Scan barcode
mothiver's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I’ve seen people call this book bad representation, but I don’t think it’s trying to be “representation”, in the sense we often use it these days. It’s not meant to show the queer experience to non-queer people in a way that shows them how Not Scary and Great To Give Human Rights To they are.
Instead, it directs itself to the people who have had those experiences, and presents every horrifying second of its narrative with an understanding that you know how this feels. I find myself reminded of the original concept of “the male gaze” - the way a woman watching a woman on screen must see her through the eyes of a man, because the Intended Audience are men. I never realised how much most queer media made me feel like I was watching a non-queer person watch queer people until I read this book, and realised it didn’t. Ironically, I actually think that makes it better representation than many books that try harder to be.
It is also one of the best portrayals of Autism I have ever experienced. I have NEVER seen a book that just… shows it, in all its messy reality, and treats the character as simply a person with flaws and strengths that so happen to fit a diagnostic criteria. I ain’t never seen a love interest lose speech before, and now I shall be chasing that high for the rest of my days.
Another thing I adored was the way that the characters were allowed to be angry. In this book, there is no strength to be found in Just Calming Down, or in Being The Bigger Person - at least, none that does not come from calmness letting you do exactly what you wanted to do angry. There is a certain relief in having a book take you by the shoulders and say you should be angry.
I would recommend Hell Followed With Us. No caveats, beyond making sure you can handle the content warnings. Read this book. You won’t regret it.
Graphic: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexism, Transphobia, Emotional abuse, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Misogyny, Child abuse, and Gore
Moderate: Self harm, Gun violence, Cursing, and Deadnaming
Minor: Sexual content, Ableism, and Alcohol
torismazarine's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Misogyny, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Acephobia/Arophobia, Blood, Death, Lesbophobia, Medical trauma, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Vomit, War, Xenophobia, Biphobia, Deadnaming, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, and Hate crime
lil_goblin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Self harm, Homophobia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, Pandemic/Epidemic, Terminal illness, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit
Moderate: Kidnapping
sagareads's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Gore, Religious bigotry, Body horror, Deadnaming, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Transphobia, Death of parent, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Self harm
Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexism, Terminal illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Gun violence
hemlockbabe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I adored this book. I picked it up entirely on a whim during pride month on the wall of recommended reading at a small bookstore. I read (more like skimmed) the blurb on why the shop employee recommended it so highly. I love reading religious trauma inspired books, so I pretty much was sold immediately.
I devoured this book during the span of one six hour shift at my workplace. I've always been a fast reader- it's my attention span that ruins my ability to read books. This book sucked me in hard enough that occasionally I had to be prompted multiple times by customers to buy their stuff.
I don't know if I would have had a different experience with it if I had known of the trigger warnings, especially the violence, purposeful misgendering, and body horror. I've always loved zombie books, and I read those curled up in chairs in the library of my high school, so I didn't think much of the location I would be reading this book.
Public crying, for me, is the highest form of torture, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from the pages of this book. The pacing, the content, the plight of the main character- all of it kept me hooked until the very end. I'm just glad I didn't snap at a kid for interrupting my reading time with a craving for Pokémon cards.
My review doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of public opinion- I have a history of really liking books and movies that had piss poor reviews and ratings- but I loved this book so much. As I've gotten older and more mentally ill, I don't get sucked into the pages of a book like a used to as a kid. I miss the ability to be absorbed in a story until it's done, and this book brought that back for me.
This book is definitely not for everyone, and all readers should be mindful of their triggers to disturbing content. But I definitely enjoyed myself, hence the five star rating.
Graphic: Body horror, Mental illness, Outing, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Child death, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, Pandemic/Epidemic, Homophobia, Gore, Forced institutionalization, and Self harm
Moderate: Ableism, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Body shaming, Suicidal thoughts, Cannibalism, Deadnaming, Eating disorder, and Emotional abuse
Zombie apocalypse, and a religious cult worshipping it as the rapture. Or God's work to cleanse this Earth and remake it anew.nicosta_music's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Cursing, Pandemic/Epidemic, Vomit, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Deadnaming, Genocide, Body horror, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Self harm
Moderate: Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Religious bigotry, Grief, and Sexual content
Minor: Transphobia, Body shaming, and Medical content
winter_meadow's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Body horror, Genocide, Gun violence, Religious bigotry, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Transphobia, Homophobia, Deadnaming, Self harm, Violence, and Child death
Minor: Alcohol, Toxic relationship, and Grief
thesunghost's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Religious bigotry, Transphobia, Violence, Self harm, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Deadnaming
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Dysphoria
Minor: Vomit and Suicide attempt
winterhartarts's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Sexism, Eating disorder, Xenophobia, Body shaming, Vomit, Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Chronic illness, Religious bigotry, Pandemic/Epidemic, Mass/school shootings, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Gun violence, Genocide, Dysphoria, Death, Deadnaming, Child death, Murder, Medical trauma, Medical content, Body horror, Transphobia, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Ableism, Grief, Gore, Classism, Homophobia, War, Cannibalism, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Forced institutionalization, Cursing, Animal death, Toxic relationship, Torture, Slavery, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Colonisation, Alcohol, and Toxic friendship
efrancart's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
The religious trauma was also to the forefront as this was a doomsday cult book. I think that these two trigger warnings should be the biggest out the gate and the author does have a note to the reader at the front I really appreciated.
I also loved the epigraphs before each chapter which really built the world so much fuller for me. Some are very relevant to the genocide happening right now in Palestine. A book I will heartily recommend with alllllll the trigger warnings (almost all of the ones available for selection on this app!)
Graphic: Death, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, Gore, Child death, Murder, Blood, Vomit, and Body horror
Moderate: Ableism, Transphobia, Grief, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Cursing, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Alcohol and Classism