We Can Never Leave

by H.E. Edgmon

Overview

Sweet Tooth meets The Raven Boys in this queer young adult contemporary fantasy about what it means to belong from H.E. Edgmon.

You can never go home…

Every day, all across the world, inhuman creatures are waking up with no memory of who they are or where they came from–and the Caravan exists to help them. The traveling community is made up of these very creatures and their families who’ve acclimated to this new existence by finding refuge in each other. That is, until the morning five teenage travelers wake to find their community has disappeared overnight.

Those left: a half-human who only just ran back to the Caravan with their tail between their legs, two brothers–one who can’t seem to stay out of trouble and the other who’s never been brave enough to get in it, a venomous girl with blood on her hands and a heart of gold, and the Caravan’s newest addition, a disquieting shadow in the shape of a boy. They’ll have to work together to figure out what happened the night of the disappearance, but each one of the forsaken five is white-knuckling their own secrets. And with each truth forced to light, it becomes clear this isn’t really about what happened to their people–it’s about what happened to them.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250853653
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	06/10/2025
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.20(d)
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

H.E. Edgmon did not sleep for several years and is now the author of copious novels and short works for tweens, teens, and adults. Their line-up includes The Witch King duology, the Ouroboros duology, and The Flicker, and their writing has been described as “monstrously thrilling, deeply emotional” by School Library Journal. Across genres, H.E. hopes to find readers in their darkest moments and help them start a fire. In their laughably limited free time, they’re likely hosting themed parties for no reason or trying to predict the future. They live in the Pacific Northwest, surrounded by chosen family and giant dogs.

Editorial Reviews

"Edgmon dazzles in this supernatural mystery novel... A captivating fable of belonging and intergenerational trauma." — Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

"This is not a heartwarming story about teens learning to set aside their differences and love one another. Each character is complicated, messy, and angry in their own way...The astounding beauty of the prose unnervingly normalizes the often gruesome content, folding the reader seamlessly into the mindsets of the teens who are far from recognizing their own severe trauma. The enthralling storytelling and deeply flawed characters make this a top choice for readers up for a challenge." — Booklist (Starred Review)

"Edgmon crafts horror with vivid imagery and an unknown, ominous threat. Meticulous plotting leads to a satisfying conclusion... Precise and cutting" — Kirkus

“A book for every kid who may have had to run from home, and may still be trying to run from who they are. This rich, lyrical heartbreak of a story has some gristle in its teeth, and you’re going to love it." — Andrew Joseph White, New York Times Bestselling author

“Edgmon is back and better than ever with a sharp-fanged and tender-fleshed story of isolation and belonging, love and cruelty, and the double-edged knife of family. In dreamlike prose and haunting imagery, each child of the Caravan will crawl into your heart and make a home there. A brilliantly imagined, wholly original story I won't soon forget.” — Courtney Gould, author of Where Echoes Die

From the Publisher

2025-03-22
On the morning after the new moon, five traumatized teens from a cult of societal outcasts who possess “magics” awaken to discover their entire community has vanished.

Three years ago, Bird tried to leave the Caravan, but found they didn’t belong in the human world either. The Caravan collects and shelters people with “inhuman characteristics or physical features” and unexplained, sometimes lethal, magical powers. While some are born into the community, like Bird, Hugo (a boy with antlers and fire powers who’s Bird’s ex), and Felix (Hugo’s fawn-eared younger brother), others, like “venomous wolf-girl” Cal and red-eyed Eamon, arrive mysteriously and have no memories of their pasts. Although the Caravan offers a haven, it’s vulnerable to being noticed by suspicious humans, who sometimes call the authorities. When Bird, Hugo, Felix, Cal, and Eamon wake up alone after the new moon, they blame each other and themselves. Secrets gnaw at them, and only Felix believes they can work together successfully. With nowhere else to go, they set off in search of Port Haven, Washington, a community like theirs—and the closest thing the Caravan has to an enemy. Chapters alternate among the perspectives of the five teens as well as shifting between past and present, maintaining suspense, tension, and a fast pace. Edgmon crafts horror with vivid imagery and an unknown, ominous threat. Meticulous plotting leads to a satisfying conclusion. The cast of characters is predominantly white-presenting and queer.

Precise and cutting. (author’s note)(Paranormal. 15-18)

Kirkus Reviews