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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
As soon as I read the blurb, I thought this was going to be a perfect book for me. Trans and autistic representation, religious trauma, and MONSTERS.
To start, I related to Benji and Nick’s characters. Benji’s comments about not wishing away his transness, but simply how people perceive him, and Nick losing his ability to speak, struggling to process his emotions, and feeling a visceral discomfort when confronted with human touch, struck deep. Nick especially brought me a strange comfort, which I am grateful to White for.
However, the main issue I faced during my read was the ALC, particularly, the sea of queer, disabled, and POC characters. Each felt pigeonholed into their one assigned characteristic — so many names and varying traits, and yet each suffered a complete lack of depth. New Nazareth and the ALC were somehow completely dissimilar, hosting a cult of white cis-hets versus a group of diverse teens, and the same: besides Benji and Nick, not one character felt marginally fleshed-out.
Instead of trying to make everyone feel included, I feel White would have succeeded better by focusing on breathing life into a select number. Instead, we end up with an oddly paced rhythm: sudden, confusing violence one minute is followed by a sporadically placed, and simplified social commentary.
An example of this is when Salvador briefly mentions issues within the trans community including the acceptance of neopronouns and the expectation you must always try to pass as your gender. As a book predominantly about the MC’s transness, I thought these topics could have been expanded on to open up a more meaningful conversation.
To start, I related to Benji and Nick’s characters. Benji’s comments about not wishing away his transness, but simply how people perceive him, and Nick losing his ability to speak, struggling to process his emotions, and feeling a visceral discomfort when confronted with human touch, struck deep. Nick especially brought me a strange comfort, which I am grateful to White for.
However, the main issue I faced during my read was the ALC, particularly, the sea of queer, disabled, and POC characters. Each felt pigeonholed into their one assigned characteristic — so many names and varying traits, and yet each suffered a complete lack of depth. New Nazareth and the ALC were somehow completely dissimilar, hosting a cult of white cis-hets versus a group of diverse teens, and the same: besides Benji and Nick, not one character felt marginally fleshed-out.
Instead of trying to make everyone feel included, I feel White would have succeeded better by focusing on breathing life into a select number. Instead, we end up with an oddly paced rhythm: sudden, confusing violence one minute is followed by a sporadically placed, and simplified social commentary.
An example of this is when Salvador briefly mentions issues within the trans community including the acceptance of neopronouns and the expectation you must always try to pass as your gender. As a book predominantly about the MC’s transness, I thought these topics could have been expanded on to open up a more meaningful conversation.
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
"I think it hits us all at the same time that maybe we'll live long enough to grow up."
This is a whole new level of religious traumq. I am speechless, this is the kind of book that makes you sit in your room for hours staring at nothing after finishing it. The gore was a bit hard to stomach for me at times but the whole situation was just gruesome so it was very fitting to bring across what monsters the angels are. Reading about a genocide on all of the human race and how they justify it was so outlandish and so scary considering that stuff like that is and has been actually happening around the world.
Benji forced into being a monster and turning all his anger against them was so satisfying to read especially after the deadnaming and misgendering.
This is a whole new level of religious traumq. I am speechless, this is the kind of book that makes you sit in your room for hours staring at nothing after finishing it. The gore was a bit hard to stomach for me at times but the whole situation was just gruesome so it was very fitting to bring across what monsters the angels are. Reading about a genocide on all of the human race and how they justify it was so outlandish and so scary considering that stuff like that is and has been actually happening around the world.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A great exploration of religious zealots in the apocalypse and transness. the description of the decay of Benji's body over the course of the book was so vissaral and I'm so glad all those fuckers got their comupence. This was such an interesting and amazing take on the apocalypse setting to read as a trans teenager myself!!
Side note, the quotes at the beginning of each chapter to provide added world building via in world texts was so chef's kiss
Side note, the quotes at the beginning of each chapter to provide added world building via in world texts was so chef's kiss
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, Dysphoria
dark
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A violent Queer scream that will have you rooting for slaughter! I'm obsessed.
This book is pretty intense, the body horror imagery, the semi-surrealist writing style at some points, and the content all made for an edge of your seat intense read. But as vicious as this book is it was so extremely cathartic to read as a queer with religious trauma.
The world is all too close to reality, and the hatred that is spewed by the antagonists at our main character Benji is gut wrenching, when his deadname is used towards the last act of the book I had to stop reading because I had such a visceral angry reaction to it.
This book holds no punches, and for those that can stomach it, it's a Hell of a fun ride!
This book is pretty intense, the body horror imagery, the semi-surrealist writing style at some points, and the content all made for an edge of your seat intense read. But as vicious as this book is it was so extremely cathartic to read as a queer with religious trauma.
The world is all too close to reality, and the hatred that is spewed by the antagonists at our main character Benji is gut wrenching, when his deadname is used towards the last act of the book I had to stop reading because I had such a visceral angry reaction to it.
This book holds no punches, and for those that can stomach it, it's a Hell of a fun ride!
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
hopeful
fast-paced