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4.51 AVERAGE
4.51 AVERAGE
both beautiful and sickening. it's made me flinch and want to cry
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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
Listen I liked Hell Followed With Us quite a bit but... this is probably the book that's made a full Joseph Andrew White convert and I will read EVERYTHING he writes now. Like wow this book was amazing. Or maybe just the stars aligned perfectly because it feels like I read this book at the perfect time. I'd been reading a lot of cozier fiction lately so I knew I wanted something ediger and a little fucked up. I remember really liking how Hell Followed With Us did body horror so I thought I'd give his second book a go (by the way can we talk about for a sec how all these covers are beautifully designed). This was the absoulte perfect book to quench that thirst. I loved Silas and Daphne and getting to know the girls here forced into this horrible situation. AJW does such a good job building up dread and tension and of course, the bits of body horror and gore in this book was exactly what I was looking for. I also really appreciated this portrayal of an autistic protagonist.
Maybe it's because I read them back to back, but I can't help but compare this to Evocation. There was so much that worked well here that failed there. For one, the society in this book is purposefully elusive and vauge because our protagonist isn't allowed to be part of that group, therefore doesn't know much about the goings on. Compared to Evocation where the occult society is such an important aspect of 2 of the main characters lives (both are running for president or whatever) but we know fuckall about the society. And the characters here felt so much more vibrant and tangible after suffering through the flat characters in Evocation.
TLDR; I loved this book very very much. I was tabbing the hell out of it and writing down so many quotes in my commonplace book. I will definitely want to read this again in the future and I'm excited to read everything else AJW publishes (especially his debut adult novel coming out later this year!)
Maybe it's because I read them back to back, but I can't help but compare this to Evocation. There was so much that worked well here that failed there. For one, the society in this book is purposefully elusive and vauge because our protagonist isn't allowed to be part of that group, therefore doesn't know much about the goings on. Compared to Evocation where the occult society is such an important aspect of 2 of the main characters lives (both are running for president or whatever) but we know fuckall about the society. And the characters here felt so much more vibrant and tangible after suffering through the flat characters in Evocation.
TLDR; I loved this book very very much. I was tabbing the hell out of it and writing down so many quotes in my commonplace book. I will definitely want to read this again in the future and I'm excited to read everything else AJW publishes (especially his debut adult novel coming out later this year!)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
i LOVED this book and will absolutely be reading anything else by this author. i felt so so many emotions and they did a really good job with the queer rep
AJW DID IT AGAIN! So many relatable lines as a nonbinary person with intense fear of pregnancy
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
4 Stars ⭐️. Wanted a little more back story on the violet eyed people. Where they came from? Why are they sensitive to opening the veil? And the ending was a little anticlimactic for me. But the plot and the character driven story was great. Body horror at its finest.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I SURVIVED WHAT WOULD'VE BEEN A DNF ❤️ i started this for the trans rep and it's a recommendation by newlynova, my favourite book content creator. unfortunately, it's a flop. i do love the t4t relationship, although i don't think it was necessary and it would've been just fine for them to have been friends. that's the only thing i liked i'm afraid.
i've never found a book unbearable to listen to bc of the narrator so this was a first. raphael corkhill goes too over the top for me, especially when he plays the rabbit. i played around with the playback speed but it was still grating. even narration aside, i didn't like the book. it's definitely marketed wrongly bc the only thing that makes it ya is that the characters are teenagers. the content is REALLY graphic and adult. it definitely is borderline trauma porn. i thought the characters were sooo one-dimensional. every man is evil and i couldn't tell the girls at the school apart. more nit-picky but i also think silas' surgical skills are unrealistic.
i really persevered because i hate not knowing the ending but what i thought would happen at 15% was exactly what happened. ajw tries to create a mysterious atmosphere to the story with how the school functions but it is pretty obvious what was going on. this was a pride month L unfortunately.
i've never found a book unbearable to listen to bc of the narrator so this was a first. raphael corkhill goes too over the top for me, especially when he plays the rabbit. i played around with the playback speed but it was still grating. even narration aside, i didn't like the book. it's definitely marketed wrongly bc the only thing that makes it ya is that the characters are teenagers. the content is REALLY graphic and adult. it definitely is borderline trauma porn. i thought the characters were sooo one-dimensional. every man is evil and i couldn't tell the girls at the school apart. more nit-picky but i also think silas' surgical skills are unrealistic.
i really persevered because i hate not knowing the ending but what i thought would happen at 15% was exactly what happened. ajw tries to create a mysterious atmosphere to the story with how the school functions but it is pretty obvious what was going on. this was a pride month L unfortunately.
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes