We Could Be Rats
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Average rating5
15
Ratings1
Average rating5
A “one-sitting-read" (Laurie Frankel, New York Times bestselling author) about two very different sisters, and a love letter to childhood, growing up, and the power of imagination—from the bestselling author of Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead and Interesting Facts About Space.
Sigrid hates working at the Dollar Pal but having always resisted the idea of growing up into the trappings of adulthood, she did not graduate high school, preferring to roam the streets of her small town with her best friend Greta, the only person in the world who ever understood her. Her older sister Margit is baffled and frustrated by Sigrid’s inability to conform to the expectations of polite society.
But Sigrid’s detachment veils a deeper turmoil and sensitivity. She’s haunted by the pains of her past—from pretending her parents were swamp monsters when they shook the floorboards with their violent arguments to grappling with losing Greta’s friendship to the opioid epidemic ravaging their town. As Margit sets out to understand Sigrid and the secrets she has hidden, both sisters, in their own time and way, discover that reigniting their shared childhood imagination is the only way forward.
“A must read” (Haley Jakobson, New York Times Editor’s Choice author), We Could Be Rats is an unforgettable story of two sisters finding their way back to each other, and a celebration of that transcendent, unshakable bond.
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Please allow me to share a timeless quote from a review of Emily Austin’s Interesting Facts About Space: “Emily Austin is a precious gem and all of her books are perfect.” Wow, what an amazing quote. What absolute genius wrote that? It was me. I wrote it.
This book is so. good. I needed to read it. Both in a “I’m a fan of Emily Austin, I need to read this” way and a “I need to read this for my soul” way, though I didn’t realize the latter until I was finished. It feels like reading someone’s diary (and I guess part of it is kind of reading someone’s diary) so it’s very raw and authentic. The strained relationship between Sigrid and her sister Margit is so interesting and even a little frustrating as the reader because you just know they could be great friends since they’re so alike. But they don’t realize it and it’s like… ahhhhh!
I don’t know how she does it, but Emily Austin creates characters that I always relate to in some way. There’s always something about them that calls out to me and says “I’m you and you’re me,” and then I laugh and cry the whole time because it’s true. This time, the thing that grabbed me most was Sigrid’s relationship with Greta. Everything about it screamed “this is your relationship with your own friend,” and it was lovely and heartbreaking and at times it was painful to read.
I’ve found that a part of me is healed every time I read one of Emily Austin’s books. I’m convinced that eventually, she’ll write enough of them that I’ll be completely cured. Can’t wait!
I received an ARC of this book from Atria via Netgalley.
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