I received this book from Simon and Schuster Canada in exchange for an honest review.
“I tried to be happy, but sometime your own happiness comes at the expense of other people’s, doesn’t it? It’s hard to balance being both happy and considerate. I often tried to be both by lying, but that usually made it worse,” (Austin).
Sigrid and Margit are about as different as sisters come. Sigrid is queer, never finished high school, has lost her best friend Greta to the opioid crisis, and hates her job at the Dollar Pal where someone is continuously calling in bomb threats while Margit is the first in their family to go to university and is for all intents and purposes the perfect child. Neither sister can understand the other, but both are struggling in their own ways, and thinking back to their childhood may help to reconnect them.
Ouch.
Ouch Emily Austin, ouch! This book hurt, but God was it amazing!
Words cannot begin to describe my excitement when I learned that Simon and Schuster had given me NetGalley access to this book (THANK YOU AGAIN!). I remember when Austin posted on her Instagram that it had vibes of Templeton the rat from Charlotte’s Web (heavy on the 1973 cartoon carnival references) and Hamlet, and I love both of those things so much so I knew I was going to like this book. What I didn’t expect was how deeply Austin would go into the relationship between Sigrid and Margit, or how relatable it is to show the complicated relationship between sisters.
Again, ouch.
Austin did a wonderful job balancing Sigrid and Margit’s perspectives as well as showing the differences between them, how they see each other, and how readers come to understand them when being placed in their heads. I felt a lot for Margit, there was so much about her that I related to that it made me uncomfortable sometimes because there were a lot of things being reflected back at me. There was a lot about Margit that made me rethink and reflect on which only goes to show Austin’s talent as a writer for writing such a realistic character. I felt a lot for Sigrid too and I know that there are reader’s who will relate to her as well. I also loved how Austin continues to tackle and write characters with very realistic portrayals of mental illness while also having such funny moments sprinkled throughout.
The book is formatted a bit differently from Austin’s others but it’s done brilliantly. I was shocked when all the pieces came together and I understood why it was written this way. Don’t be surprised when starting the book to wonder how exactly everything is going to fit together, but once it all clicks into place it becomes clear that Austin truly is a brilliant writer.
We Could Be Rats is my new favourite novel of Austin’s (at least until she writes something new, which seems to be the pattern with me) filled with a lot of heart and a realness that makes this book hurt, it’s one that needs to go on your list for the New Year!
Publication: January 28 2025
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Pages: 416 pages (Digital ARC)
Source: Simon and Schuster
Genre: Fiction, Literary, Queer, Contemporary, Canadian
My Rating: ⛤⛤⛤⛤⛤
Summary:
Sigrid hates working at the Dollar Pal but having always resisted the idea of growing up into the trappings of adulthood, she did not graduate high school, preferring to roam the streets of her small town with her best friend Greta, the only person in the world who ever understood her. Her older sister Margit is baffled and frustrated by Sigrid’s inability to conform to the expectations of polite society.
But Sigrid’s detachment veils a deeper turmoil and sensitivity. She’s haunted by the pains of her past—from pretending her parents were swamp monsters when they shook the floorboards with their violent arguments to grappling with losing Greta’s friendship to the opioid epidemic ravaging their town. As Margit sets out to understand Sigrid and the secrets she has hidden, both sisters, in their own time and way, discover that reigniting their shared childhood imagination is the only way forward.
Sarah O'Connor 