Y’all, I was so stoked when I was approved for the ARC of Emily Austin’s next book. I read Interesting Facts About Space and Everyone In This Room Will Someday Be Dead earlier in the year and gave both of them 5 stars. She has quickly become one of my favorite authors. As a fellow lesbian with anxiety and religious trauma, her books are my exact niche. I had extremely high hopes going into this new release and I am very happy to report that We Could Be Rats lived up to my expectations. In a lot of ways, this book has stuck with me much more than her other two novels. 

I have a hard time trying to summarize this book because I think it’s best to go into it knowing nothing and just being along for the ride. The themes of this book deal with grief, loneliness, anxiety, nostalgia, and growing up. The structure of the book is so interesting and the payoff for it was masterfully done. About halfway through I was concerned that the unique structure was going to overstay its welcome - but that was not the case at all. Just trust me, keep reading.

Emily Austin is a very funny writer who is a master at witty dialogue and creating moments of painful second-hand embarrassment that you can’t help but cringe and laugh at. There is humor sprinkled throughout this book, but the tone of this one is more serious than her other two books. There was just something about the narration that made my heart ache throughout the entire story. There were so many things that our main characters were feeling that I have also experienced firsthand, and that made the reading experience almost too real in some places. I felt like she was plucking thoughts straight out of my head. But, like in all of Austin’s books, there is still an emotional catharsis and underlying hope that persists despite how dark things sometimes feel. Sigrid is extremely creative and imaginative, but somehow this book ends up feeling like Austin’s most grounded work. 

If you like Austin’s previous works or queer literary fiction in general, this one is an absolute must-read. She gives depth and originality to the “women vs the void” or “sad girl” genres that are really popular right now. She is able to not take things too seriously while simultaneously adding a levity and hope that makes each of her books so healing to read. 

Thank you SO much to Netgalley for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.