I felt like I was reading letters between my cousin and I, or my sister and I. Our awful childhood, how I escaped but neither of them did. I felt ashamed and seen and sad. But most of all I felt grateful and hopeful.

It was a work of art that should be read by everyone.

If you have read Emily Austin before, then you will know her books will make you think a lot, and We Could be Rats is no exception. This epistolatory novel tells the story of Sigrid in three sections. The first section tells the story of a girl who hates working at her local dollar store but does not want to be a standard-size adult. The second section is penned by her sister Margit, who visits Sigrid one day and finds a card on her front door that reads “Don’t come in—I’m dead.” The third tells the story of two sisters finding their way back to each other through childhood imagination and shared experiences.

I will say that We Could Be Rats is not a light read. If you are sensitive to stories containing suicide attempts, suicidal ideation, rape, domestic abuse and violence, drug use, and homophobia, find another story. With that said, I think We Could Be Rats is one of the most important stories one could read nowadays. This book pays tribute to the many versions of ourselves: to the adult trying to figure out what we are meant to be doing, to the child reaching out to our loved ones, and to the reader holding the book. I think this will be a great pick for fans of John Green and of the movie Lady Bird.

This is a horrible thing to admit, but whenever I'm feeling bad about myself and then I read an Emily Austin book, I remember that I could be feeling worse right now. Emily's third book is, in a way, very different from her previous books, but in another way, extremely similar, and I'm glad I finally got a chance to read it. Sigrid and Margit are fascinating characters, and teasing apart the way they feel about the world, their families, and each other was a great way to spend a long morning.

I laughed and (almost) cried and now I just want to hug my sister. Such a classic Emily Austin book featuring lovable FMCs dealing with mental health and their relationships with the world around them. I can’t recommend her books enough in general and this one is exceptional too. I loved it on audio— definitely a one sitting kind of book or 2 if you’re like me and need sleep.

I am endlessly impressed with Emily Austin’s ability to present the deeper and more emotional issues in life, in such a charming, humorous way. I do, however, think it’s important to go into this book while in a semi-good headspace.

A very thoughtful discourse on the difficulty of navigating young adulthood and the importance of being your authentic self, it is heartbreaking at times, and ultimately very sad, even while being ultimately hopeful and uplifting. One aspect that touched me deeply is the examination of just how profound the nature of friendship is, and the deep grief that accompanies the loss of that friendship.

🎧 I think this story is best told on audio, narrated by Candace Thaxton who so perfectly nails Austin’s juxtaposition between the maudlin and merriment. And at only 5+ hours, you’ll literally fly through it, all the better for having pondered some of life’s hardest-hitting issues.

CW: There are quite a few triggers including cancer, abuse, drug addiction, and attempted suicide. Please check full trigger list before reading if you are sensitive to them.

Read if you like:
▪️family drama
▪️emotional reads
▪️books that make you think
▪️gripping twists
▪️unique writing
▪️epistolary format

Thank you Atria for the gifted copies.

I loved this book! It was a super interesting concept that had me hooked from the beginning. Emily Austin is one of my few auto-buy authors, and this book further cements her place on that list.

Emily Austin, you could rewrite anything and I think you would write it better than anyone else.
This book was absolutely captivating and took my attention anytime I picked it up. A lot of parts hit close to home and normally I would be bothered, but it worked out so well for this read.

3.25 ⭐️

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

There’s 3 distinct parts in this short novel: in the 1st one we follow Sigrid, writing letters detailing her life and her decision to kill herself. In the 2nd one, we follow her older sister Margit as she grapples with the aftermath. In the final part, we follow Sigrid again.

I found myself much more interested in the story when we were following it through Margit’s eyes. Sigrid’s parts kinda bored me.

The pace is really slow, as this is definitely a character driven story with almost no action, mostly reminiscing.

And i found myself really frustrated when we learn that Sigrid’s part are very much unreliable.

Thank you so much to netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC! I honestly screamed over this approval!

Emily Austin is one of my absolute favorite authors and I will read anything she writes. This was a unique set up compared to her other works, and the beginning was unlike anything she has written before. I appreciate how the character 'flaws' were introduced and honestly it was a bit unhinged and appalling which made it all the more entertaining. I personally think this is Emily's most emotional work yet and will hit heavy for some.

Dark humor is a central theme in this book, which is such a treat. But really, you have to laugh so you don't cry over the truths. I did find this morbid but entirely relatable as far as religious trauma and seeing yourself as 'flawed'.

I also thought I detected some book cross over? If you're a fan of her other work you'll know what i'm referencing!

Ultimately, this felt written for my inner child. I am still unsure if it healed me or gave me more reasons to go to therapy. Grabbed a copy for my shelves and cannot wait to give it a reread!

it’s hard for me to put into words why I love her writing so much, but in this book specifically it was the imagery about childhood that I felt so drawn to. the way she described being young and how everything feels limitless

I absolutely love this book. It had me both laughing out loud and wiping away tears. So much of it was relatable to me - especially in our current time. I was gutted by this book and can’t wait to read more Emily Austin.

I enjoyed this book way more than I was expecting to. Sigrid, a young adult working at a local convenience store, tells this story in a collection of suicide notes. This story was equally emotional and funny, a mixture of style that I’ve come to expect from Emily Austin. She has become a reliable queer/weird girl litfic author for me! Definitely would recommend this to readers who have enjoyed her other work, but also to anyone looking to branch out within in the contemporary fiction genre.

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 4.25⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: contemporary fiction 📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
Such an interesting and unique read the delves right into the hard and dark topics in a refreshing way.
- make sure you check the trigger warnings before reading
-
𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
Dark comedies
Books that tackle mental health in unique ways
Coming of age stories
Complex, layered characters
Dark yet emotional topics
Dual POV
Small town settings

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
The unique, quirky nature of the story
How it addressed mental health and dark topics in a raw and honest way

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛:
It was a little confusing and drawn out at times

𝙵𝚊𝚟𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚀𝚞𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚜:
★ “Sometimes, the things that hurt the most are the ones that teach us the most.”
★ “We could be rats, scurrying through life, trying to make sense of the maze we’ve built around ourselves.”
★ “In the darkest moments, there’s a strange kind of clarity that only the brave dare to see.”

I loved this book. I love everything Emily Austin touches, but this book really gripped me from page one in a way the others didn’t. (Those got me on pages two. Or three.)

this is now my third Emily Austin and I've previously really enjoyed her previous work but i'm very sad to say that this completely missed the mark for me. before going into this please know that this deals with the topic of addiction and suicide, in fact the narration is told through a series of suicide letter drafts in which Sigrid recounts her life, her childhood, her reluctance on growing up and her friendship with her best friend. this type of format got really repetitive and grating to read, I found Sigrid annoying but at the same time, due to the epistolary format I never felt like I knew sigrid and so I never warmed up to her. Sigrid’s over active imagination and her reluctance to grow up was cute at first but then it got old.

this is by far darker in tone to Austin’s previous work, there was none of of Austin’s signature quirky yet relatable characters and laugh out loud moments were far in between. I don’t think I was ready for that change in tone, maybe in the future I will appreciate Austin’s maturity to try something new but at the moment I will be pretending like Austin didn't write this one.

This is one of those books that I went into blind and wow. I was hooked from the very first page and quite honestly didn't see any of what was going to happen coming. It was an emotional journey about grief, mental health, friendship, family, and all the messiness that comes with that.

One thing's for sure, I'm going to be reading Emily Austin's books forever.

What a fantastic book! The first one I have read by this author but definitely can't wait to read more! The characters stay with you long after you finish the book. Highly recommend!

Something about this book just did not click with me. It's told very stream of consciousness however I don't feel like you get to know either of the characters. Nothing *feels* as drastic as the ultimate result. Sigrid's mental states feels like temporary blues by the way it's conveyed. Overall, I really just didn't get the point it was trying to convey.

Emily Austin, you are a wonder. Her stories always amaze me. I quickly became a fan. I didn't know I would be reading this many books exploring sibling dynamics as adults, but I am not mad at it all. This book really makes readers think about their existence alongside their sibling's and sympathizing with one another.

Wow. All of the stars. I connected so deeply with this book, as I do all of Emily's books. Emily has such a way of writing the most relatable characters. I felt like this was written just for me. I purchased a copy and annotated it to no end!!!! A new favorite! Beautiful!