We Can Never Leave: A Novel

Ages 14 to 18

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 around them 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.

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 kidlit line-up includes The Witch King duology, the Ouroboros duology, and The Flicker. School Library Journal has described their writing as “monstrously thrilling, deeply emotional.” Across genres, H.E. hopes to find readers in their darkest moments and help them set a fire. They live in the Pacific Northwest, surrounded by chosen family and giant dogs.