by Andrew Joseph White
Saga Press
7/7/2026, paperback
SKU: 9781668038086
Alien meets Midsommar in this chilling debut adult novel from award-winning author Andrew Joseph White about identity, survival, and transformation amidst an alien invasion in rural West Virginia.
Festering masses of worms and flies have taken root in dark corners across Appalachia. In exchange for unwavering loyalty and fresh corpses, these hives offer a few struggling humans salvation. A fresh start. It's an offer that none refuse.
Crane is grateful. Among his hive's followers, Crane has found a chance to transition, to never speak again, to live a life that won't destroy him. He even met Levi: a handsome ex-Marine and brutal killer who treats him like a real man, mostly. But when Levi gets Crane pregnant--and the hive demands the child's birth, no matter the cost--Crane's desperation to make it stop will drive the community that saved him into a devastating spiral that can only end in blood.
You Weren't Meant to Be Human is a deeply personal horror; a visceral statement about the lives of marginalized people in a hostile world, echoing the works of Stephen Graham Jones and Eric LaRocca.
Reviews:
"White's adult debut encapsulates the best of the modern horror genre." -- Booklist, starred review
"[A] brilliant, page-turning piece of trans splatterpunk body horror and an earnest, heart-rending tragedy. White should win a whole new set of fans with this."-- Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Gruesome and unrelenting, Andrew Joseph White's adult debut is a masterpiece of horror. White dares you to accept Crane's humanity when all the veneers of politeness are stripped away, capturing the intersection of the alienation of neurodivergence and the pain of dysphoria with unflinching honesty." -- K. M. Enright, Sunday Times Bestselling author of Mistress of Lies
About the Author:
Andrew Joseph White is the trans, autistic, and bestselling author of Hell Followed With Us, The Spirit Bares Its Teeth, and Compound Fracture. Born and raised in the Shenandoah Valley, he received his MFA in creative writing from George Mason University and lives in Virginia with his wife and their antisocial cat.