Daphne Press

You Weren't Meant To Be Human

09 September 2025

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.

Praise for the author:

"A long, sustained scream to the various strains of anti-transgender legislation multiplying around the world like, well, a virus."―The New York Times"A defining voice of our generation."―H.E. Edgmon, author of Godly Heathens and Merciless Saviors

"White wields prose like a scalpel, cutting deep and spilling guts with gruesome precision... Visceral and vindicating."―Kirkus Reviews

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The author

Andrew Joseph White

(he/him)

Andrew Joseph White is a trans, autistic author from Virginia, where he grew up falling in love with monsters and wishing he could be one too. He received his MFA in Creative Writing from George Mason University in 2022, and is the author of several bestselling novels about queer and disabled rage.

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