Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White

109 reviews

hazelwood's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful 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? No

5.0

I really, really enjoyed this book.  Benji was very relatable with his anger at the religion and the hatred that turned his world into hell. It gets messy when the people who raised you and loved you all your life are also the ones who want to watch the rest of the world burn. Sometimes you just want to turn into a monster and rip their throats out. Especially when they threaten your friends. And Benji gets his vengeance for every bit of disrespect they hurled at him and his friends in terrifying monsterous glory. So this was incredibly satisfying in that way, even though I personally prefer restorative justice rather than violent retribution as the solution to human conflicts. It was also very nice to watch Benji find solace in a found family of other queer kids. I will be reading any more books in this series or by this author, because wow I felt so seen here. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Body horror, Vomit, Violence, Torture, Pandemic/Epidemic, Mental illness, Death, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Medical content, Emotional abuse, Dysphoria, Gun violence, Grief, Cursing, Chronic illness, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Deadnaming, Child abuse, Blood, Suicide attempt, Child death, Xenophobia, War, Transphobia, Gore, Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, Homophobia, Murder, and Medical trauma

laurensgaylife's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Gore, Grief, Violence, Vomit, Gun violence, Body horror, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Religious bigotry, and Deadnaming

Moderate: Dysphoria, Transphobia, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Medical content

Minor: Alcohol

mothiver's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

Hell Followed With Us is cheaper than therapy and probably more trans-affirming too. That is to say, I devoured this book in three days and it changed me irrevocably.
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.

---

Content Warnings

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

erica_reads_things's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

Wow. Wow wow wow are my lasting and not very articulate thoughts after finishing this book. I throughly enjoyed the very deep insights into religion, religious trauma, and gender identity that this work centers around. How insightfully written and creative. I'm going to be thinking about this one for a long time, I think. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Dysphoria, Vomit, War, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Body shaming, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Pandemic/Epidemic, Transphobia, Death, Gore, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, and Child death

Moderate: Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Genocide

Minor: Rape and Sexual content

sagareads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

A big queer rage book, and a little heavy on the gore and body horror for my personal enjoyment (especially given that I often read while eating). That's not a criticism, though -- just a matter of personal taste. The writing is excellent and the characters are very well-crafted, an authentic mix of messy, flawed, very human teenagers making the best of awful situations. I also appreciated the nuanced, visceral exploration of the book's dark themes, including queerness, transphobia, and religious fundamentalism. Definitely worth reading if you have a strong stomach, but don't go in expecting a happy ending.

---

Content Warnings

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

cowboyugly's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Genocide, Gore, Death, Dysphoria, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Child death, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, War, Blood, Body horror, and Child abuse

kickitupanotch7's review

adventurous challenging 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? It's complicated

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Gore, Medical trauma, Transphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Homophobia, Vomit, Violence, Blood, War, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, Body horror, Medical content, Child abuse, Genocide, Misogyny, Pandemic/Epidemic, Religious bigotry, Deadnaming, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, and Sexual content

Minor: Alcohol, Body shaming, and Ableism

nicosta_music's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5

Hell Followed With Us was such an amazing book! Benji as a main character was relatable, well-written, and fleshed out (pun intended). The body horror was definitely body-horroring. The background of the apocalypse really kept me interested and I liked how details were slowly revealed over time. The world-building was especially really cool and felt like a bio-warfare version of Far Cry 5. My only point of contention is that I had to use a bit of suspension of disbelief when it came to the alt-right Christian cult allowing women and minorities to hold power in their ranks.

---

Content Warnings

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

vxg's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical trauma, Violence, Gore, Transphobia, and Dysphoria

Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

peggyluwho's review against another edition

dark 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? It's complicated

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Blood, Gore, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Homophobia, Body horror, Genocide, Transphobia, Violence, Death of parent, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Body shaming, Ableism, and Deadnaming

Minor: Sexual content and Bullying