Please be sure to check content warnings and read the authors note before picking this book up. In a wonderful Emily Austin fashion it is an extraordinarily depressing topic written from the perspective of a character who treats the topic trivial. It isn’t. Read with caution. 

We Could Be Rats tells the incredible story of sisterhood and the power of imagination. We explore the lives of Sigrid and Margit. Sigrid, who constantly has her head in cotton candy pink clouds, refuses to conform to societal norms. She didn’t graduate high school and works a job she finds meaningless. She’s much rather be roaming the streets with her best friend Greta. Margit is frustrated with her sister’s inability to be a functional adult. 

We quickly see the veil removed from Sigrid’s world and learn the sensitivity and pain her memories house. When she was younger she put dissociative filters on to cope with her parents fighting and growing older. From imagining her parents as swamp monsters to being a fairy roaming a field Sigrid did what she had to do to protect herself. Margit starts to unravel the mechanics of Sigrid’s mind and discovers their shared childhood memories and imaginative dreams might be the only path forward. 

First and foremost, I am Emily Austin’s biggest fan. She has this wondrous way of putting exactly how I’m feeling into words. Reading this I saw myself in Sigrid and my older brother, Greg, who is my best friend in Margit. We had a playroom in our basement and we’d have movie nights and put on magic shows. He’d play Barbie’s with me and make the storyline dramatic sending me into a frenzy. Growing up changes everything though, I moved out of state and he stayed in our hometown. But our connection never faltered, there is a passage in the book about the two sisters stating no matter what their social standing there is never a time they’d hesitate helping the other. Greg has been that rock for me several times, I even turned him into an Emily fan as well! Interesting Facts About Space is his favorite! The magical bond that older siblings hold for their younger siblings is something so beautiful. I can’t even begin to describe how it feels, but Emily did a damn good job with this book. We Could Be Rats is out  January 28th 2025 please preorder it today!  

Thank you Netgalley and Atria Books | Simon & Schuster for this arc  in exchange of an honest review.