Maybe We’re Electric

– Val Emmich –

Poppy

Published 21 September 2021

♥♥♥♥

 

Secrets. The secrets we keep to protect ourselves and the secrets we keep for our family. Maybe We’re Electric is a heartbreaking and romantic novel about finding the balance between speaking out and staying silent.

Covering just one night (plus a bit at the end) Maybe We’re Electric brings Tegan and Mac together. They never would have crossed paths – thinking each other in a different world at their school. But Tegan and Mac have far more in common than they think. When a storm hits, they find themselves together in the Thomas Edison museum. Both are running from their family and themselves. Both know they need to speak up about the secrets they are keeping. Both know the fallout from doing so will have far reaching consequences. Over the course of one night they connect and share more than they expected. But can their blossoming relationship survive the night?

Tegan is a compelling – if unreliable – narrator. As she slowly opens up to Mac, we readers also slowly begin to understand the true depth of what she is running from.

Maybe We’re Electric touches on themes of death and grief, new family relationship, alcoholism and the impact on families, and online bullying. SPOILER: I thought it was fantastic to have a book written from the perspective of the bullying perpetrator and explore how easy it was for Tegan to fall into the bullying behaviour and the impacts she faces. She is immensely brave and eventually learns to take responsibility for her actions and makes the move to turn away from this behaviour. I think this is so important for teens to read about – not just from the survivors of bullying, but also those responsible for bullying. Online platforms only make this a far more realistic situation for teens to find themselves in.

Maybe We’re Electric is a relatable realistic fiction novel from the author who brought us Dear Evan Hansen.

The publishers provided an advanced readers copy of this book for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.

More information

Category: Young adult fiction

Genre: Contemporary

Themes: Grief, online bullying, alcohol addiction, family, Thomas Edison, romance, relationships.

Reading age guide: Ages 14 and up.

Advisory: References to death. References to suicidal thoughts. References to online bullying. References to injury and violence. Coarse language.

Published: 21 September by Poppy

Format: Hardcover, paperback, ebook, audiobook. 288 pages.

ISBN: 9780316535700

Find it on Goodreads