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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
Thank you to Recorded Books and Netgalley for sending me a copy of this audiobook! All opinions are my own!
Well, that was horrible...and I absolutely ate up every single second. I'm not sure I completely understood everything, but I think that was a lot of the joy of it. I was not at all expecting the ending, and the way I gasped when it finally hit me....unmatched.
The creepiness of the setting and the premise really sets this story up for success. It lends itself to the real-life conversations about religion, cult-like life, and so much more while showing the awful faces behind the masks of these things.
I loved the narration and the way that everyone was so starkly different, it really helped you feel like you were getting to know the characters.
This is such a creepy, existential read, and if that doesn't get you to pick it up, then I don't know what will.
Well, that was horrible...and I absolutely ate up every single second. I'm not sure I completely understood everything, but I think that was a lot of the joy of it. I was not at all expecting the ending, and the way I gasped when it finally hit me....unmatched.
The creepiness of the setting and the premise really sets this story up for success. It lends itself to the real-life conversations about religion, cult-like life, and so much more while showing the awful faces behind the masks of these things.
I loved the narration and the way that everyone was so starkly different, it really helped you feel like you were getting to know the characters.
This is such a creepy, existential read, and if that doesn't get you to pick it up, then I don't know what will.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Soooooo this book was really interesting. I LOVED the concept. It addresses real life (raised in cult inspired) nightmares in a genuinely fantastical and creepy way. Each of the characters are really interesting with fascinating and complex backstories. Each character is unique it their personality, each responding to similar traumas in their own distinct and different ways. The author also does a great job exploring the relationships between the characters in a way that enhances the themes of exploring cult-induced trauma.
All that being said, I struggled to follow some things in this book. Soft world building can be very captivating in its own way and really help build mystery in a story like this with insidious undertones. However, if it leads to too many questions and not enough answers, it ends up steering away from engaging and tumbling into confusing. And I feel like this book really dances on that line. And I wish it had backed up a few steps.
The other complaint I have about this book is that it's kind of a lot of POVs AND it jumps around a lot in time which made following what was going on (in addition to what is probably too many world-basted questions) difficult. This might have been mitigated if I'd been physically reading it so I could have taken things a little more slowly in the beginning of the book while we're getting to know each of the characters, but then I also would have missed out on some of the awesome things about the audiobook including:
The awesome creepy whispers that I will probably have nightmares about.
The nuance in changes to narration style for different POVs. For this, I'm not talking about different voices for the dialog. I'm talking about reading the narrative
One thing I didn't like about the audiobook though was that there were definitely some bits of clunky editing where the sound would changes on single lines, phrases or sometimes individual words. It really messed up the immersion.
Another thing to note about this book is that there are instances where the narrative breaks the fourth wall. Sometimes I like that in a book, but this time, I'm not sure it was the best call. I don't know what it added and the further we got into the book, the more I felt like it just interrupted from the experience rather than adding anything.
It's listed as YA which makes sense since the story follows teens but I didn't feel like the quality of the prose was at all lacking. It managed to feel artistic while still feeling straightforward enough for a teen audience.
As for the ending, I could see some folks really hating the ending, but with one exception (character deaths ), I actually found the ending really satisfying and appreciate the book that much more for it. Even though this book is solidly fantasy, the approach and the ending gave it some Sci-fi kind of vibes that I really dug.
I recommend this book to anyone who interested in reading a creature-esque fantasy with themes of exploring trauma and horror and slight sci-fi undertones.
All that being said, I struggled to follow some things in this book. Soft world building can be very captivating in its own way and really help build mystery in a story like this with insidious undertones. However, if it leads to too many questions and not enough answers, it ends up steering away from engaging and tumbling into confusing. And I feel like this book really dances on that line. And I wish it had backed up a few steps.
The other complaint I have about this book is that it's kind of a lot of POVs AND it jumps around a lot in time which made following what was going on (in addition to what is probably too many world-basted questions) difficult. This might have been mitigated if I'd been physically reading it so I could have taken things a little more slowly in the beginning of the book while we're getting to know each of the characters, but then I also would have missed out on some of the awesome things about the audiobook including:
The awesome creepy whispers that I will probably have nightmares about.
The nuance in changes to narration style for different POVs. For this, I'm not talking about different voices for the dialog. I'm talking about reading the narrative
One thing I didn't like about the audiobook though was that there were definitely some bits of clunky editing where the sound would changes on single lines, phrases or sometimes individual words. It really messed up the immersion.
Another thing to note about this book is that there are instances where the narrative breaks the fourth wall. Sometimes I like that in a book, but this time, I'm not sure it was the best call. I don't know what it added and the further we got into the book, the more I felt like it just interrupted from the experience rather than adding anything.
It's listed as YA which makes sense since the story follows teens but I didn't feel like the quality of the prose was at all lacking. It managed to feel artistic while still feeling straightforward enough for a teen audience.
As for the ending, I could see some folks really hating the ending, but with one exception (
I recommend this book to anyone who interested in reading a creature-esque fantasy with themes of exploring trauma and horror and slight sci-fi undertones.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Confinement, Deadnaming, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail
This advanced copy was provided by Wednesday Books, via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
DNF 30%
After reaching the 30% mark, I decided this book wasn't for me. I don't like any of the characters and I am having a hard time wanting to read this.
I really appreciate the author's note in the beginning. I think this book will definitely find its readers, I'm just not one of them. I will, however, read the other books H.E. Edgmon has written!
DNF 30%
After reaching the 30% mark, I decided this book wasn't for me. I don't like any of the characters and I am having a hard time wanting to read this.
I really appreciate the author's note in the beginning. I think this book will definitely find its readers, I'm just not one of them. I will, however, read the other books H.E. Edgmon has written!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence
Moderate: Abandonment
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
THIS WAS SO GOOD. So this is another book that I think needs to say it's a horror, because it is. The description says it's fantasy because of the paranormal, but really this is a horror/paranormal mystery. I was so surprised by the ending and had to look back afterwards to see what Is missed.
Sometimes inhuman kids wake up with amnesia and magic powers, and the Caravan comes along to take them in and protect them from humans who would try to harm them. One day, five teens wake up to find that all the adults have been raptured in the night. Who's left? The golden prodigal child who recently came home, their angry ex, the ex's innocent little brother, a scary girl with sharp teeth, and a scary boy that creeps everyone out. These five kids have to figure out what happened, while battling their own demons and hatreds.
This is definitely a book about religious trauma (hello, fear of everyone but you getting Raptured!!?) in a cult. We have an omniscient narrator who hides things, and every character has their own secrets. Lots of flashbacks to the past, and I realized on a reread that several were about the mom.
I really, really liked this book and will definitely have to buy a copy now that it's out.
CW for cannibalism, child abuse, death, mental illness, child neglect
Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for this ARC.
Sometimes inhuman kids wake up with amnesia and magic powers, and the Caravan comes along to take them in and protect them from humans who would try to harm them. One day, five teens wake up to find that all the adults have been raptured in the night. Who's left? The golden prodigal child who recently came home, their angry ex, the ex's innocent little brother, a scary girl with sharp teeth, and a scary boy that creeps everyone out. These five kids have to figure out what happened, while battling their own demons and hatreds.
This is definitely a book about religious trauma (hello, fear of everyone but you getting Raptured!!?) in a cult. We have an omniscient narrator who hides things, and every character has their own secrets. Lots of flashbacks to the past, and I realized on a reread that several were about the mom.
I really, really liked this book and will definitely have to buy a copy now that it's out.
CW for cannibalism, child abuse, death, mental illness, child neglect
Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for this ARC.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment
Moderate: Cannibalism
Minor: Alcoholism
The characters were raised in a cult
I received an ALC of the audiobook from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
DNF @ 50%
Unfortunately, this just isn't for me. I don't think it's badly written in terms of the prose, and the premise is really interesting, but at halfway through, I'm still not getting into it. The characters' relationships and experiences have a very dark tone, without that being counterbalanced by much in the way of reasons to like or root for them. There's a fourth-wall breaking narrator as well, which sometimes works for me, but not in this case. It feels out-of-place-whimsical, but also annoying - the narrator keeps commenting that they can't tell me everything as the reader because they don't trust me.
This may be more for someone who likes dark coming-of-age stories. I love a fantasy mystery, and I'm always here for queer narratives, but I find this kind of dark teen intensity tough to deal with.
I really like Vico Ortiz and I have no complaints about the narration.
DNF @ 50%
Unfortunately, this just isn't for me. I don't think it's badly written in terms of the prose, and the premise is really interesting, but at halfway through, I'm still not getting into it. The characters' relationships and experiences have a very dark tone, without that being counterbalanced by much in the way of reasons to like or root for them. There's a fourth-wall breaking narrator as well, which sometimes works for me, but not in this case. It feels out-of-place-whimsical, but also annoying - the narrator keeps commenting that they can't tell me everything as the reader because they don't trust me.
This may be more for someone who likes dark coming-of-age stories. I love a fantasy mystery, and I'm always here for queer narratives, but I find this kind of dark teen intensity tough to deal with.
I really like Vico Ortiz and I have no complaints about the narration.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-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:
Yes
We Can Never Leave is the latest from H.E. Edgmon and Edgmon’s books never fail to steal a piece of my heart. When the teen members of the Caravan wake up to find themselves abandoned by their adults, they must band together to figure out what happened. Members of the Caravan are a group of magical people who stay hidden from humans. Bird, Hugo, Felix, Eamon, and Cal couldn’t be more different. Secrets, magic, and their connection to the Caravan are all that bind them together. Will they discover what truly happened and finally be able to leave?
I read this book in one sitting because I had to find out what happened next! Every member of the group felt relatable in a different way. I loved all the characters, but especially Felix and Bird. H.E. Edgmon writes themes of belonging so well: what it means to belong, to want to leave, what it means to return. The sense of spookiness and that something is wrong with the adults’ disappearance haunts the teens as they untangle the secrets that connect them. The ending was both bittersweet and perfect. I can’t wait to read what H.E. Edgmon writes next!
Thank you to H.E. Edgmon, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I read this book in one sitting because I had to find out what happened next! Every member of the group felt relatable in a different way. I loved all the characters, but especially Felix and Bird. H.E. Edgmon writes themes of belonging so well: what it means to belong, to want to leave, what it means to return. The sense of spookiness and that something is wrong with the adults’ disappearance haunts the teens as they untangle the secrets that connect them. The ending was both bittersweet and perfect. I can’t wait to read what H.E. Edgmon writes next!
Thank you to H.E. Edgmon, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was an interesting book. I found the concept interesting, and I can appreciate the author's writing style. While I've read a couple of other books by this author, this one is a standalone (to my knowledge) and while it does still have fantasy elements, it hits a different undercurrent if that makes sense? I think this book can have a lot of depth, addressing things and concepts with more subtle nudging than direct callouts. I think it would be important for some readers to take care and check the content warnings, as this book can get a bit dark.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for the ARC!
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for the ARC!
This was a really hard one for me to get into and then I struggled all the way through. The premise was interesting: a group of 5 half-human teens wake up to find the adults and other members of their Caravan have completely vanished. They set off to find answers, while trying to keep their own secrets hidden. The exposition felt excessive to me without actually giving us much. It just wasn't for me. I only felt truly engaged for the last 10% of the book. 2.75 stars, mostly due to the ending and a few unexpected moments.
I received We Can Never Leave from the publisher and NetGalley as an ARC in return for my honest review, thank you! It was an interesting read but the characters were somewhat lacking, there was not much background that I would have really appreciated. With the multiple povs it was hard to focus on the overall story because everything kind of mixed to the point it was confusing. I did enjoy the premise though and found it very fascinating.
“This is a book about haunted houses, except the houses are bodies and the hauntings are the lies children tell and are told. This is a book about how dangerous it can be to dream when you grow up sleeping with something under your bee. This is not a book about an exorcism, because these houses cannot be saved by anything short of burning to the ground.”
We Can Never Leave follows five teenagers who wake up to find that their entire community has vanished overnight. They are all members of the Caravan, a group that dedicates their lives to helping inhuman creatures who suddenly wake up with no memory of who they are or where they come from. As the five of them begrudgingly work together to figure out what happened to their family, and to themselves, secrets are revealed that change everything they thought they knew about the Caravan.
As a queer individual who grew up in organized religion, so much of this story felt reminiscent of my own journey of discovering what I believe and deconstructing what I had been told my entire life. It is a painful process at times and it shakes the very foundation of your identity. In this story, the group of five start to unpack what they think they know about the leadership of the Caravan and about what their true mission is. It is easy to take someone at their word, especially when you trust them, and it requires a lot of strength to interrogate that for yourself.
Bird is the nonbinary member of the group and so much of their story resonated with me. They described leaving the Caravan to live with their dad and, for the first time, being in an environment that gave them the language to properly describe themself. Within the Caravan, they were not equipped with the knowledge of they/them pronouns or what it meant to exist outside the gender binary. By going to public school and being in a world outside of their very insular community, they were able to name that part of themself for the first time. After I left the church, I was able to truly understand my own feelings of gender dysphoria and, thanks to online communities such as this one, learn what it meant to be nonbinary. I owe so much to our trans elders for paving the path that I walk today.
This story is incredible and I am so appreciative to Wednesday Books for providing me with an advanced copy!