Kyrie McCauley

"After a girl is killed by her ex-boyfriend in a school shooting, her two best friends attempt to memorialize her in a town economically dependent on the shooter's family"--

We Can Be Heroes

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. 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.

“𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭?”
“𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭, 𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐤. 𝐍𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐲. 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲’𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭, 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐯𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥.”
-ᴘᴀɢᴇ 95

-- my review --

5/5 roses. We Can be Heroes hit me in the feels and nearly made me cry. Took me about four days.

How I picked it up: Kyrie McCauley's debut novel was one of the best books I read in 2021, so I knew this book would be of a high standard.

What I loved: both this novel and McCauley’s If These Wings Could Fly are so beautifully written about the most terrifying of things. Truly “riotous” and “righteous”. I can’t see myself giving it any less than a 5/5.

What I couldn’t appreciate: Vivian and Beck sometimes seem to be written from the same perspective.

Overall, this book and what it stands for is IMPORTANT. Just like CNV, the friendship of the main characters pulled the story through. I also don’t want to accept that Beck’s grandpa passed after he did such a wonderful thing of destroying what represented his past to help her move towards the future. The plot revelation of who Merit really was before and her own agenda to help other young girls speak up is also quite empowering.

Collige Virgo Rosas– gather, girl, the roses
while you still can


Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received this finished copy from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: We Can Be Heroes

Author: Kyrie McCauley

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 5/5

Recommended For...: young adult readers, magical realism, contemporary, murder mystery, thriller

Genre: YA Mystery

Publication Date: September 7, 2021

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Pages: 368

Recommended Age: 16+ (death, violence, gore, Domestic Violence TW)

Explanation of CWs: Domestic violence shown. Death is shown and mentioned. Violence and gore is also shown.

Synopsis: “Welcome to Bell, proud home of Bell Firearms for two hundred years, and where five months ago, the teen heir to the Bell fortune took his father’s guns to school and killed his ex-girlfriend, Cassandra Queen.” —WE CAN BE HEROES PODCAST

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.

Review: For the most part I really liked this book. It had a good hook and I was intrigued from start to finish. I feel like the character development was well done and the pacing was fairly well done as well.

However, I did think that the world building lacked a little different and the plot was a little slow to catch on for a bit.

Verdict: It was good!

We Can Be Heroes

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