Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
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
dark
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
This book is everything I enjoy, dystopian, cults, religious trauma, body horror and queer. It’s YA, and the easy (but gross) read I was desperately looking for.
The only thing that’s keeping it from 5 stars is that it can get a bit repetitive. The main character is trans, and that is of course a big part of his story and the symbolism with body horror is great, but I wish he wouldn’t mention it all the time.
Hear me out, I think the deadnaming at the end would hit so much better if I as the reader had kinda forgotten that Benji is trans. It would be more uncomfortable, it would be more painful, it would hit harder.
Overall, great read, wish the ending was longer, but I knew what I went into reading a YA book, so I can’t really complain about that.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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:
No
adventurous
dark
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:
Yes
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Child abuse, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Fire/Fire injury
nothing says the trans experience quite like angelic body horror. nothing pushes the religious trauma buttons quite like “moms not worried about me, she’s worried about salvation.”
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
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:
Complicated
A well written, thought provoking read of trans rage and religious trauma.
The pacing was great and the characters all felt realistic. I was really taken aback with how the characters interacted and reacted to the events that were happening, and how they weren't just... OK with everything. The ALC are a group of teens and young adults who are all doing their best to stick together and survive and it was portrayed really well.
I loved the gore and the descriptions as well as the depictions of rage and anger Benji felt. Really solid story and premise!
The pacing was great and the characters all felt realistic. I was really taken aback with how the characters interacted and reacted to the events that were happening, and how they weren't just... OK with everything. The ALC are a group of teens and young adults who are all doing their best to stick together and survive and it was portrayed really well.
I loved the gore and the descriptions as well as the depictions of rage and anger Benji felt. Really solid story and premise!