bakingbookworm 's review for:

We Could Be Rats by Emily Austin

2.0

dark slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. The only thing I knew was that there was a lot of chatter about it on bookstagram - and the author had had an event in my area recently. 

We Could Be Rats explores the complicated relationship between Sigrid and Margit, two sisters who are very different. The story is told using suicide letters and the POVs of both sisters as they experience family drama and the world around them. 

The tone of this story is a heavy one and includes the topics of addiction, domestic violence, rape and homophobia. I fully expected to be emotionally annihilated by this book, but I just wasn't. Austin could have gone for the emotional jugular but instead kept it surface level. The narration and letter format didn't quite work as an audiobook.

With its blend of pain, cynical humour and YA feel, this story (I think) is about people's desperation to be understood and seen by those around them. I thought this would be a tearjerker, but I ended up not connecting with the characters and was left with a story that felt bleak, insular and repetitive. With its focus on journal entries, we didn't get to see how the sisters relate to each other. It just wasn't a good fit for me.