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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Every time I read one of H. E. Edgmon's books, I walk away with a collection of quotes and a love for the beautifully broken characters they've crafted, and honestly, We Can Never Leave was no different. I still remain totally enamored of Edgmon's prose and the way he uses nonlinear narratives, but for me, this was also the weakest of their works.
First, the things I loved:
-as always in an H. E. Edgmon book, I love their characterization of the entire main cast. I consistently love that Edgmon is willing to tell stories about queer teens who are not your perfect role models; they're morally gray, they're messy, they're traumatized, and they are frequently awful to themselves and others because of it. So often in YA (and other genres, but we're in YA rn), readers are looking for windows, for ways to puzzle out their own complicated identities and come out on the other side of things. And I love that some characters here DO make it out, and some don't, and we can trace that through the narrative (even being super, super non-linear). I especially loved Bird and Cal.
-I loved the structure and the way that we are thrust right into the action. I loved the use of flashbacks to unfold the central mystery
-I loved how, unlike in Edgmon's other books, we have very few supporting characters and our cast is pretty small. We get 4 teens and sometimes a 5th, although he dips in and out of the narrative, and although it is kinda sorta a road trip, the focus is more on the characters than on the destination. I love a character focused book so much
Then, the things I didn't love:
-many reviewers have noted that the non-linear storytelling left them confused. For me, I can't see any other way that this story could've been told so as to preserve the central mystery, and I applaud that choice. But what DID lose me was some of the prose was more poetic than really concretely describing what was going on. It took me forEVER to figure out that the kids actually had powers. I didn't realize Bird glowed, or that Cal's kiss would kill someone, because things were sheathed in layers and layers of metaphor. Edgmon employed a similar technique in Godly Heathens, but that worked better for me, namely because we predominantly had one POV there and also it was a duology, so we had longer to puzzle out confusion.
TLDR: some things were made way more mysterious than they needed to be because of prose choices.
-Describing a sixteen year old as a twink was a choice.
-I did not love that an omniscient narrator had to keep dumping in information about what was going on. This may be me not being a big fan of 4th wall breaking, but it made me question where this narrator was coming from, and that pulled me way, way out of the narrative.
-I really wish we had been given more time with the Caravan itself and less with the drama between the 5 teens. I do love an insular setting (as noted above in the "things I loved" section), but the flashbacks giving us wider context on the Caravan were fascinating. I would adore if we got a sequel set in this same world, or even a companion novel, because the idea of non-human creatures appearing in the human world and then being immediately swept into a cult was compelling and unique. Just wish we'd done more with it.
I am giving this a 3.5, rounded up, because I really do love everything this book is doing. I just think it needed a little polish to shine.
Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books, and H. E. Edgmon for gifting me this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!
First, the things I loved:
-as always in an H. E. Edgmon book, I love their characterization of the entire main cast. I consistently love that Edgmon is willing to tell stories about queer teens who are not your perfect role models; they're morally gray, they're messy, they're traumatized, and they are frequently awful to themselves and others because of it. So often in YA (and other genres, but we're in YA rn), readers are looking for windows, for ways to puzzle out their own complicated identities and come out on the other side of things. And I love that some characters here DO make it out, and some don't, and we can trace that through the narrative (even being super, super non-linear). I especially loved Bird and Cal.
-I loved the structure and the way that we are thrust right into the action. I loved the use of flashbacks to unfold the central mystery
-I loved how, unlike in Edgmon's other books, we have very few supporting characters and our cast is pretty small. We get 4 teens and sometimes a 5th, although he dips in and out of the narrative, and although it is kinda sorta a road trip, the focus is more on the characters than on the destination. I love a character focused book so much
Then, the things I didn't love:
-many reviewers have noted that the non-linear storytelling left them confused. For me, I can't see any other way that this story could've been told so as to preserve the central mystery, and I applaud that choice. But what DID lose me was some of the prose was more poetic than really concretely describing what was going on. It took me forEVER to figure out that the kids actually had powers. I didn't realize Bird glowed, or that Cal's kiss would kill someone, because things were sheathed in layers and layers of metaphor. Edgmon employed a similar technique in Godly Heathens, but that worked better for me, namely because we predominantly had one POV there and also it was a duology, so we had longer to puzzle out confusion.
TLDR: some things were made way more mysterious than they needed to be because of prose choices.
-Describing a sixteen year old as a twink was a choice.
-I did not love that an omniscient narrator had to keep dumping in information about what was going on. This may be me not being a big fan of 4th wall breaking, but it made me question where this narrator was coming from, and that pulled me way, way out of the narrative.
-I really wish we had been given more time with the Caravan itself and less with the drama between the 5 teens. I do love an insular setting (as noted above in the "things I loved" section), but the flashbacks giving us wider context on the Caravan were fascinating. I would adore if we got a sequel set in this same world, or even a companion novel, because the idea of non-human creatures appearing in the human world and then being immediately swept into a cult was compelling and unique. Just wish we'd done more with it.
I am giving this a 3.5, rounded up, because I really do love everything this book is doing. I just think it needed a little polish to shine.
Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books, and H. E. Edgmon for gifting me this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really liked the concept of this book. The plot felt original, and I especially liked the ending, but the writing fell a little flat for me, for two main reasons: the character dynamics and the secret keeping.
I’ll start with the latter, first. Personally, in my own humble personal opinion (☝️) I don’t like when characters withhold information from the reader in order to create more shock factor later on. There was so much that these characters knew that wasn’t explained to the reader until the very end. Which, sure, creates some sort of shocking reveal, but up until that point we’ve had so much kept from us that we don’t know the characters. And when we don’t know the characters, we can’t connect and root for them. Because so much is kept from the reader, the result is a vague story, where everything is important but nothing is explained. With characters that hate each other for reasons only they know. Let us in on the secrets!! I promise we’ll keep them!
Speaking of character dynamics, most of the book is a repeated showcase of the animosity between the characters. They all hate each other for various vague and secret reasons, except, they all might secretly be in love with each other, actually? There are five POVs that all have the same general vibe, except for one, where the narrator breaks the fourth wall to talk directly to the reader. Again, a cool concept, but it fell a bit flat, because the narrator was ALSO keeping secrets from the reader.
However! There’s one tidbit of information in this book that isn’t kept a secret, and it’s the most shocking, horrifying detail that honestly saves the story. And it didn’t need to be a secret for it to have the intended shock value. It is also a major player in the ending of the story, and the connection and the tie-in was fantastic 😗👌
To wrap up this insanely long review, if you want good LGBTQ+ teen representation and don’t mind being in the dark (hey, to each their own!), check this one out!
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
too short!!!! i was just getting into it when it ended !!! loved it tho h.e edgmon never misses
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The premise of this book was intriguing if very vague so it caught my attention. The start of the book made me think that it was going to make some sense by the end, and while some things wrapped up I was mostly left still baffled by what the plot actually was. Interesting characters, interesting world building, but so confusingly constructed. I feel like I need a prequel and sequel to explain what the hell was supposed to be going on, and I can’t tell if the confusion was purposeful or not.
Every character gets their own POV with some backstory woven throughout. It seems like some readers found it confusing but it was pretty easy to tell everyone apart while reading the audiobook. Vico Ortiz is a master at narration. Every time the 4th wall broke I was grinning like an idiot.
This isn't some warm and fuzzy book. These kids are hurting. They’re damaged. They don’t know HOW to not hurt each other. It’s painful to read because these kids don’t know anything else. Please take the author's note at the start of this book seriously.
I couldn’t put this book down. 4 stars.
Early free copy thanks to NetGalley
This isn't some warm and fuzzy book. These kids are hurting. They’re damaged. They don’t know HOW to not hurt each other. It’s painful to read because these kids don’t know anything else. Please take the author's note at the start of this book seriously.
I couldn’t put this book down. 4 stars.
Early free copy thanks to NetGalley
3.25/3.5 ⭐️
First & Foremost, this audiobook is SOOO WELL DONE. I absolutely devoured it in one sitting and i truly give a lot of that credit to the audiobook. I was sucked in from the beginning and it never lost my attention.
I really loved what this story was trying to be! It had found family, fantasy, a little bit of mystery and it was being told by a cast of queer, misfit characters that i truly enjoyed. There was a lot of representation for people who feel like they fit nowhere, but also have nowhere to go so they’re somewhat stuck.
There’s A LOT of POVs in this book, some of the were quite jarring and took me out of the overall story which was a bit of a disappointment, but i also understand why the many POVs were necessary.
I did find some parts of the story were a bit slow and dragged, but overall it was a fun time.
I would HIGHLY recommend consuming this via audiobook! The narration was done SO WELL.
Overall, it was an OK read, i believe i’ll remember the characters, but not their story but i would definitely recommend giving it a try still 😊
First & Foremost, this audiobook is SOOO WELL DONE. I absolutely devoured it in one sitting and i truly give a lot of that credit to the audiobook. I was sucked in from the beginning and it never lost my attention.
I really loved what this story was trying to be! It had found family, fantasy, a little bit of mystery and it was being told by a cast of queer, misfit characters that i truly enjoyed. There was a lot of representation for people who feel like they fit nowhere, but also have nowhere to go so they’re somewhat stuck.
There’s A LOT of POVs in this book, some of the were quite jarring and took me out of the overall story which was a bit of a disappointment, but i also understand why the many POVs were necessary.
I did find some parts of the story were a bit slow and dragged, but overall it was a fun time.
I would HIGHLY recommend consuming this via audiobook! The narration was done SO WELL.
Overall, it was an OK read, i believe i’ll remember the characters, but not their story but i would definitely recommend giving it a try still 😊
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-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
This book is so good. I found the fourth wall breaks and multiple perspectives interesting after initial surprise and confusion when it happened the first couple times. I felt truly connected to the characters and the narrator of the audiobook gave them so much life. The ending hurts and is true to the complicated lives of children growing up with complicated (most likely abusive) home lives.
This book is so worth a read/listen!
This book is so worth a read/listen!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Death
The animal death is complicated because I'm not sure if it should really be considered child death/cannibalism? Two of the main characters have a sister who is born as a full on fawn when most of their family is human born with deer features. The parents force the older brother to kill her and then the family eats her.
I'm incredibly thankful to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy! It was an interesting read from the start to the finish. It was also a book that I was happy to read throughout the day.
It took some time to develop a fondness and understanding of the characters. The mystery surrounding each, specifically the boys, kept me hooked. I also loved the twist in the book. It was pretty well-established too and made sense for the narrative. Even some of the lesser developed areas of the book (the caravan's rules and how people join) could be explained by looking through the perspective of Felix and the other teenagers. They don't know much so we don't know much. However, some of the chapters from Charlotte's perspective could've explained this in greater detail.
My main issues with the book was the constant interruptions from the author / narrator by addressing the "reader." It completely took me out of the narrative. I didn't think it was necessary to explain the nuance and subtext. While much of the flowery and fanciful descriptions were nice in theory, some just made me confused. Like saying you can stuff emotions into your pocket then saying you should box them away in the next line. I would need to read some multiple times to understand them better. I also think that some of the pop culture references will probably date this book, too. Using "nepo-babying" as a verb or referencing Taylor Swift were ones that stick out.
It took some time to develop a fondness and understanding of the characters. The mystery surrounding each, specifically the boys, kept me hooked. I also loved the twist in the book. It was pretty well-established too and made sense for the narrative. Even some of the lesser developed areas of the book (the caravan's rules and how people join) could be explained by looking through the perspective of Felix and the other teenagers. They don't know much so we don't know much. However, some of the chapters from Charlotte's perspective could've explained this in greater detail.
My main issues with the book was the constant interruptions from the author / narrator by addressing the "reader." It completely took me out of the narrative. I didn't think it was necessary to explain the nuance and subtext. While much of the flowery and fanciful descriptions were nice in theory, some just made me confused. Like saying you can stuff emotions into your pocket then saying you should box them away in the next line. I would need to read some multiple times to understand them better. I also think that some of the pop culture references will probably date this book, too. Using "nepo-babying" as a verb or referencing Taylor Swift were ones that stick out.
medium-paced
This was awesome. So sad the end. Only around 85% I started to realize what was happening, and then bam! The end hit me and brought tears to my eyes. I love stories with redemption and those without salvation at all. I liked the concept of them being magical with animal parts and that we learn more about each other and their past. Their interaction and reaction add to the drama. It's eerie and made me want to reread Station Eleven and other great dystopians.
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Abandonment