We Could Be Rats is a poignant and introspective novel that delves into the complexities of sisterhood, mental health, and the enduring impact of a tumultuous upbringing. The narrative centers on Sigrid and Margit, sisters who, despite their close age, have chosen divergent paths in life. Sigrid, a high school dropout, remains in their small, conservative hometown, grappling with feelings of stagnation and disillusionment. In contrast, Margit pursues higher education and distances herself from their shared past. The story unfolds through a series of suicide note drafts penned by Sigrid, offering a raw and unfiltered glimpse into her psyche. As the sisters navigate their individual struggles, they are compelled to confront their shared history and the deep-seated wounds that continue to influence their lives.

Emily Austin captures the intricacies of sibling relationships, illustrating how shared experiences can be perceived differently and how these perceptions shape one's identity. The novel's structure, interweaving Sigrid's introspective writings with Margit's perspective, provides a comprehensive view of their bond and the personal demons each sister faces. Austin's writing is both evocative and nuanced, balancing moments of dark humor with profound emotional depth. The narrative addresses heavy themes such as suicide, addiction, and trauma, yet it also highlights the resilience of the human spirit and the enduring power of familial love. The book evokes a spectrum of emotions, from empathy and sorrow to moments of reflection, leaving readers contemplating the profound impact of family and the paths we choose in life.

This novel is recommended for readers who appreciate character-driven stories that explore mental health and complex family dynamics.

I love every book Emily writes so much. They’re weird, the characters are weird but they also make me feel better about being weird. The content was a bit tough to get through as it’s a bit depressing but I loved the characters so much and the sisterly bond between them. 5 ⭐️

Emily Austin does not fail to amaze me!

WE COULD BE RATS is a love letter to suburbia, a tale of siblings meeting in the middle, and an example of how unsafe upbringings can result in suppressing mental health issues. This also involves the crippling reality of drug addiction and suicidal ideations/attempts.

While she incorporates these deeply serious topics, Austin still manages to add a light, comedic writing style that adds a dark humor aspect to the story. She presents Sigrid as a complex character whose mental health issues get worse, mainly undiagnosed schizophrenia or psychosis. Her continued desire to reflect on her childhood is relatable, especially as a fellow neurodivergent person.

The sibling dynamic was also powerful. While I am only child, I felt touched reading Sigrid and Margit's separate POVs about the past and present. It makes me think of Jandy Nelson's I'LL GIVE YOU THE SUN, which is one of my favorite books of all time. Their shared childhood traumas and miscommunications of how they interacted before the events of the book were executed very well.

Thank you to Atria Books for letting me read this in advance! This was such a journey

We Could Be Rats starts like a stream of consciousness that doesn’t have a pause button. The further you read through Sigrid’s letter attempts - And who exactly is she writing these letters to? I thought it was Margit, but now I’m not so sure. Is each attempt to a different person? - the sadder it is because you can see how lost she seemingly has become in her own head and in her own life.

Then, halfway through, the book takes a surprising turn that is completely unexpected in my opinion, but it does explain why I couldn’t figure out who was writing those original drafts! The continued exploration of Sig, Marg, and their dynamics both together and individually make for a beautifully heartbreaking look at mental health and the need for connection in this world.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced digital copy.

“I googled the cost of caskets, and it’s criminal. Please bury me in a garbage bag.”

We Could Be Rats by Emily Austin is exceptionally well-written, well-thought out, and so aligned to our current society that you find yourself relating to the characters on the page in some capacity. This book follows two sisters: Sigrid and Margit--two complete polar opposites in all aspects. Where Margit would rather keep the peace in a situation and conform to those around her; Sagrid is a massive walking middle finger that as much as she doesn’t want to make people around her unhappy she also has her own morals that she stands on repeatedly. The book opens with Sagrid attempting to write a suicide letter for her loved ones and has to keep backpedaling because she is unsure how to exactly write one that says everything it needs to.

If you liked Everyone in this Room Will Someday Be Dead, you will like this as well! This book contains a lot of those moments where you might find yourself nodding your head because you agree with a random thought--or better yet, that same thought has crossed your mind. It has a lot of those “this is not written as a joke so why am I laughing” type of moments as well. You’ll find a lot of relatability in some of the statements either character makes. Trigger Warnings: Suicide, Drugs, Addiction, Ignorant MAGA-like people that are mentioned which definitely pissed me off because these people actually exist in our society. Don’t worry, I am very much like Sigrid and call them out when given the opportunity.

I have to say it has been a minute since I’ve read a story with an unreliable narrator because wow! Sigrid took us on a ride to tell us her side of these during the first third of the book. It was really intriguing to read her trying her hardest to formulate the ideal, “perfect” suicide letter for her family that perhaps might stumble across it. She was very aware of what her issues were but kept avoiding being completely honest. But the further you read into the story, that first part is explained and honestly left me shocked because I wasn’t expecting that from this book at all! This book is very nonlinear with the way the events that Sigrid outlines are told, we go from the far past to the distant past to the almost recent past. It definitely felt like a stream of consciousness where Sigrid would bounce from thought to memory to feelings in a single breath. I wish I could include every part of the book I highlighted because there were SO many things that Sigrid said or experienced that I was like wow this book really mirrors our current generation of youth so well.

There are so many ways we can discuss this book which is so crazy--the trauma that Sigrid and Margit experienced during their adolescence which caused them to be neurodivergent; which wasn’t explicitly said in the book but I know they are just from their behavior. We could also touch on the fact that Sigrid felt like she was forced to grow up when she still wanted to play with dolls and how that factors into how teenagers nowadays skip the preteen phase entirely when they really should embrace it and feel pressured to change to fit the norm. There’s also the aspect of how people with addictions are ‘othered’ by society and talked about as if they were less than human. All this to say, I didn’t even outline every potential conversation that can be had after reading this book which just shows how this book really had it all!!

Thank you to Atria Books & NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

“We Could Be Rats” perfectly captures how as kids we all create expectations for who we will be and the lives we will lead but things don’t always turn out that way. Through a series of journal entries, we meet Sigrid and Margit, two sisters who are trying to navigate adulthood while trying to make peace with the events of their childhood and each other. This story provides laughs, tears and brings comfort to all who have felt a little lost as adults and wish for the simpler times we once dreamed of.

This was my first Emily Austin book and I absolutely enjoyed her writing style and how she tackled difficult topics with humor and grace. The journal entries made it easy to intimately connect and understand the characters, their past struggles and concerns for the future. I also admired the way she depicted the complexities of sisterhood between Sigrid and Margit. Sisterhood is a special bond but sometimes mix-ups and hurt can lead to resentment and secrets that weigh down this unique relationship. It was beautiful to see Sigrid and Margit try to understand each other and heal in order to be there for each other.

I look forward to reading more works by Emily Austin in the future.

I’ve read three of Emily Austin’s books now. I loved Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead, and I liked Interesting Facts About Space, though it started out slowly for me before it took off in a great feat of storytelling by the last half. She has a wonderful knack for writing female characters who are atypical but find their way in their own time.

All that to say that I liked but didn’t love her newest offering We Could Be Rats. It follows Sigrid, who writes letters in order to explain some of her actions, so it begins as an epistolary novel of sorts. She’s a person who’s always thought that her best life would be as a carnival rat, riding the carnival rides, feasting on leftover carnival food and hanging out with other rat pals. Her rat life span would be about two years, which she finds pretty okay. She’s not a person who fits easily into the actual life she was born into.

The other main character is her sister Margit, a peace-maker, high functioning and perfectionistic. Gradually, details of their difficult family life emerge, along with community problems like the fentanyl crisis. I liked the way that these sisters could tentatively, gradually find common ground.

However, like the first half of Interesting Facts About Space, I found that this book became repetitive. Austin is a talented writer of interesting sentences and paragraphs, and she portrays Sigrid with great depth. If I could quote freely from this ARC I would, because there are such great lines full of meaning. But there wasn’t enough story for me; I needed more plot.

That said, if you’re a fan of Austin, then I say you should read this book. There is much praise for it, and I can see why. My time was well spent getting to know Sigrid and Margit, and the way that two sisters deal with trauma differently.

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for a gifted copy for review!

This book very much felt like it was pulled from my brain at some parts. Parts of the different notes hit me so hard that I would have to step away from the book because it just felt too much. I think that is one of the great things about books. I loved the aspects of sisters and their relationships. There were times where Sigrid and Margit were either talking or talking about something they did as kids and could see my sister and i having those conversations or doing those things as kids.

It is hard to describe what i liked about this but there were so many things and now i want a rat tattoo.

emily austin, the author you are!!!!

I am beyond proud to say that this is my first 5-star read of the year, and am still in awe that I was able to receive an Advanced Copy of one of my most anticipated releases for this year!! Thank you so so much to Simon & Schuster and Atria, I am exceptionally grateful.

Emily Austin writes about everyday life and mundanity in such a profound way. She writes about specific, microscopic experiences that I have thought were singular, and deftly shows how these seemingly insignificant experiences tether our lives to one another. Reading an Austin book is turning the first page to find a mirror, and also a sucker punch to the gut.

Sigrid and Margit felt so tangible and fully formed that I half-expected them to crawl off the page into my living room. we could be rats is a love letter to sisterhood, growing up, childhood, lesbianism, and the depths of imagination, while also discussing the nuance of mental health, mental illness, conformity to societal expectations, coping, loss, grief, and addiction.

I honestly believe this is a book that is best to enter into without knowing much about the plot. With that said, please make sure to check content warnings if you have anything that could trigger you because this book discusses a wide variety of heavy and potentially upsetting topics, and centers on the main character attempting. Take care of yourselves and prioritize your needs and wellness<3

the magic of emily austin: absolutely stunning, beyond moving, and unexpectedly funny

This is a poignant and uplifting novel that will resonate deeply with readers who cherish the transformative power of sibling love, the magic of childhood imagination, and the resilience of the human spirit, making it a must-read for fans of character-driven fiction and stories about the complexities of family relationships.

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Emily Austin for an eARC of We Could Be Rats in exchange for an honest review. 

I was worried this book would make me feel really sad, but it was actually quite funny and I felt I could relate to it on a close personal level. For such a short book, it fully covers topics of sisterhood, relationships, and life as a young adult in very thorough ways. The writing was easily digestible and the story flowed at a good pace.

This novel is definitely not for everyone as it discusses topics of suicide and the opioid epidemic, but for those who feel they will connect will feel a part of them heal when they read this book.

4.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you to Atria Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. This book published today, January 28, 2025.

We Could be Rats started off dealing with a heavy topic but in a very whimsical way that turned, around the halfway point, into a very serious and profound conversation on grief, mental health, and how people who love you carry the repercussions of your actions. It will also resonate, I think, very specifically with the liberal Americans living in conservative/rural America. There was a passage about 90% of the way through the book that spoke very clearly to the struggles and division we're facing as a country (even though the author is Canadian—it probably equally applies there as well), and it just felt very cathartic to read. It had the usual humor you can expect from Emily Austin, as well as the heart, and I appreciated both.

It didn't quite feel fully formed, which is what kept it from rating higher for me. But I do think the big conversations in such a short book packed a heavy punch. There are quite a few triggers in this so please check those before diving in.

This same review is published on my GoodReads account, which is linked on my NetGalley profile.

This book really cemented Emily Austin as one of my favourite authors of all time. Her novel Interesting Facts about Space is what I usually tell people is my favourite book, and although I think I still preferred Interesting Facts about Space to We Could be Rats, this is a close second. Every line Emily Austin writes feels like it was written for me. I truly have never felt so understood and had such visceral feelings of nostalgia as when reading novels by Emily Austin. This novel felt a bit different than the other two novels I had previously read by her (the third being Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead), because the story followed two sisters. It was an interesting experience because unlike her previous novels, in which I felt myself relating a terrifying amount to the main character, I found intensely relatable aspects in both sisters and I don't think I could choose which sister I relate to more, despite them being so different from each other. I am always hesitant about stories following siblings; myself being an only child, I often feel like I cannot relate to them as much as I wish, however, Emily Austin somehow made me feel so connected to their relationship despite never knowing anything like it. Another impeccable book by Emily Austin (of course)!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the digital ARC!

Emily Austin has quickly solidified as an autoread/autobuy author for me. We Could Be Rats is the moving, heartfelt, gut-punch of a novel that all of her others have been. I said this about Interesting Facts About Space but it’s true here too: Austin writes human emotion and human experience so well. Austin also plays with format here a little differently than her past books and I think it paid off really well. And like of all her novels the themes of queerness, growing up different to those around you, and mental health are center stage here.

We Could Be Rats releases today! Please note that while all her books have dealt with heavy topics, this one is a lot. TW's include suicide attempt, suicidal thoughts, suicide, sexual assault, addiction, homophobia, and ableism. Please take care of yourselves.

This was my first Emily Austin and it did not disappoint! I consumed this story of grief and sisterhood in one sitting and I experienced a full range of emotions. The humor is spot on (nice and dark) and I loved the aspect of childhood imagination. I look forward to my next Emily Austin read and feel confident that this story will stay with me.

Emily Austin's writing style has been fantastic since her debut and she continues to hit it out of the park with this new novel. The humour in this book is excellent. Emily Austin writes lesbians so perfectly and this book is no exception. She also writes sisterhood masterfully. This book made me laugh, made me emotional (yes, I cried), made me nostalgic, it's got it all and I loved it all!

I’m glad I read this book at this particular moment in time. I found this comforting as someone who has struggled with my family relationships in our current political climate. I relate immensely to both Sigrid and Margit and I love that their relationship as sisters was more complex than the stereotypical “built-in best friends,” because sibling dynamics are usually more complicated than that. Ultimately I think this was a hopeful story and I will be recommending it to others. Maybe someday soon the skies can be pink.

CW: suicide

Happy Pub Day! We Could Be Rats opens with Sigrid writing a series of suicide letters to her sister, Margit. She pours out her frustrations about her unfulfilling job, the confines of her small-minded small town, and her complicated feelings about childhood, family, and friendship. The narrative then shifts to Margit, who is grappling with the aftermath of Sigrid’s suicide attempt.

I really enjoyed this book. While it delves into dark themes, it balances them with humor and meaningful reflections on childhood, imagination, and the challenges of growing up. The storytelling is uniquely crafted, though it can be frustrating at times. The messy, complex relationship between the sisters was especially fascinating—particularly in how they each navigate and cope with the weight of their family dynamics.

I recommend giving it a read!

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced reader copy!

4.5 stars

First of all, giant content warnings for discussion of suicide and opioid addiction.

The beginning of this book is written as a series of suicide note attempts, and the tone is light and straightforward and almost funny at times—I kept wondering what had happened in Sigrid’s life to lead her here. Of course, more is revealed as the narrative continues, and we eventually learn about her sister Margit, her best friend Greta, and some pretty upsetting events that have left their mark on Sigrid. The ending seems hopeful, but man, this is definitely the heaviest of Emily Austin’s novels so far.

I thought the structure was innovative, and the use of different perspectives effective (and truly heartbreaking). My feelings for Sigrid and her loved ones are so tender—I’m going to be thinking about these characters for quite a while.

Do you ever read a book that is very well written but just didn't quite click with you?

Unfortunately, that was me with We Could Be Rats. The book deals with relationships and mental health and while this typically will captivate me as a reader, i just couldn't click with Sigrid.

Im still giving this 3 stars because it is well written and the message will no doubt captivate the right reader!