We Can Be Heroes by Kyrie McCauley

We Can Be Heroes

Kyrie McCauley

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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About 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 Stories56%
Death & Grief for Teens29%
Friendship for Teens20%

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