Review by wondereads13 - You Weren't Meant to Be Human

You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.

wondereads13 's review for:

You Weren't Meant to Be Human by Andrew Joseph White

5.0

Deep in Appalachia, hives of worms and flies have settled in, bringing the lost and desperate under their wing. Crane is one such person, an autistic trans man who refuses to speak. He knows the only place he is truly welcome is with the hive, especially as the world grows more hostile to people like him. However, his whole life collapses when he discovers he's pregnant, and the hives wants the baby.

I'm typically not a horror reader. In fact, this book deals in body horror, which I am the most sensitive to. Despite this, I powered through because White is an amazing author who writes compelling and engaging characters; compelling enough to get me to read about worms inside people. It's gross. Of course, for most horror readers, gross is right up their alley, so if that's you, definitely check out this book. Most of the "horror" is more the horror Crane experiences with being in his own body, but when the hive gets involved, it doesn't pull punches. Also, if you are someone with anxiety around pregnancy (like me), the possibility of being forced to carry to term is horrific enough.

White's characters always struggle with their trans and autistic identities, but Crane is the first protagonist from him that is this fucked up. Crane has a plethora of mental issues, has a very warped view of the world, and often lashes out at the people around him. He could do with a healthy dose of self-care and therapy, but he's stuck a gas station infested with sentient bugs, so instead he has a complete breakdown, which is absolutely warranted. Despite Crane being in the wrong for a good portion of the plot—both in how he treats others and how he thinks about the world—he is incredibly sympathetic. As a reader, I truly felt for him, and I wanted nothing more than for him to get out of his terrible situation. This book is actually pretty light on speculative elements, making the parallels to real-world cults and politics all the more obvious.

The side characters are complex and, although Crane spends a lot of the book inside his head and/or alone, felt like real people, not props for the story. My personal favorite was Stagger; his relationship with Crane was a great exploration of intimacy between two people who are terrible communicators. It especially did well in juxtaposition to Crane's relationship with Levi, his hot but toxic situationship.

To warn reader's who prefer a more fast-paced story, even though this is the shortest novel White has published yet, there's not really a plot. This is an incredibly character-driven book, propelled forward by glimpses into Crane's psyche and the progression of his pregnancy. Anyone expecting a story where Crane furiously schemes to get his way will be disappointed; this is a largely internal novel that focuses more on capturing Crane's trapped feeling—one White has explained is meant to mirror his own feelings at the overturning of Roe v. Wade—than any sort of grand bid at freedom.

However, if you are looking for a book to make you feel something, I can't recommend this one enough. This was hauntingly emotional, a story that played on some deep cultural fears, as well as some of my personal ones. You Weren't Meant to Be Human immerses you in Crane's despair, making the reader sit with him as he is isolated and betrayed in a world that hates him for who he is. However, it isn't completely hopeless, and that small glimmer of hope was what got me. Two characters appear at the very end of the book, and their interaction with Crane made me start sobbing. I don't typically cry while reading, so know that the emotions come through beautifully. It was the deciding factor in my five star rating, and I highly recommend this book for a slow, creeping, and emotional horror.

Content Warnings