I received We Can Never Leave from the publisher and NetGalley as an ARC in return for my honest review, thank you! It was an interesting read but the characters were somewhat lacking, there was not much background that I would have really appreciated. With the multiple povs it was hard to focus on the overall story because everything kind of mixed to the point it was confusing. I did enjoy the premise though and found it very fascinating.

This just wasn’t the right book for me. While the writing was decent, I struggled to stay engaged with the story. It felt like not much actually happened until the very end, and most of the book was focused on character descriptions and relationships rather than plot development. That might appeal to some readers, but it didn’t quite work for me.Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this advanced reader’s copy.

3.5 stars

The Caravan exists to help the inhuman creatures who wake up with no memory. They are a travelling community giving a home to those that might not otherwise have one. But one morning, five teenagers find that everyone around them disappeared. Now, they have to piece together what happened--and how to fix it. Is it something that happened to their community or something that happened to them?

Thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an advanced copy of We Can Never Leave by HE Edgmon to review! HE Edgmon is always good for a dark fantasy full of found family. Though, not always the most functional found family (especially in this case). This book is a twisty mystery that will keep you guessing at every turn.

I will say, this might be the oddest book Edgmon has written thus far. The timeline goes back and forth between the present and the future, and it's through this way that we get to know the main five characters. Though five characters is a lot of different POVs, I still think you get a good sense of each one as you move through the plot. They aren't always the most likeable, but they are very engaging.

However, some of the switching does get a bit confusing at times, taking down the story down a notch for me.

This is definitely a great read-a-like for the show Sweet Tooth on Netflix, with weird characters with powers. If you like the kind of story about misfits getting together to solve an unusual mystery, definitely pick this one up!

The Caravan. A place for monstrous, inhuman creatures to find a home with others just like them; a traveling found family. At least, until one morning when five teenagers with a complicated history wake up to find that everyone else in the Caravan has disappeared overnight. It's up to them to work together to try to solve the mystery of what happened, but the truth but be something none of them are ready to face.

This is a super complicated book for me to review, just like all of H.E. Edgmon's books have tended to be. I think it always comes down to a case of "this is a perfect book - for someone else" or "this book is amazing - for my students." The reality is that I didn't vibe with it at all, and found myself downright frustrated right by at times to the point that I probably would have DNF'ed it if I were reading it for myself. The perspective shifts so often that it was hard to get attached to any one character, and none of them are particularly likable - or have any revealing chapters that make them overly redeemable, sadly. But, I know a lot of my students who absolutely WILL dig this book, who will pick it up and devour it in a single sitting because it's just so quirky and dark. It has a wide diversity of characters that has always appealed to my classroom readers, and that is more meaningful than any opinion I might personally have as a reader.

(Vico Ortiz is perfect as a narrator and I would like to hear them narrate all of the things from now on please. Catching the edits between the audiobook and the ebook were also delightful!)

I DNF'd this book around 40% of the way through. This book was given to me unsolicited, and I had expected to like it because I have liked books by this author in the past, so I did not actually read the synopsis.

Unfortunately, this book wasn't for me. I've never been a fan of books where all the adults disappear (you can blame that one on Lord of the Flies), and if I had known that was what this book was about, I wouldn't have accepted it. I also wasn't a fan of the characters as much as I had hoped to be.

This book is easily readable, and if I was more interested in the characters this would have been a quick read for me.

This is one of those books that will have you sitting there staring at the wall obsessively thinking about it.

The story is told from multiple points of view and in and out of time. It did get a bit confusing, especially when it stops midway through a POV to have the narrator jump in—but I really liked it?

The beginning was incredibly slow to start even though the Caravan disappears within the first few chapters. The angst was also a bit much, but I could be feeling that way because I’m old and they’re teenagers 😅

I finished the book needing to know what happens next but also thinking it ended perfectly.

We Can Never Leave by H.E. Edgmon is a dark fantasy character driven story wanders maze like through the characters until a twisting ending in the last few pages.

Queer as anything with the trauma of religion shining through. The five characters none of whom are particularly likeable create a wonderful story worth a read as they attempt to find out what happened to the caravan (cult) they all lived in. If you’ve loved any dark fantasy before this is a book you need to pick up.

The Caravan helps the inhuman creatures that wake up with no memories of who they are or where they came from, creating a new community. One day, five of the teens wake up and find out that the Caravan is gone. The five teens include a half-human returning from the outside world, a pair of brothers, a venomous girl, and a shadow shaped like a boy. Together, they try to figure out what happened while keeping their own secrets safe. However, it doesn't seem like something happened to the Caravan, but something happened to them.

Bird's father is human, but their mother isn't; Bird's grandparents have snakes for hair and feathered wings. Hugo has antlers, and his brother Felix has furry, doglike ears. Calliope is a fanged wolf girl with venom. Eamon has red eyes and is more at home in the shadows and woods than with people. In addition to their inhuman appearance, each teen has some kind of magical ability. The Caravan had collected people over the years who wouldn't fit into the human world because of their oddities, and as a whole, the people expect the foundlings to be grateful for it.

"This is a book about haunted houses, except that the houses are bodies and the hauntings are the lies children tell and are told." There are complicated relationships between the teens and the rest of the Caravan, an insular group with a network of members that pass as human who help them find other inhuman creatures. They have different beliefs about magic and luck, and the abilities they have. The road trip they take looking for the other adults strains their relationships further, and the flashes of life before the disappearance show us that all is not quite right with the Caravan, even for taking in the oddities of humanity. The secrets they keep are only hinted at, but the undercurrent of horror remains. It is a deeply unsettling feeling when we reach the end of the book, and hope that they continue to make it through.

2.5⭐

One morning, five magical teenagers wake up to find everyone else in their Caravan community has disappeared. They need to team up to figure out what happened. As they work together, they uncover their own secrets, realizing the mystery of the missing Caravan is tied to their own hidden pasts.

Well I just wish I liked this more than I did. I really struggled to follow this story, which made it hard to connect with. I loved the idea of this story, and I thought the ending was really beautifully done. However, the multiple narrators, as well as the timeline hopping, was challenging because the different POVs didn't feel distinct enough to differentiate between. These magical teenagers all had different abilities and features, but it was hard to remember who was who, and I didn't know why they were constantly fighting. Big things would happen almost randomly, and I would have no idea why, but then the story would just move on. Some really good ideas in this book, but I do think it needed some editing/guidance for a bit more cohesion and clarity.

We Can Never Leave is a haunting Queer YA horror by H.E. Edgmon. I really do love the author's writing style. It's lyrical and beautiful yet filled with characters that are harsh and abrupt. These queer teens are bundles of angst, tension and lies. I was here for the multiple point of views, and the unreliable characters themselves. I LOVED the fourth wall breaks along the way that let the reader know they weren't imagining how messed up these kids were. The flashback back chapters the slowly revealed the mystery of the story, While I was able to piece together some of the lies that the teens were hiding, I didn't anticipate the big reveal at the end. This story doesn't have a happy ending but one that does bring secrets and lies to light.

Overall, We Can Never Leave by H.E. Edgmon is a solid Queer YA horror. With characters you'll become invested with even if you don't trust them. Filled with a haunting atmosphere, an RV road trip, secrets, lies, supernatural abilities, queer identities and an unexpected ending.


after thought : I'm torn on how I feel about the ending of the book. I loved it yet but it left me unsatisfied at where it stopped. I wanted a little more closure.

The blurb gave me The House in the Cerulean Sea vibes. However, these vibes were nowhere to be found. The premise has a lot of potential, but the writing is so bad. I struggled to get into it, and when the narrator broke the fourth wall for the third or so time to call one of the younger characters a “twink,” that was it for me. I’m no prude, but this book is marketed for Young Adult readers, with some potential readers being younger, advanced readers who do not know what a twink is. The narrator also called an interaction “kind of gay”, which was the ultimate straw. Originally, I was going to rate this a 2 because it was painful, but I was determined to finish. I rarely publish reviews on books that I DNF, but this is one I have to share. I cannot recommend this book as a YA read. Maybe if it were marketed as an adult book, but I still feel like it’d be a stretch. And for this to be published during Pride? A shame.

DNF @ 62%

Review was posted to StoryGraph and Goodreads on 6/9/25. Review will be posted to Amazon on release date.

When all the members of a traveling mysterious caravan disappear besides 5 of their teenage members a search begins to try to find out what happened but it soon becomes clear that something isn’t quite right and there’s danger afoot.

I really appreciated that this book was dealing with religious trauma in a very clear way since it is geared towards teens. It can be hard to understand the numerous ways that that trauma presents in our lives. I overall thought the structure of the story of flashing between the night of, the before, and the after was done well. I didn’t enjoy Felix’s chapters as the narrator would cut in and break the fourth wall which took me out of the story consistently.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this eARC and ALC in exchange for an honest review!

This was the first book by H.E. Edgmon that I've read and I'll definitely try out their other books. The writing was good. There were times that the flow between the different POVs didn't work for me but that's just me.

I still enjoyed the outcast character group and the queer rep!

Ohhhh, this is one you'll be turning over in your head for a while. It's the sort of narrative that unfurls slowly as you're putting pieces together (there are some bits that the narrator would break the fourth-wall and admit they were purposefully keeping secrets that I felt was unnecessary, both the wall-breaking and the actual secret-keeping itself - most of the secrets could have been elided against like you would in thought rather than the very obvious "there's something you don't know"), and by the time the horror has fully crept up on you, it's too late.

H.E. Edgmon's writing is both visceral and fairytale-like in that way that feels like a quiet dark forest that fits perfectly for this group of teens lost in the woods and trying to figure out where to go and if they even want to be found. Their writing has jagged edges that match the edges of trauma each of the characters has had sharpened by their situations and while it took me a bit to get into the rhythm of it, it matches perfectly with the sort of story this is.

There's so much I wish could have been expanded on, but wouldn't have made sense given the scope and ultimate end of the story, but I would love to see more from Edgmon in this world.

I was so excited to read this one, especially since I absolutely loved the last series this author published, but all the back and forth was too much. Way too much telling instead of showing and I think this probably could've been two books instead of one, so it wasn't so hard to follow.

A fantasy novel about a journey amongst strangers who have no idea where they are or what has happened. They come together to figure out what happened and this story is about their journey.

#WeCanNeverLeave by #H.E.Edgmon is a somewhat fantastical dystopian novel about a caravan of young teenagers that each have an odd ability that presents in the form of animal type behaviors. Think sort of like the show SweetTooth.

Bird did the unthinkable and left the Caravan something that is hugely frowned upon even though there is supposedly a network of adults like them out there, looking out for those that have decided to venture into the outside world. Bird was always seen as the savior of their people, they believed that the day they were born and Birds body lit up like a star in the sky that they were meant for great things. Bird though wanted to see what life is like living with their father.

Not long after Bird comes back, everyone acts as though they aren't angry with Bird everyone except for Hugo. Hugo and Bird were attached from childhood and Hugo has always loved Bird but now he thinks that he may hate them. Funny though how hate and love are so close to the other.

After the night of a full moon where The Caravan has a ritualistic ceremony a group of the teenagers wake up and realize that except for the few of them there is no one else left. They are now all alone and no matter how far they seem to travel no one is found and strange things begin to occur.

Hugo is a young man with Deer like attributes who has control of fire. Felix is Hugo's younger brother whose form can become that of a Stag, any other abilities that he is capable of no one knows about he just knows that he wants to keep those that he loves close. Cal has lived her life avoiding anyone getting close to her because her instincts are to bite and one bte from her and the venom in her mouth brings death. Then there is Eamon who seems to be made of shadow and no one is sure where he came from or what he is capable of.

No one knows why they are adrift in this world and where everyone has gone too or why time seems to pass differently now. Something is wrong and one of them knows what it is.

#WeCanNeverLeave is a story about childhood, living in a cult, child abuse and the very dark part of growing up saying goodbye.

I want to thank #Netgalley for the chance to read an Earc of #WeCanNeverLeave by #H.E.Edgemon in return for a fair and honest review.

i tired so hard to stick around and finish reading this but just couldn't push myself to suffer through this

Really loved the concept of this book, just didn't love the pacing as much. I think if the pacing of the plot were a little quicker, I would have enjoyed it a bit more. However, I did really enjoy the characters a lot!

***Thank you to Wednesday Books for providing an advanced copy of the book via NetGalley. My review contains my honest thoughts about my reading experience.***

I’m not really sure what to say about We Can Never Leave. This is a hard book to talk about without spoilers, but I’m going to try my best. This book was weird and intriguing and horrifying and beautiful. The structure of the story was unique. It bounced between many different POVs in the past and present, and I enjoyed trying to piece together all of the clues to the mysteries. I don’t recommend skimming this story because it definitely required a bit of concentration to keep up with everything.

I enjoyed the writing in We Can Never Leave. It was extremely poetic and relied heavily on metaphor. At times, the whole thing felt like a puzzle, the writing and characters and setting. The narrator was never super reliable, either, which added another layer of WTF to the narrative. The plot was intriguing, but it did drag a bit in the middle. The interpersonal conflicts between the characters became tiresome after a while, and so much of the story centered around them once the group was forced onto the road together. The beginning and end were super fascinating, though, and I did like where things ended up. Ultimately, the mystery of the disappearances, as well as the secrets of each character, were what drove me to finish the book.

Pretty much all of the characters in We Can Never Leave were unlikeable. They all had secrets and a tumultuous history with one another. Over the course of the story, their backgrounds and traumas were slowly revealed, and I appreciated the nuances of each character more and more as I got to know them better. They were all horribly broken by the adults in their lives, but I’d like to think that by the end of this story some parts were beginning to heal thanks to the connection built between them.

We Can Never Leave had so much great thematic content. I won’t dive into all of it here, but it is safe to say that there is plenty to sink your teeth into. The portrayal of what it is like to grow up in a cult/religious fundamentalism was so striking. The exploration of what it means to love and be loved was also something that stood out to me. I liked all of the queer representation, as well, and appreciated that the story illustrated that queerness exists even in spaces where there have been no words to describe it. Bird’s journey showed this brilliantly when they finally learned the language used to describe their internal experience of their gender.

All in all, We Can Never Leave was a great read. The mysteries kept me hooked even when the interpersonal drama became a little too much. I loved the way the author used the story structure to slowly drip out clues about the characters. It didn’t hurt that the writing was beautiful, too, with many layers to consider. Therefore, I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.