Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White

9 reviews

erica_reads_things's review

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. 

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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

charliegalazzy's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Blood, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Transphobia, Child abuse, Torture, and Gaslighting

Minor: Deadnaming, Rape, Sexual assault, and Outing

Extremely, extremely detailed body horror.

smiffylovesnachos's review

dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dysphoria, Forced institutionalization, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Emotional abuse, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Body horror, and Genocide

Minor: Rape

fuguefire's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book was a fantastic story about a trans boy who is being turned into a monster by those he loved, and who is fighting tooth-and-nail to become something different. If you have been looking for queer horror, you have found it. I think that this book serves as a really good allegory for the consequences of evangelistic christianity on LGBTQ+ people.

The primary aspect of this theme is the main character Benji himself of course. Seraph, the mutation Benji has been infected with, is literally devouring his body from the inside out, causing him to vomit organs and his skin to fall off in sheets. This is a graphic portrayal of the body dysmorphia that trans teens feel every day: the betrayal of one's own body transforming into something grotesque, and being helpless to stop it. Even worse: knowing that if your family really loved you the way they should, then things would have been different. Indeed, the real horror that seems to plague Benji throughout this book was NOT his profane metamorphosis, but the knowledge that none of it- the death of billions, the murder of his father, the hatred of his identity- had to happen at all. If the church had simply accepted the world the way it was, the world would still be standing, and perhaps Benji would become the man he knows he should have been. 
The second part of this theme is displayed by Nick, leader of the ALC, and once a member of the Angels. throughout the book, we see Nick's mistrust of Benji, and with good reason. There was a really good moment where benji confronts Nick about using the pronoun "it" in stead of "he" and I think it was a really good example of how trans (and minority) characters cannot be written like they exist in a vacuum, and also the ways that people even inside the queer community can still level violence at one another. Of course, at the end of this intense scene, half of benji's face falls off, and suddenly the audience is reminded that this whole conflict over pronouns might not be happening if not for christian extremism in the first place. Perhaps there is a world where Benji and Nick would happily be friends, celebrating their queerness in a loving community. But that world is not theirs anymore.
Finally, I think that Nick's fate in this story is worth noting. Nick, leader of the ALC, whom nobody expected had any ties to the Angels, still gets partially transformed by the latent virus that he was inoculated with as a kid. This is a perfect metaphor for the life-long consequences of being exposed to religious abuse. Even years after you've escaped their influence, and after spending your whole life dedicated to righting their wrongs, a trace of it is always there with you, waiting to bare its teeth.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Murder, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Homophobia, Deadnaming, Hate crime, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Genocide, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Gore, Religious bigotry, Vomit, Death, Body horror, Blood, and Body shaming

Moderate: Dysphoria, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Mental illness, Outing, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, Medical content, Rape, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, War, and Misogyny

ezismythical's review

challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

This book was freaking amazing. A trans protagonist, the concept of the world’s hatred changing us deeply but still allowing for an overcoming. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Confinement, Gore, Emotional abuse, Grief, Rape, Deadnaming, Death of parent, Gun violence, Homophobia, Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, and Transphobia

spooderman's review

adventurous dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Sexism, Colonisation, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Genocide, Child death, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Hate crime, Grief, Medical trauma, Deadnaming, Gore, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, Deportation, Misogyny, Body horror, Mental illness, Gun violence, Self harm, Transphobia, Blood, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, War, Ableism, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Vomit, Torture, Mass/school shootings, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Stalking, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Slavery, and Cannibalism

Minor: Terminal illness, Sexual content, Rape, Miscarriage, Lesbophobia, Eating disorder, Xenophobia, and Suicide attempt

readwithjessj's review

dark emotional 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

5.0

What a beautiful and haunting book! I found the writing style different at first. Around 50 pages I was hooked. The descriptions were horrifying and disgusting in the best way. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Murder, Violence, and Emotional abuse

shelvesofivy's review

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• 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? Yes

5.0

There are no words to fully capture what this book has become to me.
The author truly captured the cadence, prayers, and rhetoric of a religion I left behind. To say this book hit close to home for me is an understatement.
I love that we have a story as unapologetic as this one. I think it was also great that it recognizes that there's no single queer experience; the community is not a monolith.
The book was definitely intense and took me through nearly every emotion possible, in both negative and positive ways. But at the end of the day, it's become so important to me and I'm just grateful this story exists. 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Alcohol and Toxic relationship

sara_m_martins's review

adventurous dark emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

*going around like a town crier* ANGRY GAYS!! THIS ONE IS FOR THE ANDRY GAYS!! WRATH MONTH IS NOW A BOOK!!

Hell Followed With Us is simply *chef's kiss*. It's a new favourite & I hope this is the next hit in YA, when it cames out in June!
This book follows Benji (a gay trans 16yo boy), as he flees the dystopian-creating genocide-by-bioweapon christian extremist cult, and ends up being rescued by the queer teens of the resistance. But Benji has a secret, and it can either bring the end of times or stop them. [very Good Omens of them, I just realized - Crowley&Aziraphale would love these kids].
The book touches on found family, religion (and religious trauma) and queer anger; with racial, sexuality, gender identity and various religion affiliations represented, as well as several disabilities, including autism. #OwnVoices for autism, and sexuality (gay) /gender identity (trans).

It is super fast-paced, I read this in three sittings. I enjoyed the writing and the world-building, and that cover is just stunning! I ended up pre-ordering my physical copy before finishing my ARC and can't wait to have it in my hands!

"oh sorry if we are being unfair unfortunately u guys murdered all the nice gays & now there's just us: the assholes." - https://twitter.com/meakoopa/status/742234804654092288

"the queers who were nice/patient/gentle all got shot or bullied to death all that's left r me & the other pissed-off cockroach motherfuckers" - https://twitter.com/meakoopa/status/742238554093281280

While I think this story will ruffle many feathers (no pun intended), I adore that this type of representation is out there - and by representation I am not mentioning the #rep of the book (while that is very good), but the feeling it portrays. So much queer media we see is done to still be palatable to straight audiences. This is not your queer assimilationist story; this is not written to appease non-queer people. It takes a much more complex perspective to being queer, because it evokes a feeling that marginalized communities are not often allowed to express - anger. There is no place for the anger you build as a queer person in the world, no place for the ones who imagine tearing it all down, in common media. Wrath Month being July (after Pride Month in June) has been a joke in (at least some) queer circles online for years now, and the concept of queer stories having to be "clean" has been discussed for decades. This book brings these to the forefront of the public eye and it's so refreshing to see. I'm so glad this got published, but I'm also so confused how it did.
 

There's some king of awful, enduring myth: that after the end of the world, people will turn on one another. That people will become hateful and selfish. That's just not true. It's never been true.

Because the thing is... with this type of anger. It's intrinsically connected to love. In a world that tries to beat the community you love down, your defense mechanism, in the face of hopelessness, ends up being anger. Anger started the Stonewall riots, and the riots happened from unjust, incessant prosecution to the self and to the found family that people had in those spaces. Is that romantic? 100%. We should have so much more love and so much less contention for one another. Trans people particularly know the pitfalls and the failures of others in the LGBTQ+ community.... But I also believe it. Enter the profound aspect of found family in this story. It is so well done and allows for, even in the dire circumstances they find themselves in, such a diverse cast of characters and representations (including some people in the community being assholes).

We are alive, we are alive, holy shit, we are alive.

I was weary when I realized there was plague end-of-the-world thing going on, but seeing the masks playing a role in the story was actually kind of fun. The fantastical element was really fun to read, even if quite gore-y. 
 

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC. All opinions are my own. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Violence, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Gore, Transphobia, Homophobia, Blood, Body horror, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual assault, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Cursing, and Rape

Minor: Sexual content and Suicide attempt