You Weren't Meant To Be Human Audiobook By Andrew Joseph White cover art

You Weren't Meant To Be Human

 Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 30-day trial. Cancel anytime
Try for $0.00
More purchase options
Buy for $19.49

Buy for $19.49

A Washington Post and Publishers Weekly Best SF/Fantasy/Horror Novel of 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.

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. First Contact Genre Fiction Horror Literature & Fiction Science Fiction Science Fiction & Fantasy Scary Tearjerking Heartfelt West Virginia

Critic reviews

"Horror in the form of an alien invasion and a bug infestation is compelling and dramatic in this audiobook, and Max Meyers does an excellent job of narrating without overdoing it. His tone and pacing allow the suspense to build naturally, even during frequent scenes of horror. His voices are appropriately differentiated as he delivers dialogue and action, and he navigates the complex issues of identity, transformation, and survival with finesse. Crane, the protagonist, chooses to use an alien invasion as an opportunity to transition to male gender, but when he gets pregnant, his situation is threatened. This new audiobook by award-winning author Andrew Joseph White brings its characters to life."
Powerful Body Horror • Emotional Depth • Talented Narration • Compelling Darkness • Thought-provoking Themes

Highly rated for:

All stars
Most relevant
I love the gore and pain Andrew creates, but I can only handle so much “I’m autistic and gay and no one understands me” before it feels old and over done

Same dish

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This book is so gross and twisted, with characters who are severely messed up but still somehow relatable. I love AJW's writing and this just continued the trend. Keep in mind this is a horror novel for adults with very dark and grotesque content.

Worms are squishy and gross

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Inconsistent audio levels and needlessly overperformed. Had me constantly turning up the audio to hear the narrator’s subvocal delivery, only to have my eardrums obliterated any time they switched to The Hive’s dialogue.

Good story, frustrating audio

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I can’t stand how the narrator whispers and then screams. I have to turn it all the way up to understand the majority of it and then my eardrums get blown out when they scream or the worms talk. It’s sad because I absolutely love this story. I do think this got better as the story went on.

Love the story annoyed with the narrator at times

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This was absolutely incredible. This got to me in so many ways. Visceral. Beautiful. Haunting. MAX, oh my god your performance. So, so good.

rip my heart out

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews