
We Can Be Heroes
HarperCollins · Hardcover · September 7, 2021
Kyrie McCauley, author of the William C. Morris YA Debut Award winner If These Wings Could Fly, delivers a powerful contemporary YA novel about the lasting bonds of friendship and three girls fighting for each other in the aftermath of a school shooting.
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- Who it’s for
- A sustained, immersive read with heavy themes and a genre-bending pull.
- Genres
- YA Ghost Stories, Friendship for Teens, Death & Grief for Teens
- Published
- HarperCollins, September 7, 2021
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Start with this bookAbout this book
Kyrie McCauley, author of the William C. Morris YA Debut Award winner If These Wings Could Fly, delivers a powerful contemporary YA novel about the lasting bonds of friendship and three girls fighting for each other in the aftermath of a school shooting. Perfect for fans of Laura Ruby and Mindy McGinnis. Beck and Vivian never could stand each other, but they always tried their best for their mutual friend, Cassie.
Continue reading
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. * Parade's Best YA Books of the Year * Rise: A Feminist Book Project Book of the Year * Banks Street Best Children's Books of the Year *
What Hooks
A sustained, immersive read with heavy themes and a genre-bending pull.
Come here for
- teen girls, book-club pickup
- fantasy-adjacent emotional intensity
Expect
- trauma-forward territory
- dark, serious emotional register
Where it sits
| YA Ghost Stories | 56% |
|---|---|
| Death & Grief for Teens | 29% |
| Friendship for Teens | 20% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- YA Art & Artists
- Coming of Age
- YA Ghost Stories
- Literary YA
Show all 8 publisher categories
- Magical Realism for Teens
- Paranormal & Supernatural for Teens
- YA Poetry
- Depression for Teens
- Authors
- Kyrie McCauley
- Publisher
- HarperCollins
- Published
- September 7, 2021
- Format
- Hardcover
- Reading lane
- YA Art & Artists