Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White

199 reviews

richchilles's review against another edition

adventurous 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

Excellent!! Andrew Joseph White quickly became one of my favourite authors after I read this book and his second book. I HIGHLY recommend this to any queer/trans person. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Pandemic/Epidemic

atlasobi's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

"I've taken what they've given me and turned it into a mockery of them. I will turn it into what destroys them. If they want me to be a monster one step closer to God, that's fine. In what world was their God ever a benevolent one?"

set in a not-so-distant future, a fundamentalist christian sect has unleashed *the Flood*, an awful virus that has killed 9 billion people in an act of eco-fascism and genocide. to cleanse the world, to enact His vision. 16-year old trans boy benji flees the sect after being injected with a variation of the Flood which will turn him into a bioweapon capable of controlling those who have mutated due to the Flood. he's rescued by a bunch of teens from the local lgbtq+ center, who offer him shelter if he can control the monster inside of him and use it to protect them. but the Angels of the sect aren't so keen on just letting their greatest weapon against nonbelievers go...

hell followed with us was so gripping. whenever i tried to read just a little, i ended up stuck in the story for hours. this book has been the only thing i've been able to think about since i started it. it was everything i wanted, and more. i fell head over heels for all of the characters. it deals with a lot, A LOT, of heavy topics, but it never felt overbearing. rather, i felt like everything was done just right. this was a predicted 5 star read for me, and i was right on every count. 5/5. i don't know what to do with myself now that i'm done

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Eating disorder

Minor: Sexual content and Alcohol

ladyfiresong's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Stunning. Bleak, beautiful, and deeply personal in every way that matters wrapped up in a nice religiou body horror plot. Benji's journey perfectly mirrors the kind of deep-dive inner-world shadow work that self-discovery inevitably calls for. Whether we're thrust into it by divine province or the limited desires of mankind, we all end up facing the person, or monster, we become. Will definitely reread. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Deadnaming, Gun violence, Violence, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Dysphoria, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Transphobia and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, and Fire/Fire injury

eliof's review against another edition

dark 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

4.5

What a beautiful gorgeous book. Holy shit. Visceral and angry and cathartic and gory and hopeful.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

aspen_suxs's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Transphobia, Violence, Religious bigotry, and War

Moderate: Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Vomit, Death of parent, Outing, and Dysphoria

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

hippievamp's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Deadnaming, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexism, Medical content, Mass/school shootings, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Dysphoria

Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Classism

steinheimer's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, War, and Classism

paintpaw's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.0

I really enjoyed the writing style, it felt fresh and interesting but did take me a bit of getting used to.  I also really enjoyed the characters, even the minor characters were fun and distinctive. I loved the ALC kids, especially Erin and Savador. I felt really seen by Benji's characterisation. I've never read about a trans guy in published fiction and man did this hit, I sometimes struggle to identify with trans characters with me being non-op and other stuff but Benji spoke to me. I can't even fully explain.

 The descriptions are visceral and have fascinating imagery. The chapter lengths felt good and punchy, although I have to say I found the alt POV chapters a little redundant and actually spoiling the twists that would have come more naturally and had bigger impact if we had stayed in Benji's POV.  The ending felt a little rushed too but otherwise fine, those are the only reasons it's not a 5. 

Also I'm absolutely dying to make some beaded lizards now.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Child death, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, and War

Minor: Confinement and Alcohol

idogrocker's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful 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, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

rpow14's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Deadnaming, Transphobia, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Torture, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic