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»Mädchen sterben nun mal«, sagen sie
Cassie ist tot. In der Schule erschossen von ihrem Freund Nicholas, dem Sohn des mächtigen Waffenfabrikanten. Da Nicholas danach auch sich selbst erschoss, romantisiert man ihren Tod als tragische Romeo-und-Julia-Geschichte. »Mädchen sterben nun mal«, sagt der Sheriff lapidar, als eine Journalistin genauer recherchieren will.
Rache – das wollen Cassies beste Freundinnen Vivian und Beck und malen nachts illegal Gemälde an Orten, die an Cassie erinnern. Und weil in ihrer Kleinstadt Kleinkriminalität – anders als der Tod eines Mädchens – nicht ungesühnt bleiben darf, beginnt ein Wettlauf gegen die Zeit, bevor nicht zuletzt die mächtige Waffenlobby den Fall endgültig begräbt. Es sei denn ein Podcast bringt die Wahrheit ans Licht …
Cassie ist tot. In der Schule erschossen von ihrem Freund Nicholas, dem Sohn des mächtigen Waffenfabrikanten. Da Nicholas danach auch sich selbst erschoss, romantisiert man ihren Tod als tragische Romeo-und-Julia-Geschichte. »Mädchen sterben nun mal«, sagt der Sheriff lapidar, als eine Journalistin genauer recherchieren will.
Rache – das wollen Cassies beste Freundinnen Vivian und Beck und malen nachts illegal Gemälde an Orten, die an Cassie erinnern. Und weil in ihrer Kleinstadt Kleinkriminalität – anders als der Tod eines Mädchens – nicht ungesühnt bleiben darf, beginnt ein Wettlauf gegen die Zeit, bevor nicht zuletzt die mächtige Waffenlobby den Fall endgültig begräbt. Es sei denn ein Podcast bringt die Wahrheit ans Licht …
353 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 7, 2021
53 people are currently reading
6557 people want to read
About the author
Kyrie McCauley
6 books351 followersKyrie McCauley spent her childhood climbing trees in dresses and reading books during class. She is the author of If These Wings Could Fly, recipient of the 2021 William C. Morris Award.
Kyrie holds a Master of Science in Social Policy from the University of Pennsylvania, and has worked in advocacy and development for non-profit organizations. She lives near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with her family, three rescue cats, and a dog that eats books and is never sorry.
Kyrie holds a Master of Science in Social Policy from the University of Pennsylvania, and has worked in advocacy and development for non-profit organizations. She lives near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with her family, three rescue cats, and a dog that eats books and is never sorry.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 315 reviews
June 23, 2022
We Can Be Heroes is a moving and powerful novel which underlines the theme of gun-violence, intimate partner violence and misogyny. It tackled each circumstance with refined sensitivity in order to bring out maximum impact.
The story involves three best friends - Beck, Vivian and Cassie.
Cassie was shot dead by her ex-boyfriend, who was the teen heir to Bell Firearms, in their school. In it's aftermath, Beck and Vivian, who tolerated each other for Cassie, come together to get their best friend justice or vengeance. Told in four different POVs - Third person POV for Beck and Vivian, Cassie through verses/poems and commentary through podcast We Can Be Heroes hosted by Merit Logan, we get to evidence the sincere and everlasting friendship between the main characters, the roles played by different people before and after the shooting, meeting Casper the Ghost, evidencing trauma through Cassie, and seeing those different murals come to life along with those Greek mythologies retold through a women's POV.
Especially those interviews by Merit Logan. We get to a dark side through Sheriff Thomas who flippantly says they can't take away guns from people because a girl got killed and girls get killed everyday, or through the Deputy Daniel Everett who uses the platform to talk about property destruction rather than to account people who were responsible for Cassie's death, or the editor of the local newspaper who does not take responsibility for printing half-lies, or even Stephen Bell. Similarly we learnt about the gun culture through a fire-arms expert's POV.
All the angles were clearly explored.
However, there is not just these dark angles, we get to see the the essence of real friendship, glimpses of humanity amidst violence, and amazing characters who pick themselves up along with each other.
No doubt, this was a hard read. I got pretty sad and angry, I cried and I hated how, while reading, couldn't do anything to help any character. But, in the end, with a lead-heavy heart, I was happy to see Beck and Vivian moving on with their lives.
The story involves three best friends - Beck, Vivian and Cassie.
If you already know
the truth about girls
(if you’ve been lucky enough
to see it)
then you already know
it is possible for three girls
to be at the center
of their own stories—
to be at the center
of everything.
You already know that
we can be heroes.
Cassie was shot dead by her ex-boyfriend, who was the teen heir to Bell Firearms, in their school. In it's aftermath, Beck and Vivian, who tolerated each other for Cassie, come together to get their best friend justice or vengeance. Told in four different POVs - Third person POV for Beck and Vivian, Cassie through verses/poems and commentary through podcast We Can Be Heroes hosted by Merit Logan, we get to evidence the sincere and everlasting friendship between the main characters, the roles played by different people before and after the shooting, meeting Casper the Ghost, evidencing trauma through Cassie, and seeing those different murals come to life along with those Greek mythologies retold through a women's POV.
If the hero dies, they call
it a Greek tragedy,
but when the heroine dies,
it’s a romance.
Especially those interviews by Merit Logan. We get to a dark side through Sheriff Thomas who flippantly says they can't take away guns from people because a girl got killed and girls get killed everyday, or through the Deputy Daniel Everett who uses the platform to talk about property destruction rather than to account people who were responsible for Cassie's death, or the editor of the local newspaper who does not take responsibility for printing half-lies, or even Stephen Bell. Similarly we learnt about the gun culture through a fire-arms expert's POV.
All the angles were clearly explored.
However, there is not just these dark angles, we get to see the the essence of real friendship, glimpses of humanity amidst violence, and amazing characters who pick themselves up along with each other.
No doubt, this was a hard read. I got pretty sad and angry, I cried and I hated how, while reading, couldn't do anything to help any character. But, in the end, with a lead-heavy heart, I was happy to see Beck and Vivian moving on with their lives.
September 7, 2021
I won an ARC of this book through a Goodreads giveaway, and this in no way impacts my opinions on the book.
WE COULD BE HEROES is by far one of the best YA contemporaries that I've read. Split into four perspectives (Beck and Vivian in prose, Cassie in verse, and Merit Logan's podcast in script format), it tells the aftermath of the murder of Cassie Queen, a teenage girl shot and killed by her ex-boyfriend Nico Bell, heir to the Bell Firearms company. It covers gun violence, domestic abuse, and other relevant issues with a deft hand and carefully crafted manner. It never felt like characters or positions were being strawmanned, mainly because most of it rang very true to the real-life responses to school shootings, gun violence, and domestic abuse cases. It also never felt like it was leaning too much into a blanket "guns always bad" message, which I sometimes see pro-gun-control stuff and it also never felt preachy.
My one complaint is that sometimes Beck and Vivian didn't feel too distinct as characters, mainly since the formatting was split up so much, and Vivian in particular felt like she could have been fleshed out a bit more.
WE COULD BE HEROES is by far one of the best YA contemporaries that I've read. Split into four perspectives (Beck and Vivian in prose, Cassie in verse, and Merit Logan's podcast in script format), it tells the aftermath of the murder of Cassie Queen, a teenage girl shot and killed by her ex-boyfriend Nico Bell, heir to the Bell Firearms company. It covers gun violence, domestic abuse, and other relevant issues with a deft hand and carefully crafted manner. It never felt like characters or positions were being strawmanned, mainly because most of it rang very true to the real-life responses to school shootings, gun violence, and domestic abuse cases. It also never felt like it was leaning too much into a blanket "guns always bad" message, which I sometimes see pro-gun-control stuff and it also never felt preachy.
My one complaint is that sometimes Beck and Vivian didn't feel too distinct as characters, mainly since the formatting was split up so much, and Vivian in particular felt like she could have been fleshed out a bit more.
May 7, 2021
ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT BOOKS I HAVE EVER READ. READ IT.
October 3, 2021
Full review to come, but wow. Just wow. This book.
I fully recommend.
tw: gun violence, death, domestic violence, mentions of child neglect, mentions or sexual assault.
I fully recommend.
tw: gun violence, death, domestic violence, mentions of child neglect, mentions or sexual assault.
February 22, 2022
TW: häusliche Gewalt, Mobbing, Sexismus, Tod/Trauer, Gaslighting
Dieses Buch behandelt ein sehr wichtiges Thema und tut dies ungeschönt und mitreißend. Der Schreibstil war mega und ich habe einfach in jedem Moment mit den Protagonistinnen mitgefühlt. Außerdem großartig als Hörbuch mit einem vielseitigen Ensemble an Sprecher*innen.
Dieses Buch behandelt ein sehr wichtiges Thema und tut dies ungeschönt und mitreißend. Der Schreibstil war mega und ich habe einfach in jedem Moment mit den Protagonistinnen mitgefühlt. Außerdem großartig als Hörbuch mit einem vielseitigen Ensemble an Sprecher*innen.
October 30, 2021
We Can Be Heroes is one of the most powerful and moving books I've read all year. It's heavy and painful but beautiful in its journey and exploration.
I adored McCauley's writing style. She makes you feel everything each character felt, want to scream when they wanted to scream and fight when they wanted to fight. You feel their desperation to make things right, to fix the wrongs in the world, to beg people to listen and finally make the changes that need to be made in order to save lives. The way in which McCauley approaches the topic of domestic violence and gun violence is fantastic and voices a way of thinking and feeling I think so many of us feel and think about Americas laws/culture around gun ownership (especially those who don't live in the US and can't fathom the gun culture there).
I loved Beck, Vivian and Cassie's individual chapters. Their voices were strong, individual and human. They felt real and familiar and it made the 'this could happen to any of us' message that must stronger. I also loved the added depth and discussion the podcast transcripts added to the story.
I do wish there had been more of a discussion surrounding the terrifying stats and effects of gun violence towards women of colour and trans women, as I feel that was a big gap left out when discussing domestic violence and gun violence. That being said, overall I thought the message and overall power this story had is one that will stick with me for a very long time to come.
This book covered so much; domestic violence, gun violence, gun culture, grief, trauma, friendship, sexism and the pain of those left behind and it did it all with grace and honesty. I loved every single page.
I adored McCauley's writing style. She makes you feel everything each character felt, want to scream when they wanted to scream and fight when they wanted to fight. You feel their desperation to make things right, to fix the wrongs in the world, to beg people to listen and finally make the changes that need to be made in order to save lives. The way in which McCauley approaches the topic of domestic violence and gun violence is fantastic and voices a way of thinking and feeling I think so many of us feel and think about Americas laws/culture around gun ownership (especially those who don't live in the US and can't fathom the gun culture there).
I loved Beck, Vivian and Cassie's individual chapters. Their voices were strong, individual and human. They felt real and familiar and it made the 'this could happen to any of us' message that must stronger. I also loved the added depth and discussion the podcast transcripts added to the story.
I do wish there had been more of a discussion surrounding the terrifying stats and effects of gun violence towards women of colour and trans women, as I feel that was a big gap left out when discussing domestic violence and gun violence. That being said, overall I thought the message and overall power this story had is one that will stick with me for a very long time to come.
This book covered so much; domestic violence, gun violence, gun culture, grief, trauma, friendship, sexism and the pain of those left behind and it did it all with grace and honesty. I loved every single page.
November 15, 2021
A life-altering book about grief and loss!
Rated: 4.1 stars*
"𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙧𝙣 𝙤𝙧 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙜𝙞𝙛𝙩𝙨— 𝙚𝙭𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙜𝙞𝙛𝙩𝙨, 𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛-𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚— 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙣𝙚𝙬. 𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙚𝙨, 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙚𝙨. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙡𝙖𝙢𝙚."
The characters were amazing and the story was great! I also loved the ending. The only downside was its short size and I obviously needed more pages.
Everyone should read this book!
Rated: 4.1 stars*
"𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙧𝙣 𝙤𝙧 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙜𝙞𝙛𝙩𝙨— 𝙚𝙭𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙜𝙞𝙛𝙩𝙨, 𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛-𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚— 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙣𝙚𝙬. 𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙚𝙨, 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙚𝙨. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙡𝙖𝙢𝙚."
The characters were amazing and the story was great! I also loved the ending. The only downside was its short size and I obviously needed more pages.
Everyone should read this book!
August 7, 2023
4.5/5 stars
oh wow um. i will be thinking about this book for a while, that's for sure. i didn't expect this book to be about gun violence and abuse, especially towards women, and wow did it made me think and feel so much
oh wow um. i will be thinking about this book for a while, that's for sure. i didn't expect this book to be about gun violence and abuse, especially towards women, and wow did it made me think and feel so much
July 15, 2024
We Can Be Heroes is such an impressive book: it takes on a tough topic with appropriate seriousness, but without sacrificing readability. As will be clear from this review, there were some areas where it didn't complete gel for me, but nonetheless I think it deserves 5 stars for its novelty, its importance, its great emotional impact, and how long it's going to sit with me. If you feel able to engage with the subject matter, I highly recommend giving it a try.
The basic story here centers on two friends, Beck and Vivian, who are dealing with the aftermath of their friend Cassie's death. Cassie was shot and killed, at school, by the boy she used to date- Nico Bell, the favored son of the family who owns Bell Firearms. This company gives its name to the gun-obsessed town where Beck and Vivian live, employs most of its inhabitants, and has a vested interest in Cassie's death not making waves or affecting its bottom line. Beck and Vivian, on the contrary are determined to get people talking about Bell Firearms' responsibility for Cassie's death. This determination takes on an added urgency when Cassie's ghost quite literally shows up in their van one night, urging them to seek justice in her name. The plan that Beck, Vivian, and Cassie come up with - a project creating public artworks with Cassie's image on them, pleading for common-sense gun legislation - brings some measure of healing and increased closeness to Beck and Vivian, who had drifted apart after Cassie's death, but also draws the attention of a litigious Bell Firearms.
This book approaches its difficult subject matter with unflinching honesty but also a lot of care for the reader. While dealing with the aftermath of an event of great violence, it doesn't really dwell on the actual act of the school shooting. Because I attended American public schools in the era of Columbine, I know how we sensationalize school shootings and focus on the "mystery" of "understanding" the perpetrators. This book is very clear about what caused Cassie's death: intimate partner violence and the economic power of firearms companies. It doesn't try to make anything special or interesting of Nico and his motivations- he's just one of depressingly many young men enabled by toxic masculinity and access to firearms. Moreover, Beck, Vivian, their families and neighbors are all solidly working-class, and the depressing power of a major firearms company to control their ability to survive economically is a part of "school shooting" narratives that I almost never see. (The scene where Beck considers whether her grandfather might be forced to go back to working for Bell firearms because it's the only way for him to get healthcare while fighting cancer is the most depressingly American thing I have ever read, and it's going to stick with me for a long time).
Lest you think this book is all heaviness and disquisitions on gun violence in America, We Can Be Heroes is written with a light and compassionate touch, and features compelling characters in Beck and Vivian that had me not wanting to put the book down. I do wish that the book had been a little less... circumspect about the romance that appears to be growing between the two throughout the book. I got the impression it was both trying to have a queer romantic story line, and to appease people who didn't want to see one there, something for which I have little patience. Still, both Beck and Vivian were great characters - they felt like real people of this age that I know, and not caricatures meant to have a "YA voice" - and I loved spending time in their heads and in their world. And while not trying to pretend that two high school girls could take on a major firearms company and win, the ending of the book manages to be optimistic on a topic where optimism can be hard to find.
My major struggle with the book, however, was its introduction of Cassie as a "ghost" who comes back to motivate her friends to seek justice. Cassie can only appear to Beck and Vivian at night, and only in their van - nobody else can see her. A dead girl's reappearance under these circumstances certainly makes a compelling hook for the novel - I have to imagine that's the concept that got a lot of people to pick it up. But the author didn't handle this element in a way that was emotionally convincing at all.
It's already hard to introduce a single paranormal/supernatural element into an otherwise naturalistic story: you don't want to lose too much time to your characters objecting to the veracity of what they're seeing, or losing their minds over how improbable it is. But to my mind, both Beck and Vivian are WAY too nonchalant about getting to see their recently-deceased best friend again. They don't seem shaken up, nor do they try very hard to make up for lost time by spending it with Cassie - they're all too focused on their plot seeking justice from Bell Firearms. While this prioritization was likely necessary to move the plot along, it felt emotionally untrue to how any human being who has lost someone they love would react to getting a chance to talk to them again. Similarly, Cassie's experience of coming back into her friends lives, but in a way that's so limited, wasn't explored at all. Surely it had to be devastating to her to be tied to one location, and certain times of day, while her friends could still go on about their lives? Even moreso once it becomes clear that Cassie's ghost is slowly disappearing as she gets closer to dealing with her "unfinished business." The moment where the girls lose each other again should have been an absolute emotional sucker punch. Instead, I often found myself forgetting Cassie was even present? I thought this book would have worked - and perhaps been even better - without Cassie's ghost, but I understanding the marketing/"hooky" reason behind the choice.
(Cassie's POV sections also suffer, it must be said, from the way they're written. Cassie was a poet, and writes in verse, but... this is clearly not where the author's strengths lie. It's basically just prose - rather workmanlike prose at that - which has been italicized and subjected to random line breaks so it appears like poetry. It's, frankly, awful, and any editor worth their salt should have stopped it from happening.)
Ultimately, I understand the desire to give Cassie a voice and a presence in the telling of her own story. Perhaps it's just as easy to argue *for* her inclusion as I have against it, as it fights back against the silencing of the voices of domestic violence victims. However, it just never quite came together in as impactful a way as I think it could have. Nonetheless, I'm keeping my 5-star rating: this is a serious and respectful yet eminently readable take on a very important topic, and unlike any other book I've read in a long time. If this review intrigues you at all, I recommend picking it up.
--- Original review ---
I need help with a literary mystery: has ANYONE I know ever heard of this book? Because it showed up via my library holds two days ago and I have zero recollection of how I might have heard of it, or why I requested it, as it is a million miles from my wheelhouse.
This is a story of being glad I pushed outside my reading comfort zone, but I wish I remembered why it happened in the first place. RTC.
The basic story here centers on two friends, Beck and Vivian, who are dealing with the aftermath of their friend Cassie's death. Cassie was shot and killed, at school, by the boy she used to date- Nico Bell, the favored son of the family who owns Bell Firearms. This company gives its name to the gun-obsessed town where Beck and Vivian live, employs most of its inhabitants, and has a vested interest in Cassie's death not making waves or affecting its bottom line. Beck and Vivian, on the contrary are determined to get people talking about Bell Firearms' responsibility for Cassie's death. This determination takes on an added urgency when Cassie's ghost quite literally shows up in their van one night, urging them to seek justice in her name. The plan that Beck, Vivian, and Cassie come up with - a project creating public artworks with Cassie's image on them, pleading for common-sense gun legislation - brings some measure of healing and increased closeness to Beck and Vivian, who had drifted apart after Cassie's death, but also draws the attention of a litigious Bell Firearms.
This book approaches its difficult subject matter with unflinching honesty but also a lot of care for the reader. While dealing with the aftermath of an event of great violence, it doesn't really dwell on the actual act of the school shooting. Because I attended American public schools in the era of Columbine, I know how we sensationalize school shootings and focus on the "mystery" of "understanding" the perpetrators. This book is very clear about what caused Cassie's death: intimate partner violence and the economic power of firearms companies. It doesn't try to make anything special or interesting of Nico and his motivations- he's just one of depressingly many young men enabled by toxic masculinity and access to firearms. Moreover, Beck, Vivian, their families and neighbors are all solidly working-class, and the depressing power of a major firearms company to control their ability to survive economically is a part of "school shooting" narratives that I almost never see. (The scene where Beck considers whether her grandfather might be forced to go back to working for Bell firearms because it's the only way for him to get healthcare while fighting cancer is the most depressingly American thing I have ever read, and it's going to stick with me for a long time).
Lest you think this book is all heaviness and disquisitions on gun violence in America, We Can Be Heroes is written with a light and compassionate touch, and features compelling characters in Beck and Vivian that had me not wanting to put the book down. I do wish that the book had been a little less... circumspect about the romance that appears to be growing between the two throughout the book. I got the impression it was both trying to have a queer romantic story line, and to appease people who didn't want to see one there, something for which I have little patience. Still, both Beck and Vivian were great characters - they felt like real people of this age that I know, and not caricatures meant to have a "YA voice" - and I loved spending time in their heads and in their world. And while not trying to pretend that two high school girls could take on a major firearms company and win, the ending of the book manages to be optimistic on a topic where optimism can be hard to find.
My major struggle with the book, however, was its introduction of Cassie as a "ghost" who comes back to motivate her friends to seek justice. Cassie can only appear to Beck and Vivian at night, and only in their van - nobody else can see her. A dead girl's reappearance under these circumstances certainly makes a compelling hook for the novel - I have to imagine that's the concept that got a lot of people to pick it up. But the author didn't handle this element in a way that was emotionally convincing at all.
It's already hard to introduce a single paranormal/supernatural element into an otherwise naturalistic story: you don't want to lose too much time to your characters objecting to the veracity of what they're seeing, or losing their minds over how improbable it is. But to my mind, both Beck and Vivian are WAY too nonchalant about getting to see their recently-deceased best friend again. They don't seem shaken up, nor do they try very hard to make up for lost time by spending it with Cassie - they're all too focused on their plot seeking justice from Bell Firearms. While this prioritization was likely necessary to move the plot along, it felt emotionally untrue to how any human being who has lost someone they love would react to getting a chance to talk to them again. Similarly, Cassie's experience of coming back into her friends lives, but in a way that's so limited, wasn't explored at all. Surely it had to be devastating to her to be tied to one location, and certain times of day, while her friends could still go on about their lives? Even moreso once it becomes clear that Cassie's ghost is slowly disappearing as she gets closer to dealing with her "unfinished business." The moment where the girls lose each other again should have been an absolute emotional sucker punch. Instead, I often found myself forgetting Cassie was even present? I thought this book would have worked - and perhaps been even better - without Cassie's ghost, but I understanding the marketing/"hooky" reason behind the choice.
(Cassie's POV sections also suffer, it must be said, from the way they're written. Cassie was a poet, and writes in verse, but... this is clearly not where the author's strengths lie. It's basically just prose - rather workmanlike prose at that - which has been italicized and subjected to random line breaks so it appears like poetry. It's, frankly, awful, and any editor worth their salt should have stopped it from happening.)
Ultimately, I understand the desire to give Cassie a voice and a presence in the telling of her own story. Perhaps it's just as easy to argue *for* her inclusion as I have against it, as it fights back against the silencing of the voices of domestic violence victims. However, it just never quite came together in as impactful a way as I think it could have. Nonetheless, I'm keeping my 5-star rating: this is a serious and respectful yet eminently readable take on a very important topic, and unlike any other book I've read in a long time. If this review intrigues you at all, I recommend picking it up.
--- Original review ---
I need help with a literary mystery: has ANYONE I know ever heard of this book? Because it showed up via my library holds two days ago and I have zero recollection of how I might have heard of it, or why I requested it, as it is a million miles from my wheelhouse.
This is a story of being glad I pushed outside my reading comfort zone, but I wish I remembered why it happened in the first place. RTC.
December 22, 2021
4.5
i'm not going to give a long review, but this book was so powerful. it's messages about domestic violence and gun control were really impactful, but it was done in such a way that the character growth (particularly the relationship between Beck and Vivian) weren't lost in the message.
i think my favorite part was cassie's narration. i've only read one other book this year where there was a narrator who was in verse (The Initial Insult) but i felt like it was lyrical without losing the ability to understand was cassie was trying to say.
my only qualm is that the end tells us everything we need, but it's all wrapped up in a page or two. i want to see how the characters react to the changes that happen in Bell. or if anything changes in the town because of what happened.
anyway, make sure to check out any TW/CW for this book (it is very heavy at points so this is really important) - lindsey
i'm not going to give a long review, but this book was so powerful. it's messages about domestic violence and gun control were really impactful, but it was done in such a way that the character growth (particularly the relationship between Beck and Vivian) weren't lost in the message.
i think my favorite part was cassie's narration. i've only read one other book this year where there was a narrator who was in verse (The Initial Insult) but i felt like it was lyrical without losing the ability to understand was cassie was trying to say.
my only qualm is that the end tells us everything we need, but it's all wrapped up in a page or two. i want to see how the characters react to the changes that happen in Bell. or if anything changes in the town because of what happened.
anyway, make sure to check out any TW/CW for this book (it is very heavy at points so this is really important) - lindsey
October 1, 2021
This was a super quick and emotional read! I really enjoyed it, but it is definitely dealing with the really heavy topic of gun-violence/intimate-partner-violence and there are not a ton of lighter moments to make that easier. Honestly I'm glad this was as short as it was because it would have been too much for me to read much more about a topic like this without levity. It does have a bright ending though!
I liked the characters, especially Beck, and the way they worked together to deal with their grief and the problems in their hometown. Good book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Violence, Sexual violence, Mass/school shootings, Cancer, and Alcoholism
Minor: Car accident
I liked the characters, especially Beck, and the way they worked together to deal with their grief and the problems in their hometown. Good book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Violence, Sexual violence, Mass/school shootings, Cancer, and Alcoholism
Minor: Car accident
April 22, 2022
This book is so important to me. It tackles gun violence, domestic abuse, misogyny, and more. But it's also a story of learning to grieve and fighting for what is right. The rally scene felt so inspiring and impactful.
February 17, 2022
This was a very good book that talked about important things like domestic violence, death, grief, and making a change. The characters were great
June 10, 2021
I received an ARC from Edelweiss
TW: gun violence & school shooting, mentioned alcoholism in parents, mentioned child neglect, domestic abuse, mentioned fatal car accident, lung cancer, PTSD, mentioned statutory rape
4.6
Cassie, Beck, and Vivian have been best friends for what feels like forever, inseparable since they were children. But when Cassie is murdered by her ex-boyfriend, the other two girls find themselves on opposite ends of an endless canyon. Cassie was the only thing holding them together- and when they accidentally find their way back to each other, somehow they find Cassie too. Blessed with the miracle of Cassie back, ghost as she might be, they decide they need revenge. And the only way to get that revenge is to get the whole world watching.
"If the hero dies, they call it a tragedy, but when the heroine dies, it's called a romance."
This story is so beautiful, and heavy, and tragic. There is something so delicate in this story, yet with a bite underneath. It's like angry crying, release when there's nothing you can do but let go and howl. I don't know how McCauley manages to balance so much heft and righteous anger with the soft story of sisterhood, grief, and refinding your self after drowning, but she nails it exactly.
Honestly, the writing in this book is phenomenal. All of Cassie's sections are written in verse, as light and ethereal as Cassie herself is in her inbetween state. But that careful, poetic writing is present in all places in this book, in quieter ways. Each of these characters have their own personalities, views, and voices, and but that undercurrent of beauty is always there.
The characters themselves are great. I love the conversation they have with each other throughout, learning about them from each other. They take up different amounts of space, and each fit together in different ways, but they still work so well on the page. My favorite was, by far, Beck, who wishes for aliens and loves her grandfather and her old truck, but every one of them felt like real characters and were impossible not to love.
Through these different characters, and because they're each given enough depth, you get to see all different reactions to grief and trauma, which is so, so important. It's also done incredibly well. All of these reactions are valid, whether or not they wind up being taken to a healthy place, and McCauley definitely approached this whole subject in a respectively and patient way.
The story with only the elements mentioned so far would have been fantastic, but what made it excellent were the additional layers. The revenge sparked centers around murals, and each of these murals reimagines Cassie, and others like her, as figures in Greek Mythology. I loved the way they chose these figures and the way they rewrote them, getting to see those ideas side by side with what Cassie had gone through. The whole idea of forcing the narrative away from the expected- letting the women stay behind the scenes, or written off- is powerful, and cathartic.
The other element was the podcast itself. I thought the addition of having a podcast talking about the events, and other events that were adjacent to the main story, added so much layer to the greater implications and greater world, as well as painting a real picture of what a place like Bell would be like.
And, finally, the abuse, while hard at times to read, is amazingly well written. This is the kind of book I could see someone really getting an important education out of that they may one day need. The way red flags are laid out, the education in how to get help, the very real way that Nick acts and the way he progresses his power over her, is going to make an impact in the real world. It's all handled so well, and so truthfully, I can only thank McCauley.
"Collige Virgo Rosas. Gather, girl, the roses, while you still can."
This is a book of friendship, tragedy, justice, and female voices being raised, and it's one of the most important books you can pick up this year.
TW: gun violence & school shooting, mentioned alcoholism in parents, mentioned child neglect, domestic abuse, mentioned fatal car accident, lung cancer, PTSD, mentioned statutory rape
4.6
Cassie, Beck, and Vivian have been best friends for what feels like forever, inseparable since they were children. But when Cassie is murdered by her ex-boyfriend, the other two girls find themselves on opposite ends of an endless canyon. Cassie was the only thing holding them together- and when they accidentally find their way back to each other, somehow they find Cassie too. Blessed with the miracle of Cassie back, ghost as she might be, they decide they need revenge. And the only way to get that revenge is to get the whole world watching.
"If the hero dies, they call it a tragedy, but when the heroine dies, it's called a romance."
This story is so beautiful, and heavy, and tragic. There is something so delicate in this story, yet with a bite underneath. It's like angry crying, release when there's nothing you can do but let go and howl. I don't know how McCauley manages to balance so much heft and righteous anger with the soft story of sisterhood, grief, and refinding your self after drowning, but she nails it exactly.
Honestly, the writing in this book is phenomenal. All of Cassie's sections are written in verse, as light and ethereal as Cassie herself is in her inbetween state. But that careful, poetic writing is present in all places in this book, in quieter ways. Each of these characters have their own personalities, views, and voices, and but that undercurrent of beauty is always there.
The characters themselves are great. I love the conversation they have with each other throughout, learning about them from each other. They take up different amounts of space, and each fit together in different ways, but they still work so well on the page. My favorite was, by far, Beck, who wishes for aliens and loves her grandfather and her old truck, but every one of them felt like real characters and were impossible not to love.
Through these different characters, and because they're each given enough depth, you get to see all different reactions to grief and trauma, which is so, so important. It's also done incredibly well. All of these reactions are valid, whether or not they wind up being taken to a healthy place, and McCauley definitely approached this whole subject in a respectively and patient way.
The story with only the elements mentioned so far would have been fantastic, but what made it excellent were the additional layers. The revenge sparked centers around murals, and each of these murals reimagines Cassie, and others like her, as figures in Greek Mythology. I loved the way they chose these figures and the way they rewrote them, getting to see those ideas side by side with what Cassie had gone through. The whole idea of forcing the narrative away from the expected- letting the women stay behind the scenes, or written off- is powerful, and cathartic.
The other element was the podcast itself. I thought the addition of having a podcast talking about the events, and other events that were adjacent to the main story, added so much layer to the greater implications and greater world, as well as painting a real picture of what a place like Bell would be like.
And, finally, the abuse, while hard at times to read, is amazingly well written. This is the kind of book I could see someone really getting an important education out of that they may one day need. The way red flags are laid out, the education in how to get help, the very real way that Nick acts and the way he progresses his power over her, is going to make an impact in the real world. It's all handled so well, and so truthfully, I can only thank McCauley.
"Collige Virgo Rosas. Gather, girl, the roses, while you still can."
This is a book of friendship, tragedy, justice, and female voices being raised, and it's one of the most important books you can pick up this year.
March 9, 2022
made me so angry and sad and happy at the same time
May 14, 2023
This was so incredible. I love how we got Cassie's POV though poetry and the effect that had on the story telling. I do not know how to do this book justice so I will just say go read it.
November 26, 2021
“If you already know
The truth about girls (if you’ve been lucky enough to see it)
Then you already know it is possible for three girls to be at the center of their own stories
To be at the center of everything
You already know that we can be heroes “
We Can Be Heroes is such a powerful book. I was not expecting it to be so moving. When I read that quote I had literal chills and tears in my eyes.
I finished this a few days ago but I needed to gather my thoughts before I could write this.
When I started this I was fully prepared to hate it. The story has 3 POVs plus a podcast, I’m not a huge fan of more than 2 POVs. It never got confusing at all, the characters were all different and wonderful in their own way. I loved them all and podcasts in books are starting to become a favorite of mine.
I also listened to the audiobook, thanks to harper audio for the complementary audiobook. I highly recommend it if you listen to audiobooks, it made the podcast part Much more fun.
This book has the power to save many lives. I love that this is for young adults. It’s important for girls to understand the dangers of domestic violence. It deals with so many hard topics, if you’d like to know the TWs please DM me. The author handles these topics with grace
I would say this is a YA contemporary with some magical realism in the mix. It’s sad, infuriating and heartbreaking but also so beautiful! The novel tells the story of two girls who lost their best friend to domestic violence. We get to see their fight for change and how hard it is for women.
I absolutely loved this book and I really hope more people pick this up.
Thank you to harper kids for the gifted book.
The truth about girls (if you’ve been lucky enough to see it)
Then you already know it is possible for three girls to be at the center of their own stories
To be at the center of everything
You already know that we can be heroes “
We Can Be Heroes is such a powerful book. I was not expecting it to be so moving. When I read that quote I had literal chills and tears in my eyes.
I finished this a few days ago but I needed to gather my thoughts before I could write this.
When I started this I was fully prepared to hate it. The story has 3 POVs plus a podcast, I’m not a huge fan of more than 2 POVs. It never got confusing at all, the characters were all different and wonderful in their own way. I loved them all and podcasts in books are starting to become a favorite of mine.
I also listened to the audiobook, thanks to harper audio for the complementary audiobook. I highly recommend it if you listen to audiobooks, it made the podcast part Much more fun.
This book has the power to save many lives. I love that this is for young adults. It’s important for girls to understand the dangers of domestic violence. It deals with so many hard topics, if you’d like to know the TWs please DM me. The author handles these topics with grace
I would say this is a YA contemporary with some magical realism in the mix. It’s sad, infuriating and heartbreaking but also so beautiful! The novel tells the story of two girls who lost their best friend to domestic violence. We get to see their fight for change and how hard it is for women.
I absolutely loved this book and I really hope more people pick this up.
Thank you to harper kids for the gifted book.
June 10, 2021
Wow. Wow, wow, wow. I think (know!) it's a new favorite. The ending took my breath away. I fell completely in love with the characters. Especially--perhaps completely unsurprisingly--with Beck and all her wild. The friendship between the three girls is beautiful, and this novel tackle such important topics (gun control, misogyny, power structures, etc) in a way that feels so personal to the characters, and thus to the readers. Cassie as a literal ghost is such an excellent choice and I love how it allows her to have a voice and agency in a way she wouldn't otherwise. The murals and the imagery introduced throughout the book are stunning as well. McCauley's prose is just knock-out beautiful.
A gorgeous, painful, important book. I suspect it will move the world in the way it moved me.
A gorgeous, painful, important book. I suspect it will move the world in the way it moved me.
September 15, 2021
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
We Can Be Heroes is a book I finished in a few days I was so absorbed. I became possessed by Beck and Vivian's rage. By the way that the system failed Cassie. This multiple POV story sheds light on the ways on some of society's failings. The ways that money greases palms and can have disastrous consequences. We Can Be Heroes not only presents a story about justice and friendship, it also questions who exactly is protected by the laws. I was so emotional reading We Can Be Heroes.
full review: https://utopia-state-of-mind.com/revi...
We Can Be Heroes is a book I finished in a few days I was so absorbed. I became possessed by Beck and Vivian's rage. By the way that the system failed Cassie. This multiple POV story sheds light on the ways on some of society's failings. The ways that money greases palms and can have disastrous consequences. We Can Be Heroes not only presents a story about justice and friendship, it also questions who exactly is protected by the laws. I was so emotional reading We Can Be Heroes.
full review: https://utopia-state-of-mind.com/revi...
November 12, 2021
I loved it! I loved, loved, loved, loved it. This could be my favorite YA read of 2021. Trigger warnings for gun violence, domestic violence, alcoholic parents. Yes. But wow. The messages were spot on and the anger portrayed was righteous and justified but without being preachy. I loved the alternating points of view, one of which was from a podcast and one from a ghost. It checked every box for me and I was satisfied with the ending. This book sets a high bar.
January 9, 2022
This book has my heart. I haven't read something so emotional and tender in such a long time. I cried and laughed and bookmarked the cute moments that made this book so special. I'm a sucker for a Greek tragedy and the murals' careful crafting feeds my mythology heart. The rest of the book, of course, fed my soul. 💓
October 17, 2021
This was such a great read, but oh, did it enrage me, the violence against women, the gun rights, urgh, it's so unfair that these characters (and people in real life) have to deal with this!
January 24, 2025
10000000/5 this book deserves. please please please read this book it will be one of the best you read all year!
January 8, 2024
A beautiful, heartbreaking story about gun violence, domestic abuse, and the power found in the grief and stories of young women. Told from the perspective of three friends, interspersed with podcast episodes, the story of Cassie Queen, her friends, and the powerful gun manufacturer who runs their town unfolds. When the town moves on too quickly from Cassie’s murder at the hands of her well connected boyfriend, the girls use stories from Greek mythology depicted in clandestine murals to highlight the loss of their friend and the culpability of the firearms industry.
I absolutely adored this book. The story is vivid and powerful, and the use of art and myth to both process grief and speak truth to power is very well done. I loved that there are so many different formats and perspectives to this book, creating a broad appeal to many types of readers.
Absolutely thrilled to have started the new year with such a strong read, and one I will be thinking about for a long time.
I absolutely adored this book. The story is vivid and powerful, and the use of art and myth to both process grief and speak truth to power is very well done. I loved that there are so many different formats and perspectives to this book, creating a broad appeal to many types of readers.
Absolutely thrilled to have started the new year with such a strong read, and one I will be thinking about for a long time.
August 20, 2023
A very emotional and beautiful read
September 13, 2024
Ein berührendes Buch mit sehr wichtigen und aktuellen Themen. Es ist eher ein Jugendroman, was man anhand der „Tiefe“ der politischen Themen merkt, aber das Buch nicht schlechter macht. Mir gefallen die Bezügen zur griechischen Mythologie und die Rolle der Frauen. Das Thema der häuslichen Gewalt und Waffenpolitik in der USA macht mich wütend und hilflos und ich frage mich wirklich warum es so viele dumme, gewaltbereite, böse Menschen auf der Welt gibt.
Die Freundschaft der drei Mädchen ist berührend und ich müsste lügen, wenn ich nicht die eine oder andere Träne geweint habe.
Die Freundschaft der drei Mädchen ist berührend und ich müsste lügen, wenn ich nicht die eine oder andere Träne geweint habe.
January 2, 2026
*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*
We Can Be Heroes follows the stories of Cassie, Beck, and Vivian, a group of friends living in the town of Bell, which is known for the company Bell Firearms. They are inseparable until one day, Cassie is killed in a school shooting, murdered by her ex-boyfriend, the heir to Bell Firearms. In the aftermath, Beck and Viv drift apart, each dealing with the loss and trauma in their own way - until, that is, they are brought back together by Cassie's ghost, stuck on Earth with unfinished business. Brought back together by her ghost, Beck and Viv set out on a mission of vengeance, to get justice for Cassie by bringing the world's attention to what happened to her, and how an entire town failed to help before it was too late. They do this through painting murals throughout town, depicting Cassie as various Women from Greek Myths; relating the tragedy of what happened to her to the tragedies of the women in these myths - Cassandra, Medusa, Helen of Troy, Ariadne - and then posting them on social media.
"But I think maybe, to be a girl in this world, sometimes you have to burn. Sometimes it's how we light the way".
This is an emotionally heavy book that deals with many important topics, from gun violence and school shootings to domestic violence. It is set out in four very distinct voices - Cassie the ghost, who is almost poetic in the way she speaks; a podcast covering the story of what happened to Cassie, hosted by Merit Logan; and the POV's of both Beck and Vivian. Through these different voices, we get an in depth view of what happened to Cassie Queen leading up to that fateful day, and how those who were supposed to protect her, ended up failing her.
The entire book is tragic, haunting, and beautiful to read. You can feel the anger from Beck and Vivian in their chapters and, as the story continues, you find yourself feeling the same anger they are. You want to scream at those who failed Cassie, and this is a testament to the writing of McCauley, that she can drag you so thoroughly into their story. But alongside the anger and grief, there is another feeling of sisterhood, of what you will do for those you love and how you show up for them, even when they're haunting you from beyond the grave. This story shows the beautiful bonds of friendship and love, and how these can never be broken, even in the most heartbreaking of circumstances.
Overall, while this book does handle important and devastating topics like gun violence and domestic violence, it is a story about the strength of girls and how we can write our own stories. How we can be our own heroes.
"You already know it is possible for three girls to be at the center of their own stories - to be at the center of everything. You already know that we can be heroes".
We Can Be Heroes follows the stories of Cassie, Beck, and Vivian, a group of friends living in the town of Bell, which is known for the company Bell Firearms. They are inseparable until one day, Cassie is killed in a school shooting, murdered by her ex-boyfriend, the heir to Bell Firearms. In the aftermath, Beck and Viv drift apart, each dealing with the loss and trauma in their own way - until, that is, they are brought back together by Cassie's ghost, stuck on Earth with unfinished business. Brought back together by her ghost, Beck and Viv set out on a mission of vengeance, to get justice for Cassie by bringing the world's attention to what happened to her, and how an entire town failed to help before it was too late. They do this through painting murals throughout town, depicting Cassie as various Women from Greek Myths; relating the tragedy of what happened to her to the tragedies of the women in these myths - Cassandra, Medusa, Helen of Troy, Ariadne - and then posting them on social media.
"But I think maybe, to be a girl in this world, sometimes you have to burn. Sometimes it's how we light the way".
This is an emotionally heavy book that deals with many important topics, from gun violence and school shootings to domestic violence. It is set out in four very distinct voices - Cassie the ghost, who is almost poetic in the way she speaks; a podcast covering the story of what happened to Cassie, hosted by Merit Logan; and the POV's of both Beck and Vivian. Through these different voices, we get an in depth view of what happened to Cassie Queen leading up to that fateful day, and how those who were supposed to protect her, ended up failing her.
The entire book is tragic, haunting, and beautiful to read. You can feel the anger from Beck and Vivian in their chapters and, as the story continues, you find yourself feeling the same anger they are. You want to scream at those who failed Cassie, and this is a testament to the writing of McCauley, that she can drag you so thoroughly into their story. But alongside the anger and grief, there is another feeling of sisterhood, of what you will do for those you love and how you show up for them, even when they're haunting you from beyond the grave. This story shows the beautiful bonds of friendship and love, and how these can never be broken, even in the most heartbreaking of circumstances.
Overall, while this book does handle important and devastating topics like gun violence and domestic violence, it is a story about the strength of girls and how we can write our own stories. How we can be our own heroes.
"You already know it is possible for three girls to be at the center of their own stories - to be at the center of everything. You already know that we can be heroes".
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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