Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

We Could Be Rats by Emily Austin

7 reviews

chelsbels's review against another edition

dark emotional funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

We Could Be Rats by Emily Austin

Is Rat-tling good! 

The first time I read Austin was because their debut novel had a rabbit on the cover. I read that in nearly 1 sitting! Then I read their work of poetry and now I'm just hooked. Austin may in fact be my favourite author! 

In their latest novel, we follow two sisters as we creep closer to the truth and understanding of their lives, relationship, and family. Austin is a master of foreshadowing, and this take on the epistolary/ diary entry style they have created for We Could Be Rats is prodigious! 

There’s almost nothing I could write that would not in turn give this novel’s incredible journey away. Except to say it reminded me very much of Catcher in the Rye with the teenage angst or dislike of being an adult and no longer having the innocence of a child. And it’s about suicide. The majority of the book is a suicide note. 

It’s not a dreary novel, instead it’s almost like (excuse the comparison) a murder-mystery novel. You want to know what the truth is, why is this minor character even written, why are there lies, who’s voice is it, are we waiting for it all to make sense, is it supposed to… It’s also hilariously gripping and oddly satisfying.  As you try to solve it all. 

This novel is for anyone who enjoys contemporary fiction. Read with care as much deals with death and abuse. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Homophobia

Minor: Sexual assault, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, and Lesbophobia

dogoodwithbooks's review

dark emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Unconventional in form and structure, We Could Be Rats takes awhile to fully understand, but once you do, this might be her best work yet. Mixing the angst that comes with coming-of-age, grieving for the loss of childhood, and reuniting sisterhood bonds, We Could Be Rats is the kind of book that will stay with you after closing the last page. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Homophobia, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Toxic relationship

lila134340's review

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Transphobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Suicide attempt

dixiecarroll's review

dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

While incredibly similar at first to her other two, the second and third parts of this book threw me completely. I cried the entire part 2 and I feel heavy in general. But her books really just speak to my brain in such a clear way - I adore them and I resonate deeply with her characters. 

Massive trigger warnings: suicide, DV, drug abuse, & slight references toward bigoted politicians 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicide, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, and Suicide attempt

kat_in_a_tree's review

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, Mental illness, Rape, Toxic relationship, Medical content, and Religious bigotry

devynreadsnovels's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Biphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Lesbophobia, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Infidelity, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Abortion, and Abandonment

readingpicnic's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for a free digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was beyond excited to receive an ARC of this book and let out a “yippee!” of joy! Full of the morbid humor I’ve come to love and expect from Emily Austin, she is a definite auto-read author for me. I’m also obsessed with the continuation of the lesbian main characters of her novels having old woman names, which brings me such unbridled joy. This one’s for the undiagnosed neurodivergent mentally ill sapphics who never quite got along with their family members due to not understanding social cues and were constantly admonished for being too “rude,” “ungrateful,” “impolite,” “abrasive,” “blunt,” and “difficult” and now live in a constant state of anxiety that they are off-putting to everyone around them. I just feel like Emily Austin scooped her main characters out of my brain whenever I read her books–they are far too relatable. Please picture me giggling quietly to myself at my library service desk while reading this. I honestly did not expect the twist ~60% through the book, and it was a pleasant surprise and a great shift in the storytelling, as I was starting to feel that it was getting a bit repetitive for me. I think this book could have easily only included Sigrid's POV and given us her perspective of Margit, but I was really glad that her perspective was shared to, as she is not holding it together like Sigrid thinks she is, and it really showed her complexity as a character--really great way of showing the distance that has grown between the sisters and how they have warped views of each other. The small town politics present through most of the story was also far too relatable, especially the arguments with family members, the pressure to keep quiet and maintain a false sense of peace even while the people around you are spouting hatred, the Facebook comment arguments (which I did partake in with someone from my town about wedding cake makers refusing to serve queer people). I found myself highlighting so many quotes while I was reading and having as good of a time as I could due to the subject matter dealing heavily with mental illness and su*cide. I've come to love how there's always some little mystery that constantly pesters at the main characters of Emily Austin's books: the missing cat in Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead, the people "fucking" upstairs in Interesting Facts About Space, the googly eye thief in this book. There's just a really nice consistency across all of these books and they feel inextricably connected with their main characters working through mental health struggles and questions of what it means to be a good person. I think if you enjoyed her other books, you would enjoy this one as well--just have some patience with the "attempts" chapters and know that they aren't the format of the whole book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Medical content, and Religious bigotry