I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
We Can Be Heroes by Kyrie McCauley Published by Katherine Tegen Books on 9/7/21
Genres: Contemporary, Paranormal, Young Adult
Pages: 368
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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Beck and Vivian never could stand each other, but they always tried their best for their mutual friend, Cassie. After the town moves on from Cassie’s murder too fast, Beck and Vivian finally find common ground: vengeance.
They memorialize Cassie by secretly painting murals of her around town, a message to the world that Cassie won’t be forgotten. But Beck and Vivian are keeping secrets, like the third passenger riding in Beck’s VW bus with them—Cassie’s ghost.
When their murals catch the attention of a podcaster covering Cassie’s case, they become the catalyst for a debate that Bell Firearms can no longer ignore. With law enforcement closing in on them, Beck and Vivian hurry to give Cassie the closure she needs—by delivering justice to those responsible for her death.
Short and Sweet
Bell is the home of Bell Firearms and has been for the past two hundred years. Five months ago the heir to Bell Firearms went to school with some firearms and killed his ex-girlfriend Cassandra Queen and himself.
Beck and Vivian never could stand each other but they did it for Cassie. Beck and Cassie feel like the town is moving on from Cassie’s murder to fast and they find common ground, they want vengeance and they also get some help from Cassie’s ghost. Beck and Vivian go around town painting murals of Cassie to remind the town that she won’t be forgotten. The murals begin to catch the attention of a podcast that has been covering Cassie’s case, they also catch the attention of law enforcement. Beck and Vivian know they need to work fast to get their point across and get Cassie the closure she needs.
Characters
Beck: Beck is one of main characters and she’s more fierce, she’s tough but deep down she has feelings. Beck likes to hide her feelings and when it comes to Cassie she feels like she needs to get vengeance for her and the best way to do that is to paint murals of Cassie around town.
Vivian: Vivian is our more level headed main character. She was injured in the attack at the school and she had plans to be a doctor but now she’s second guessing everything. I feel like this time she spends with Beck and Cassie really helps her and what she really needed was someone who could understand her pain which was why I was so happy when she reunited with Beck.
Cassie: We meet Cassie as a ghost and all of her sections are written in verse. We learn a lot about what Cassie’s life was like and how she felt during her time alive, the way she was written makes it feel like you know her and that she had so much more to offer the world if she just had the chance to do it. We see Cassie’s relationship with Nico and how it turned deadly and how all the warning signs were there and if someone just took her seriously everything could have been avoided or maybe turned out differently. I feel that Cassie realizes how strong she actually is and she uses her time as a ghost to prove it at certain times.
My Thoughts
~ After Cassie’s death Beck and Vivian have stopped talking. Beck’s first mission is to start painting murals over town because the last thing she’s going to let this town do is let them forget about Cassie’s murder and let Bell Firearms know that justice will be served. When Vivian finds out what Beck is doing she’s apprehensive but deep down she knows she wants to fight for Cassie too. With Beck and Vivian together they learn that Cassie has been in Becks VW bus, it’s almost like them being together made Cassie strong enough to appear. With Cassie around the girls go around town painting murals of Cassie that portray her as strong female characters. Soon the murals begin to catch the attention of local law enforcement who want to put a stop to it and locals who are all for murals and know that Bell Firearms were in the wrong. As things start to heat up in town the girls rush to finish their murals and also try to find a way to give Cassie closure.
We have all three of the girls POVs and I love them all equally. They all have their own voice and each one is easy to connect to, you feel for each of them and the struggles that they’re going through and you want to cheer for them when they have a personal victory. The friendship they share is beautiful. We also get to read from the We Can Be Heroes podcast which is covering Cassie’s case. I really liked Merit who was the host of the show she left no stone unturned and she did a great job helping the girls.
Overall
This book was beautifully written! It’s also important and sheds light on domestic violence especially in teen relationships. This book was amazing and so were the characters who were relatable and so real. I was emotionally invested and hooked from page one!
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