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brightbelladonna22 's review for:
We Can Never Leave
by H.E. Edgmon
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!