Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White

66 reviews

pjlovesyou's review

adventurous emotional hopeful tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Vomit, Violence, Transphobia, Suicide attempt, Murder, Hate crime, Grief, Blood, Medical trauma, Gore, Genocide, Deadnaming, Body horror, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, Dysphoria, Death, Suicide, Self harm, Torture, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders

sunflower7skull's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

I LOVE THIS BOOK

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Gore, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Child abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Abandonment, Police brutality, Emotional abuse, Murder, Outing, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Vomit, War, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Medical content, Body horror, Deadnaming, Bullying, and Genocide

tea_coffee_sam's review against another edition

challenging 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Religious bigotry, Vomit, Child abuse, Death of parent, Genocide, Violence, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Blood, Cursing, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, Murder, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, War, Body horror, and Classism

Moderate: Alcohol, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Ableism

hazelwood's review

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. 

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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

catboyklav's review

dark emotional inspiring reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Transphobia, Self harm, Murder, Cursing, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Deadnaming, Body horror, Outing, Child abuse, and Physical abuse

milliyum's review

dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

3.5

Before i get into my issues with the book ill praise it for being a fun book full of gore and with the most diverse cast of characters I've read.
It was fun and I'm glad i tried it, i would definitely reccomend it.

Now my issues aren't major, more that it felt lacking in some areas (of course maybe the author had a word limit or I'  too dyslexic to realise i skipped parts of the plot).

I felt like the Flood should of been explained more. If their religion doesn't exist then how was it made? How are the Graces controlled by them in the first place?

I wish there was more character arcs and closeness,

the chapter before Benji revealed Seraph to The Watch felt sudden? That their closeness suddenly felt rushed

the final battle felt a bit rushed and especially the ending of that fight

It even at times felt like i was reading a fanfic of the book.

But either way i loved it, the characters were all enjoyable (even the evil ones) and i loved every scene with Benji's

transformation

especially as the last stage felt like a trans allegory for being fully transitioned and people not accepting that part of you still.
Also do yourself a favor and look at the sick fanart of Benji once you finish the book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Self harm, Vomit, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, and Genocide

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Child death, and Deadnaming

mothiver's review

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.

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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

torismazarine's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Misogyny, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Acephobia/Arophobia, Blood, Death, Lesbophobia, Medical trauma, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Vomit, War, Xenophobia, Biphobia, Deadnaming, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, and Hate crime

lil_goblin's review

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Homophobia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, Pandemic/Epidemic, Terminal illness, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

Moderate: Kidnapping

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.

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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