Elizabeth Sanders's Reviews > We Came to Welcome You

Content Warnings: Misogyny, Racism, Gaslighting, Childhood Trauma (Abuse, Religious), Anxiety, Depression, Suicide/Self-Harm, Alcoholism

This book had some major pros. The concept was creepy and well-described. Our main character, Sol, and her wife, Alice, raise very valid points about sexism, racism, misogyny, misogynoir, homophobia, and different issues within the Queer community. I also liked Sol overall. Yes, she could get exhausting, but she WAS exhausted due to the mental illness, childhood trauma, and gaslighting she faced in her community and at work. I also liked Alice.

The pacing was the main issue I had with the book. The beginning was solid, but somewhere around the middle it just started to feel repetitive in terms of the scares, what was happening, etc. Things picked back up again when Sol accidentally joined the cult through breaking a statue, but it quickly fizzled again. I also hated the ending. While it is definitely creepy, I felt like it was rushed and put Sol basically in the same position she was so desperate to escape earlier. Same constraints, just different branding. That easily could be part of the commentary in the book, but it just needled me wrong.