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A review by klb77
Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-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
4.25
Geez it takes a LOT to turn my stomach and this book managed it in nearly every chapter! The authors note is beyond touching and essential for consideration before beginning this novel- I deeply appreciated it <3
I don’t particularly have religious trauma but I absolutely have religious fear… SO many horror aspects of this book might as well have been reality. Other than some leaps in biology plenty of the plot points and individual motivations of people felt so. real. Full goosebumps throughout that’s for sure.
It made me upset that a main character is autistic and accurately described as such but that that fact is something he felt the need to hide and suppress and it never felt like his autism was celebrated and accepted instead of simply tolerated.
Unpacking the gender ideals of this one is a bit tough- I’m not necessarily in the mood to bring up what it inspired in myself but it certainly did hit home in many ways. I think it’s important to remember that this book is YA and meant to partially be educational- it doesn’t seem fair for 23 year old me to proclaim that it was handholdy or over educational simply because I have a large schema and background knowledge bank already.
I agree with other folks wishing that the background characters were fleshed out more but I understand how the story GREATLY limits that.
I highly look forward to more from this author- but maybe with a breather beforehand. I usually steamroll through audiobooks in a day or maybe two but I prioritized my own emotions and reactions to listening over progression through the chapters. The process of reading this book taught me a lot about accepting where I’m at emotionally and accommodating for that in the moment without shame.
content warnings are absolutely essential for this one, I don’t have the energy to add my own right now but I likely will in the future.
I don’t particularly have religious trauma but I absolutely have religious fear… SO many horror aspects of this book might as well have been reality. Other than some leaps in biology plenty of the plot points and individual motivations of people felt so. real. Full goosebumps throughout that’s for sure.
It made me upset that a main character is autistic and accurately described as such but that that fact is something he felt the need to hide and suppress and it never felt like his autism was celebrated and accepted instead of simply tolerated.
Unpacking the gender ideals of this one is a bit tough- I’m not necessarily in the mood to bring up what it inspired in myself but it certainly did hit home in many ways. I think it’s important to remember that this book is YA and meant to partially be educational- it doesn’t seem fair for 23 year old me to proclaim that it was handholdy or over educational simply because I have a large schema and background knowledge bank already.
I agree with other folks wishing that the background characters were fleshed out more but I understand how the story GREATLY limits that.
I highly look forward to more from this author- but maybe with a breather beforehand. I usually steamroll through audiobooks in a day or maybe two but I prioritized my own emotions and reactions to listening over progression through the chapters. The process of reading this book taught me a lot about accepting where I’m at emotionally and accommodating for that in the moment without shame.
content warnings are absolutely essential for this one, I don’t have the energy to add my own right now but I likely will in the future.