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A review by mcdermottcecelia
Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Let me start with this: I really, really wanted to enjoy this story. When I first heard about this book, I was so excited to see this book's great diversity and representation featured in a book of this genre. This book follows 16-year-old Benji, a trans boy trying to escape a cult in an apocalyptic future. I truly enjoyed the characters featured in Hell Followed With Us, and I was excited to follow all the characters from the ALC once they were introduced. Benji was a great choice of a complex main character to follow, and the premise of the plot sounded really unique and engaging when I first read the description. Horror is more of a new genre to me, so I intended for this book to help me start to explore it. As an aside, I truly recommend looking up the content warnings before reading this book, and please proceed only if you are comfortable doing so.
Nonetheless, I was surprisingly struggling to get through this story. I guess I usually steer away from the more graphic or violent books, but I think it was more so the execution of the plot with which I wasn't always connecting. I wish the book would've been told solely through a third-person point-of-view so that it could get away from some of the "telling" and include more "showing" as it described the world around Benji. The first-person narrative felt too constricting, and I would get lost in Benji's thoughts without fully understanding what else was at play here. I would say the last quarter or so of the book was really great to me, and I wish some of the earlier parts of the book followed the same pacing and language styles from its ending. Ultimately I think these are more issues of personal preference, and I still think the book is worth reading for those that really connect with the genre.
I received a digital ARC copy of this book from NetGalley and Peachtree Teen in exchange for an honest review.
Nonetheless, I was surprisingly struggling to get through this story. I guess I usually steer away from the more graphic or violent books, but I think it was more so the execution of the plot with which I wasn't always connecting. I wish the book would've been told solely through a third-person point-of-view so that it could get away from some of the "telling" and include more "showing" as it described the world around Benji. The first-person narrative felt too constricting, and I would get lost in Benji's thoughts without fully understanding what else was at play here. I would say the last quarter or so of the book was really great to me, and I wish some of the earlier parts of the book followed the same pacing and language styles from its ending. Ultimately I think these are more issues of personal preference, and I still think the book is worth reading for those that really connect with the genre.
I received a digital ARC copy of this book from NetGalley and Peachtree Teen in exchange for an honest review.