Reviews tagging 'Ableism'

Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White

61 reviews

lulaabees's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective fast-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

2.0

really strong concepts, poor execution. i get what the author was going for, but this book suffers from weak prose, messy pacing (i kept having to go back and reread previous paragraphs because the flow was frankly... bad), and gore that often feels more aesthetic than heartfelt. i would have liked more exploration of the themes and character, less blood and sinews flying around for what sometimes felt like the sake of it.
but it did make me feel something, as a trans (and autistic) person. of course it did. i just expected a LOT more, and a LOT better.
i will say as a final note though that the final fight (specifically, the moment where the interiority of the main character and what happens on the outside while fighting overlap) felt really cinematic and was pulled off pretty well.

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Content Warnings

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

Minor: Ableism, Racism, and Sexual content

1234_rowan_1234's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Deadnaming, Death, Gore, Transphobia, Blood, Vomit, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Ableism, Genocide, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, and Classism

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

yashaflwrs's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Transphobia, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Dysphoria

nervcorp's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective 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

im fucking crying. im fucking crying. 
not over the plot. over the thinks theis fucking book says about living. kill me now!!! i am so insane!!! i put this book down atleast twice because it was so REAL!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Chronic illness, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Torture, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, Abandonment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

this one is CRAZY. please please please read at your own risk ...

foxstarss's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

incredible. absolutely, terrifyingly incredible. from every visceral description (i could not read this at night, in the dark) to the plot twists i least expected, there were monsters at every turn and in every form. the idea of losing your body to not the change you wanted, but to that forced upon you by people who think they know better, becoming some amalgamation of flesh and angel. i already want to read it again. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Ableism, Domestic abuse, Racism, and Alcohol

multiplyoctopi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Deadnaming, Genocide, Gun violence, Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Death of parent, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Ableism, Animal death, and Alcohol

gaymoonreader's review against another edition

dark 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail

diyaday's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Gore, Transphobia, Violence, and Vomit

parasolcrafter's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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

this book is truly fantastic. its gory, its brutal, and it pulls no punches & softens no blows as it tells its story and this makes it the most visceral telling of queer personhood i can remember reading.

going through the story as benjis body is rotting from the inside, transforming into something he never wanted to be, never asked to be, never consented to be is such a horrific way of showcasing what its like to be trans and to not be allowed to be yourself; what forcing down the purest version of yourself does to you, how it can kill you. it was done so beautifully and so tragically and it just...illustrates it so well. the ultimate conclusion of benji becoming seraph, the end form of what he was turning into the whole story, was done so wonderfully, as well; how he gets taken over by rage and bloodlust when hes back in the cult he was raised in, how seraph awakens then as hes back to the abuse and transphobia he was raised in...it truly is poetic. he ends up the savior the Angels raised him as, only he's not their savior and he never was.

and nick...oh, i truly do love his character so much and i only wish we got into his mind more because hes such a beautifully written autistic character, which is, sadly, a rarity. hes so authentically written and represented and i felt so much of myself in him and his subtleties. his hatred of being touched, his stimming, his masking, his constant need to have it all together even when he wants to fall apart...it was so well written and i truly appreciate him so much. hes so, so special 💖

this book has so much heart and hope, and even though the story is over, i know these characters can claw into the dirt and pull themselves from the Hell theyve been plunged into. i know that they can survive and, as said near the end, maybe they can even grow up. its the least they deserve.

the small issues i have with this book - i felt the writing was a bit weak at points and i wish benjis time in the ALC was a longer portion of the book because i do feel that part was lacking; we dont get to know much of the other characters as much as i'd like - definitely dont retract from how much i enjoyed it because what the book does and the story it tells are much greater than any flaws it has. thank you Andrew Joseph White for this wonderful book 💖💖💖

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Animal death