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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
didn't finish it before book club, fell asleep with the audiobook
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-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
Please pay attention to the content warnings on this one, but wow! What a ride!
Benji is a trans boy who carries a plague within him. We go along on his journey to unpack so much religious trauma to find freedom. It is such a dark story, with so much violence and murder. No one has clean hands in this one, but it is an apocalyptic survival story driven by the characters. A lot of the queer stories I'm seeing are romance ones, and yes, those are nice but dang, this one was just so... beautiful. There's so many levels of queer representation here, thanks to survivors living in the local LGBTQ+ Center, and Autism rep. My words are failing because there's no way I can do this book justice.
Benji is a fantastic character. Raised in a Christian cult, he finds a new group of friends that allow him to explore his beliefs, even as he becomes a monster. He still prays, but finds a level of belief that is comfortable for him and not as... murdery as the cult. He continues on, living with the religious trauma, the trauma of seeing his father murdered in front of him, of being misgendered, of knowing there's a virus inside him that's a ticking time bomb, and yet, he acts with hope, with kindness, taking time to learn everyone's pronouns, respecting boundaries. I love Benji so much.
Thank you Netgalley for access to the arc.
Benji is a trans boy who carries a plague within him. We go along on his journey to unpack so much religious trauma to find freedom. It is such a dark story, with so much violence and murder. No one has clean hands in this one, but it is an apocalyptic survival story driven by the characters. A lot of the queer stories I'm seeing are romance ones, and yes, those are nice but dang, this one was just so... beautiful. There's so many levels of queer representation here, thanks to survivors living in the local LGBTQ+ Center, and Autism rep. My words are failing because there's no way I can do this book justice.
Benji is a fantastic character. Raised in a Christian cult, he finds a new group of friends that allow him to explore his beliefs, even as he becomes a monster. He still prays, but finds a level of belief that is comfortable for him and not as... murdery as the cult. He continues on, living with the religious trauma, the trauma of seeing his father murdered in front of him, of being misgendered, of knowing there's a virus inside him that's a ticking time bomb, and yet, he acts with hope, with kindness, taking time to learn everyone's pronouns, respecting boundaries. I love Benji so much.
Thank you Netgalley for access to the arc.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
fast-paced
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have so much to say about Hell Followed With Us but I have no idea how to say it. A complicated, intricate book with a messy ending and a beautifully flawed cast of characters. I could not put this book down once I got into it.
Edit: book club discussion gave me some perspective, so I’ve updated my rating accordingly.
Edit: book club discussion gave me some perspective, so I’ve updated my rating accordingly.
Did not capture my interest after solid attempt