her big heart that feels too much.

Another knockout. 4.5 stars rounded up!

Book trigger warnings:
Suicide and suicidal ideation, addiction and use of drugs, homophobic remarks, racist remarks, sexual assault, domestic abuse

Emily Austin is an auto-read/buy author for me. I'm not a huge contemporary reader, but she writes autistic lesbian characters that transcend the page and speak right to me. We Could Be Rats was no exception to this. I love the title and the meaning behind it, and I felt deeply for Sigrid and Margit. Austin balanced the dark, the funny, and the frustrating really well, and the feeling of being a child trapped within an adult's life and body is articulated in a way I haven't read before. I devoured the book in two short sittings and highlighted numerous passages. Thematically, this book feels like a natural progression in Austin's oeuvre, which makes me certain anyone who loved her previous work will enjoy We Could Be Rats too. I appreciate the opportunity to read one of my anticipated 2025 releases early and I'm looking forward to getting a physical copy in January!

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.

This was phenomenal. Messy and magical, I really loved this. I appreciated how it is an ode to sisterhood in a way that highlights the way family trauma and disconnect shape sister relationships. I also thought the author did an amazing job at highlighting the very real experience of navigating how to grapple with your identity and your identity within family and friendships. I will say while there are very whimsical moments, this is an emotionally heavy book, and deals with themes that can be triggering for many people. I think the cover and description make this seem a little more light hearted than it is. I wouldn’t say it is depressing, but it is heavy. That being said, I am someone who typically avoids some of these triggers, but I am so glad I read this and found it a really beautiful book.

ARC provided by NetGalley

This book made me feel seen. As a fellow exchristian lesbian who struggles with conservative family, this book touched me in a way very few have. I cried maybe four times while reading and loved every minute of it.

(full review to come closer to pub date per request, but man I loved this)

{Thank you bunches to NetGalley, Emily Austin and publisher for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!}

I can’t necessarily articulate how this book made me feel and how hard it resonated. Or, maybe I could but it would become a therapy assignment diary entry. Anyway, We Could Be Rats deeply affected me, and I’ll be thinking about it for a long time.

This came at a particularly tough time, too. Lamenting the loss of innocence, struggling to reconcile your childhood and adult selves, mourning the terrible loss of a friend, reflecting on your complicated family dynamics, and feeling isolated in a small conservative town while dealing with serious mental health struggles and suicidal ideation. It’s heavy and it’s all too real. There’s still Austin’s signature dark humor, but the specific situations in this one were too resonant for me to really do anything but cry. Sigrid and Margit’s sibling relationship is relatable and moving, and I would’ve loved even more of them actually together, but it’s very touching.

As someone who prefers to hang out with my baby cousin at family events because I’d still much rather be playing with toy cars and dinosaurs, the feeling of having to leave behind your childhood imagination, sense of wonder, and innocence was also something I loved to see. It reminded me of Seven by Taylor Swift in some ways. Where do all our childhood traits go when we’re forced to abandon them and become acceptable adults? “Are there still beautiful things?” I was already crying near the end, but that last page made me SOB. And now the cover makes me cry too.

The book is uniquely structured and I’ll definitely need to re-read. It felt a bit disjointed and repetitive at first, but I’m already recalibrating after finishing, and I wouldn’t be surprised if I changed my rating to 5 after a re-read.

Emily Austin continues to See™ me and apparently Sees™ a lot of others, too. There will always be something comforting about that.

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

I was thrilled the moment I found out about a new Austin book. Her previous two novels are some of my favorite reads of the past few years. This new novel helped cement the fact that Austin is one of my autobuy authors. I may be biased but every book she writes the characters are extremely relatable. That may not be the case with every reader but it definitely is with me. I highly recommend it and all of her books. Can't wait to buy a physical copy to reread in the future.

A story about two sisters who internalized their childhoods and family dynamics in very different ways.

I loved the sisterly love that Sigrid and Margit had despite everything. This story was told so interestingly in three parts. The first being a series of suicide notes from Sigrid. In the second part we get Margit’s POV, then end again with Sigrid. Sigrid grapples with the reality of growing up while yearning for the simplicity and innocence of childhood.

4.5 ⭐️ Wow! Thank you NetGalley for this ARC and for allowing me to finally see the brilliance of Emily Austin. This one will break your heart and somehow put it back together as well. A completely unique read I didn’t expect to love as much as I did. My only advice is to of course check your trigger warnings, it’s a heavy one

If you read & enjoyed My Year of Rest and Relaxation, I think you’ll love this book. It’s very reflective, with little to no plot—but not in a bad way. For the first half of the book, every chapter is a suicide note attempt. Sigrid can’t seem to get it quite right… then we switch to her sister Margit’s narration, and ultimately end back with Sigrid. This book does unreliable narration and female rage VERY well.

Two sisters who grew up very different. One who is motivated to be successful do well and move through life achieving all her goals. While Sigrid is happy with her life just being the way it is and has no ambition to grow up and be an adult.

This was my first Emily Austin book and I will definitely be going back and reading her backlog.

This had me enthralled from the first page. Sisters mean a lot to me and I love reading different relationships and how they shape us.

I loved everything about this. Might be my favorite use of an unreliable narrator yet. That switch late in the book was so good.

What wonderful use of Austin's platform to showcase mental illness, queer living in a small town, toxic households and a ton more we should always be talking about.

I'll be thinking about this one for a while!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I hate to say this but i think we could be rats will probably be austin's most divisive novel yet, not because of the writing quality (it's introspective and relatable as always), but because of the risk in perspectives austin takes. i just didn't think the emotional release was as strong as her other work because i felt like i couldn't get deeper into the characterization of sigrid in the first 60% and wanted more time with her in the parts of the novel that were left. i did like the idea of how it can be hard to give people the credit to notice when something is wrong and thought it was a mature realization despite my misgivings with the pacing. overall, i just really want to discuss this with someone when it comes out.

(+ this one feels like it's for the giving tree older sisters and the archie comics younger sisters. the discussion on the role of children's imaginations and it's eventual death were great as well.)