I really liked the structure of the world it takes place in, although I was extremely confused at first. It made me think a bit of the Netflix series Sweet Tooth at the beginning, but then it took a different direction.

The mystery of what happened with the caravan made the pages fly by for me, I was very intrigued. I came to feel real affection for the characters, and I liked how the bond between them was built. The found family trope is one of the most comforting.

A young adult novel that made me think about the decisions I've made, the people I've trusted, and how everyone has a story that they don't necessarily share even with their closest friends.

EH. This YA Fantasy was not really my taste, but I am glad that I gave it a try. This is so outside my comfort zone book wise, so I am glad that I ventured out- even if it wasn't the book for me! 2 stars!

Sweet Tooth is a great comp title for this book. At times I could see what this is trying to do, but it's so confusing that a narrator has to bluntly keep stepping in to explain and I was STILL confused by the ending.

Summary: Five non-human teens wake up one day to discover their entire community, the Caravan, has disappeared. They decide to make the trip to the only other place they know of where they may find others who were formerly a part of their community of “creatures.” Along the way, we discover secrets from their past and question what we know about the Caravan.
My thoughts: I DEVOURED this book! After just a couple chapters, I was hooked! Actual quote to my husband: “I have no idea what is going on, but I love this book so far!”
I absolutely loved every single one of the main characters, but I didn’t like any of them. Not until the end, at least.
If I were to compare this to another book, I would say it’s similar to One of Us Is Lying but make it paranormal. It has a similar story structure.
We Can Never Leave is so beautifully written and confusing and amazing. I just loved this book so so much!

this was a bit of a confusing read at first but the last puzzle piece clicked near the end and everything made so much sense. the environmental writing was good and had an eerie vibe to in it. i look forward to more of this author!

I just finished a new fiction book. We Can Never Leave by HE Edgmon was an absolute enjoyable read. Don’t miss it.

Dark. Disturbing. But a glimmer of hope right to the very end.

There are no words that are accurate enough to describe this story.
A modern fantasy world where not is all as it seems. A caravan travels America and collects found non-humans and brings them into their group where they celebrate their lives and the cycles of the moons with vigorous ferocity. Each of the people who find their way into the caravan were turned into something extraordinary, ie: a man with feathered wings, a woman with serpents for hair and a forked tongue of her own to match, a boy of shadows with glowing red eyes, two brothers each either different features of a fawn, etc. they have no recollection of their human life before they became something other than human. So they’re brought into the caravan for a new life. But it’s not all sunshine and rainbows, there’s something darker lurking beneath.

A group of 5 teens find themselves alone after every person in their caravan seems to disappear off the face of the earth. They have to work together to find out what’s happened, and try not to kill each other in the process.

This book is beautifully written and explores deep and dark topics that happen far too often in our world. It explores the effects of trauma and generation trauma and how people forced into these circumstances find ways to survive and protect themselves. While the idea behind it was the religious cults like evangelicalism, there’s a lot of parallels to other groups who survive and thrive because of deep seated trauma.
I don’t know what this book was. But it sunk its teeth into my brain and I couldn’t shake it out. I had to keep reading and finish the story. Although I’m not entirely convinced it will let me go even now that it’s done.

This book requires you to have a lot of trust in the author. Many things in the book didn’t make sense until the last 30 pages or so, but it was building tension with such subtlety that you just had to keep reading and hoping that Edgmon was going somewhere until it all just clicks and you are really able to appreciate the story.

There are five characters in this book, each with a very different backstory of how they came to be in the Caravan and then an omnipresent narrator who just chimes in throughout, but does not always choose to share what they know. It took me a minute to get into the story, because I had a little trouble figuring out who was who and what was going on with the writing style but once it was clear I couldn’t stop reading. I came to appreciate the writing style and the beauty and heartbreak of the story being told. Each of the characters was incredibly compelling and despite their numerous and blatantly listed flaws you can’t help but care for them. I think this is a wonderful read and I hope that you will trust that Edgmon knows what they are doing and are very intentional with where they take these characters at the end.

Overall I enjoyed this book! I've been a fan of HE Edgmon since The Witch King so was so excited to get to read this early! I liked that we got deep in the minds of these characters. I felt like I could really get to know them. They all were very distinct and their relationships to each other were complex and interesting to read about it.

I did struggle with it in the beginning. With dystopian/sci-fi books like this, it's of course normal to feel like you don't know what's going on. However, you can generally get to over halfway through the book and start understanding what's happening. I didn't feel that here - I realized I was nearly done with the book and was still wondering what the plot was, and what was going on. It all came together at the ending, and being able to look back at the story knowing how it ends made everything made sense. It did make for a slightly frustrating reading experience.

I don't have any lived experience with religious cults, so I won't comment on the accuracy of the portrayal. However, I appreciated getting a view into what teens living in these situations are facing.

This was still a very enjoyable read! Stories like these are very important and I'm glad HE Edgmon is writing them.

This one just . . . confused and bored me, to say the least.

The beginning was strong, with the adult disappearance set up and showcasing the group dynamics (i.e., everyone hating each other), but so much of the middle chunk is dedicated so much to poetic writing that made visualizing the scene very difficult for me. I can tell that there is something meaningful wrapped up in the pretty prose, themes regarding gender, sexuality, outcasts, humanity, etc., but nothing properly is given time to breath and explain. Plus, the rules of the Caravan and the society aren't fully explored and the whole issue just drops in on itself by the end.

I can be all for unlikable characters, especially when they're deeply traumatized like our leads here, but it just doesn't work for me here. It really doesn't help that the five separate POVs are being torn between the past and future in a little over 300 pages; so much is rushed through or not explained enough in order for me to clearly understand all these kids and their motivations. Besides the brief flashback snippets, we don't know anything about these characters other than they argue constantly, which makes them so stagnant and boring. The book keeps saying there's sexual tension / soul mate connection between Bird and Hugo, but I never thought that at all. Cal could have been more interesting if she was given the proper time, Eamon was barely there and felt borderline invisible, and Felix - the whole thing with him should have been properly developed more before the end; that's all I'll say.

There actually is something tat elicited some passion in me, but all for the wrong reasons. In a couple chapters in Felix's POV, Edgmon, disguised as the narrator, straight up condescendingly explains the point of the story, and not so subtly foreshadows the ending, to the reader. I know people think YA readers are dumb and don't understand literary analysis, but I never would expect that attitude straight from a YA author. This really got on my nerves so much because I despise authors who look down on their reader base like that.

All in all, while it may be a well-intentioned book, the lack of story and character development really dragged it down. I'm probably gonna read whatever Edgmon outs out next, though.

H.E. Edgmon's We Can Never Leave was an unexpected delight. I really had no idea what I was in for with this part mystery, part adventure tale. Highly enjoyed!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

Book:
WE CAN NEVER LEAVE by H.E. Edgmon
Thank you Netgalley and WednesdayBooks for the Earc (Jun 10)

Review:
3⭐
I went back and forth on how to rate this. Part of me thought this was interesting, but the other part of my was utterly confused by what was going on. That part almost won out, but really, the ending saved this. It twisted and turned in such a way that I couldn't unwind it.
WE CAN NEVER LEAVE follows multiple people, all members of a Caravan. They're not exactly human. When they wake to find most of the Caravan has disappeared, except for them, the group embarks on a journey to find civilization, the figure out where the others went.
This book had its interesting points, but it was really hard for me to wrap my head around what was going on. It almost felt like I zoned out through the first half since it was hard to keep track of what was going on...when all that was going on were people arguing as they rode in a RV. It seemed like nothing was going on but the occasional weird scene.
What was happening throughout this book wasn't all that confused me. It was hard keeping track of the POVs, especially in the Before chapters. Yes, even though it was labeled.
With all that being said, WE CAN NEVER LEAVE did eventually draw me in, holding my interest long enough to finish it. There were moments where realization began snaking its way through, but I never saw tha revelation coming. It shocked me while leaving my dumbfounded at how. How did it happen? How did the figure it out? Etc. Because of this, the twist that needed more explanation, I rated this a 3 instead of lower.

I don't know how I feel about this book. Starting with the writing style, this book had very poetic descriptions, lots of metaphors and what not. Personally, I felt like some of these descriptions were borderline incomprehensible, but I feel like a lot of readers tend to gravitate towards poetic writing, so this is more of a me problem. As for the plot... well, there barely is one. You get a little plot at the beginning and a little plot at the end, but most of this book is just the characters meandering around and arguing. Speaking of characters, they were quite unlikable, but I still liked reading about them. However, they are quite stagnant throughout the narrative. Since there was so little plot, I figured there would be a lot of character growth, but we don't really see any of that until about the 70% mark. The narrative mostly goes back and forth between present day when the characters are just arguing and fighting and the past where we get vague snippets of the characters traumatic pasts. We don't really learn that much about the character's pasts, the caravan, or the plot itself. I did like the few answers that were given, but I was just left with way too many questions to really feel satisfied. Also, I did not like the Felix chapters. For some reason, the "author" decides to speak to the reader in the Felix chapters. I don't know why. It just felt super condescending. For example. "This whole thing is reeking of a religious cult. Have you picked up on that yet?" (chapter 8) and "Okay, pause. Hello again, reader. I imagine you might be having some thoughts right now." (chapter 18). Each of these interjections took me out of the moment and, again, felt so condescending. It felt like the author doesn't think the readers are smart enough to pick up on subtext so they decided to actively address the reader and be like "hey, btw, did you pick up on that subtext earlier???" Now I just feel like I'm ranting. Anyway, this book was fine, I guess? Not much plot, not many answers, and not much character growth. But despite all that, it was still a pretty good reading experience.

I like this one, but I wish there was more. I love Edgmon's characters and the emotional intensity, but I really wanted more at the end of the book. These characters are interesting and I wanted to keep learning and processing with them.
The story switched between perspectives which I love, and it jumped from past timelines to the present timeline which I also love, but it did take me a little bit to get used to the time jumps with so many character perspectives. I really appreciate the project of this story because I have deconstructed from a high control religion. I hope there will be more in this world with these themes because I think it is an important topic, and Edgmon captures so much of the emotional turmoil in this story.

Big big thanks to Wednesday for reaching out with the offer to arc this one. It’s funny cause I actually entered a Goodreads contest for this one either hours or days before getting the email so thanks kindly. Unfortunately this one just wasn’t for me, but I’m absolutely certain it’ll find its people.

This book confused me to no end.
And, unsurprisingly, I loved it.

PLOT SUMMARY:

When five teenagers awaken from sleep to find their found-family–a caravan comprised of “freaks” of nature–missing, they take to the road in search of them. But, as time wears on, and these five teenagers butt-heads and find common ground, they begin to realize that the mystery surrounding the Caravan is far darker than they had anticipated…

PLOT REVIEW:

Sometimes, you find a book that is so deeply confusing and full of careful thought that you can’t help but shout “WHAT?!” through huge crocodile tears.
We Can Never Leave is that book for me.
It’s a touching story about gender, sexuality, and the complicated feeling of belonging. I loved these aspects of the book. Many novels are touching on these sorts of subjects, but H.E. Edgmon took such care in representing them that I felt truly grateful.
But.
This book is about a Caravan (cult, to be more clear) with buried secrets and mysterious ways. I would have loved to learn more about this society and how, exactly, they “find” their members. However, that aspect of the story was never really resolved or fully touched on. We see the gruesome acts of the members directed towards their children, but we are never told WHY this is happening.
What is their motivation? Why do they do what they do? Where are they getting all of their members?
I would have loved to learn more about these subjects.
While that may be the case, I still immensely enjoyed each plot point of our characters. They were nuanced and very intentional.
Bonus, the ending actually left me surprised! Something that rarely happens.

CHARACTERS:

It is a rare book that is able to create such unique characters with multiple defining qualities.
Even better, it takes a super special book to make me hate and love MCs equally and interchangeably.
The most interesting character in this book?
Eamon, for sure. He was the most fascinating to me. And his ending was quite shocking and left me reeling.
Bird was also a very intriguing person. They have a very deep story with nuances and difficulties that make them both relatable and understandable. Their struggles with gender and acceptance were also deeply touching and most likely helped young teens relate to them a lot more.
Felix and Hugo were my least favorite characters, but I still loved them all the same. I realize that makes no sense, but it was truly impossible for me to hate anyone in this book. They are each what they were raised to be. Can we blame any of them for their actions, no matter how horrible?
Even Cal, who was my favorite character out of the five, I hated and loved in intervals. She’s deeply complicated and snarky, with a heart of gold and hidden desires even she seems unaware of.
Even better, all of these characters are Queer in one way or another. We have such broad representation, and I love seeing that in books for teens. We need more books like this, and I hope that we start to get them.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Confusing, Queer, and so emotionally gripping that I want to scream and cry into the abyss that is life….

I am in love with the dark imagery written in really beautiful language that H.E. Edgmon has mastered.
Each of the characters we follow throughout the book are compelling, even when there is a narrator speaking directly to the reader (in Felix's chapters specifically) to sow seeds of distrust and something dark seeping through the pages.
The use of magic is compelling, with Bird literally glowing, Hugo controlling fire, and Felix's ability to control the situation in an unusual way.
The ability Felix has to create a world of his own and trap people there feels very similar to the idea in the author's Godly Heathens duology, but in this book it's much more developed and confirmed to be what is happening.
Bird and Hugo were filled with angst, but it was very on par for their ages and the situations that have led them to their current relationship, It was heartbreaking that they never really got a reunion before the ending of the book, especially because they are permanently separated by Felix's created realm.
I think the inclusion of the Felix's twin, both in reality and the character he creates of her in his mind realm, was disturbing but also goes to show there is something deeply unsettling going on with the Caravan.
The characters who later return to the real-life Caravan after being released by Felix coming to th4e conclusion that there is something dark and secret of how the people who join the Caravan come to the community.

I received a free copy of, We Can Never Leave, by H.E. Edgmon, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Five half humans are left to figure out what happened to everyone else, but they all have their own secrets. Im not normally a fan of fantasy, but this was different.

So I wanted to like this and there are some things that I did like. I did like the idea of "outcasts"--always a positive to show characters that readers can see themselves in. Breaking away from or trauma around narcissist parenting, cults/religion is also a powerful theme.

As much as I tried to like this, it was boring. The beginning has promise, the ending is wild, but the whole middle is dull. I found myself skipping a lot to get to some plot. There just seemed to be too much arguing and personal thoughts that didn't hold my attention. It was also hard to like any of the characters. It's never explained why they all hate each other so much. The "reasons" given just don't hold. Following a group of unlikeable teens on an endless journey when all that happens is arguing...not interesting.

I do appreciate the ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher.

I love everything H E Edgmon writes. I love the interrogation of humanity, the analysis of gender/sexuality that’s simultaneously subtle but also front and center. Excited to read more.