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. 

This book is going to be extraordinary to someone, that someone just wasn’t me. I picked this up on a whim with a gift card I got, and loved the writing. The story didn’t captivate me as I wished it would. I think I need to know more about South Korean politics in order for it to be more gripping? 

Loved the narrative prose though! 

Thank you Netgalley and hachette audio for this arc in exchange for an honest review. 

Tiffany Yu is acutely aware of the intersections of identity that face us all. Yu is an Asian American daughter to immigrant parents living with PTSD and sustaining a permanent arm injury at age 9. Yu takes us on her own journey examining how deep PTSD can hide from someone and how that impacts their life.  She shares with us how often people have tried to solve her disability as if it’s a problem she has. In doing so Yu examines the inherent racism, sexism and classism tied up in the ableist mind set. She does not stray from these identities and in fact urges those reading to look at their own identities and sit with any discomfort they may face. 

This read challenges you for the better. How often in your day to day are you using ableist language without even realizing it? How often are the events you plan or go to inclusive to all bodies? Why are companies so afraid of hiring disabled employees? Yu breaks these questions down into bite size nuggets of wisdom both from herself and other disabled advocates.

It’s important to me to read and become a better ally to my disabled peers by retaining this information and reconfiguring my vocabulary. To be a true ally you must adapt  as disabled people have done throughout history. Yu has one section in particular where she names a bunch of random household objects that are now common, but were created with disabled people in mind. That’s the adaptability disabled people bring to the table and I think it’s high time we bring that energy right back to them.