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A review by imrereads
Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Thank you to NetGalley, Peachtree and Andrew Joseph White for the eARC.
Hell Followed With Us feels like pure rage and desperation. It's about religious indoctrination, holy war and holy genocide. Our main character Benji is a sixteen year old trans boy. He grew up in a fundamentalist sect that unleashed Armageddon and set out to wipe out the world's population in the name of God. Benji desperately tries to escape to where they can't get to him or the bioweapon they infected him with. When cornered by monsters born from the destruction, he is rescued by teens from the local LGBTQ+ center, and their leader Nick knows Benji's secret.
Do you ever feel like you have so much to say about a book that you just come out blank? That's how I'm feeling right now. Reading this was so intense, and I don't know how to explain the journey that was taken.
First things first, I absolutely loved this book from first to last page. For the past couple of years, I've felt like YA isn't really for me anymore (unsurprisingly, considering I'm 26 at this point) and while I many books in that category are still good, they don't hit like they used to. That wasn't the case when I read this. Not for a second did I feel like it wasn't for me, but importantly it also didn't feel like "YA for adults". It just felt like a really intense story about teens trying their best in absolutely horrifying situations.
There are a lot of potentially triggering content in this book, and I'd advice having a look at the list of content warnings and consider if you're okay to read it, but if you are - oh boy, you're in for a treat. This book is loudly queer, with almost every important character being queer. There are so many varieties of sexualities and gender identities, as several characters using different neopronouns. Despite it's dark and sinister plot, it was so beautiful to see the diversity. It just makes me so proud and happy to see diversity teens today have access to. Absolutely love it. I wish I could have read this as a teen, but I'm so glad I got to read it as an adult.
I think you would like this if you enjoy reading about horror, found family, queer ragtag groups, and intense rage.
Hell Followed With Us feels like pure rage and desperation. It's about religious indoctrination, holy war and holy genocide. Our main character Benji is a sixteen year old trans boy. He grew up in a fundamentalist sect that unleashed Armageddon and set out to wipe out the world's population in the name of God. Benji desperately tries to escape to where they can't get to him or the bioweapon they infected him with. When cornered by monsters born from the destruction, he is rescued by teens from the local LGBTQ+ center, and their leader Nick knows Benji's secret.
Do you ever feel like you have so much to say about a book that you just come out blank? That's how I'm feeling right now. Reading this was so intense, and I don't know how to explain the journey that was taken.
First things first, I absolutely loved this book from first to last page. For the past couple of years, I've felt like YA isn't really for me anymore (unsurprisingly, considering I'm 26 at this point) and while I many books in that category are still good, they don't hit like they used to. That wasn't the case when I read this. Not for a second did I feel like it wasn't for me, but importantly it also didn't feel like "YA for adults". It just felt like a really intense story about teens trying their best in absolutely horrifying situations.
There are a lot of potentially triggering content in this book, and I'd advice having a look at the list of content warnings and consider if you're okay to read it, but if you are - oh boy, you're in for a treat. This book is loudly queer, with almost every important character being queer. There are so many varieties of sexualities and gender identities, as several characters using different neopronouns. Despite it's dark and sinister plot, it was so beautiful to see the diversity. It just makes me so proud and happy to see diversity teens today have access to. Absolutely love it. I wish I could have read this as a teen, but I'm so glad I got to read it as an adult.
I think you would like this if you enjoy reading about horror, found family, queer ragtag groups, and intense rage.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Death, Death of parent, Kidnapping, War, Body horror, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Transphobia, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Religious bigotry, and Physical abuse