We Can Be Heroes had me crying. Not only at the injustice and corruption, but also with the story of friendship and justice. An emotional story about domestic violence, gun control, and corruption, We Can Be Heroes will take you on a ride. Keep reading this book review for my full thoughts.
Summary
“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
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
We Can Be Heroes is a book I finished in a few days I was so absorbed. I became possessed by Beck and Vivian’s rage. By the way that the system failed Cassie. This multiple POV story sheds light on the ways on some of society’s failings. The ways that money greases palms and can have disastrous consequences. We Can Be Heroes not only presents a story about justice and friendship, it also questions who exactly is protected by the laws. I was so emotional reading We Can Be Heroes.
So many of my notes by the end of the book are just mourning how realistic We Can Be Heroes feels. How we’re in a culture that protects abusers and discounts victims. While I feel like this book wrung me out, it did it in the best way. how Beck and Vivian navigate the empty void in their friendship, the depths of their grief, and fires of their rage. You find yourself burning up and We Can Be Heroes is the spark. I fell in love with Beck and Vivian, their individual stories, the ways that Cassie knits them together.
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This is such an important read and I found myself telling everyone in my life about some of the quotes. It lights a fire in the best way. Find We Can Be Heroes on Goodreads, Amazon, Indiebound, Bookshop.org & The Book Depository.