We Were Restless Things

Cole Nagamatsu — 2020

For fans of Maggie Stiefvater and Neil Gaiman comes a stunning contemporary fantasy about a mysterious death, three friends who seek the truth, and the incredible power of our own desires. Last summer, Link Miller drowned on dry land in the woods, miles from the nearest body of water. His death was ruled a weird accident, but Noemi Amato knows the truth: Link was killed. He told her so himself, because he's been texting herfrom beyond the grave, warning her to keep away from the forest. Amberlyn, Link's sister, can't shake the feeling that Noemi is hiding something, and Jonas, Noemi's new housemate, can't get past the walls that she has constructed around herself. Because Noemi has a dangerous secret even bigger than Link's ghost... Link drowned in an impossible lake that only she can find. Now, if the three don't work together to unravel the truthabout what is happening in the woods, someone else may wind up dead. Set over the course of one heartbreaking, mystifying, and ultimately hopeful year, this remarkable debut heralds the arrival of an incredible new voice in young adult literature.

Reviews

Angel Perez@pandaur

Aug 9, 2023

Wouldn’t say it’s the worst book I’ve ever read but let’s just say it wasn’t good. The beginning of the book had me hooked, I just couldn’t put it down. It was like this until it just became BORING! The author really wanted you to connect with the characters and the only relatable one is Noemi. The book is very long for no reason and honestly some of it just feels like filler if I’m being honest. The concept of the book made me want to read it but it was honestly executed poorly. I got through more than half of the book but I just couldn’t finish reading it.

christy@ecriipse

Jan 3, 2023

dnf

Caitlyn DeRouin@caitlynderouin

Dec 14, 2021

We Were Restless Things follows the year after Link Miller's mysterious drowning in a wood with no lake. Noemi Amato, Link's close friends knows that Link drowned in an impossible lake that only she knows how to find. Oddly enough, for the last year, someone has been texting her from an unknown number claiming to be Link. Noemi, along with her new housemate Jonas and Amberlyn, Link's younger sister, try to solve the mystery of what happened to Link while also navigating the ups and downs of teenage life. While I found the premise of this book very compelling, the writing, unfortunately, did not live up to it's potential. The pacing was completely off for me. The beginning establishes who the characters are, as well as what it was that happened to Link Miller, then it shifts into the daily life of the teenage characters and life in the small town. The information that was given wasn't relevant to what the actual plot was, and nothing semi-interesting happened until halfway through the book. Even then, the plot only picked up in the last 75% of the book. I was pretty bored throughout the majority of the book. The writing, while atmospheric at times, still wasn't able to hold my attention very well, I also found the characters to be boring and a bit annoying and one dimensional. I think that this book had a lot of potential, but it, unfortunately, was not executed well.

Heather Roden @heatherann43

Sep 3, 2021

Wow!! first off I connected to the main character so much, she reminded me as a teenager, hell she reminds me of me now. This is a great beautiful read.

Renae Pérez@romanticparvenu

Jan 17, 2022

Leticia Leal@theillumiletty

Dec 18, 2023

Marie Réaume@leroyeaumedemarie

Jan 20, 2022

Tegan Anderson@tande

Jan 8, 2022

Joleen@starlightbooktales

Aug 31, 2021