Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White

22 reviews

rowanguerrin's review against another edition

dark inspiring 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

Hell Followed With Us is a harrowing, beautiful read. It chilled me to the bone in the best of ways! The cast of characters are diverse in every way, and White does a fantastic job of making them human in the best and the worst of ways. Benji, our protagonist, is a character who digs into the very heart of you; he is a flawed, traumatized person you cant help but sympathize with, and even as his humanity shifts and changes, that stays constant. I absolutely adored this book. 10/10 did cry. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Transphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, Dysphoria, Genocide, Deadnaming, Gun violence, and Medical content

Minor: Sexual assault

brynalexa's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

I’m not much of a horror reader so this was VERY gory for me but the gore was done in a way that painted a realistic picture. I did not question anything about the characters or setting, I was there with them. Awesome LGBTQ+ rep and disability rep. Love the exploration of religious trauma. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Dysphoria, Genocide, Deadnaming, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic, Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, Colonisation, Cursing, Confinement, War, Murder, Body horror, Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit

Minor: Sexual content, Sexism, and Alcohol

quitegood's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This is work of furious anger. Burning forth in response to a fucked up planet, and the prejudices it holds. But it also a reminder that even in the darkest of times, community and love can be found. 

If you're angry at the world and queer, read this book! And if you're not, read this book and open your eyes! Capitalism is killing us! We need to stop before a purge of biblical proportions is our only answer. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Transphobia, Body horror, Gore, and Sexual assault

sophienotbom's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-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? No

5.0

Really good book if you like horror and queer stories! Took a turn I didn’t expect but not in a bad way 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Religious bigotry, Gore, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Vomit, and Violence

If you have religious trauma or are sensitive towards transphobia maybe be careful. Same with if you have a weak stomach this book is intense.

charliegalazzy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring 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, Gore, Blood, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Transphobia, Child abuse, Torture, and Gaslighting

Minor: Deadnaming, Rape, Sexual assault, and Outing

Extremely, extremely detailed body horror.

kchas's review against another edition

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, War, Pandemic/Epidemic, Homophobia, Violence, Body horror, Blood, Chronic illness, Death, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Gun violence, Grief, Gaslighting, Genocide, Emotional abuse, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Body shaming, Deadnaming, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Murder, Misogyny, and Cursing

mrmarshall591's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Beautifully written. At first the at times poetic writing style and content had me confused but as more world building went on, the premise quickly became clear. This book captured so much. A dystopian setting surrounded by religious bigotry, genocide, trauma and abuse,  and a badass group of resilient queer and neurodivergent youth.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Body horror, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Confinement, Death of parent, War, Child death, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Transphobia, and Torture

Minor: Physical abuse, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, Dysphoria, Abandonment, Genocide, Slavery, Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Suicide

lim's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Violence, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Genocide, Religious bigotry, Vomit, and Transphobia

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, Deadnaming, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Child death

Minor: Suicide attempt and Sexual assault

smiffylovesnachos's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dysphoria, Forced institutionalization, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Emotional abuse, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Body horror, and Genocide

Minor: Rape

fuguefire's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This book was a fantastic story about a trans boy who is being turned into a monster by those he loved, and who is fighting tooth-and-nail to become something different. If you have been looking for queer horror, you have found it. I think that this book serves as a really good allegory for the consequences of evangelistic christianity on LGBTQ+ people.

Spoiler

The primary aspect of this theme is the main character Benji himself of course. Seraph, the mutation Benji has been infected with, is literally devouring his body from the inside out, causing him to vomit organs and his skin to fall off in sheets. This is a graphic portrayal of the body dysmorphia that trans teens feel every day: the betrayal of one's own body transforming into something grotesque, and being helpless to stop it. Even worse: knowing that if your family really loved you the way they should, then things would have been different. Indeed, the real horror that seems to plague Benji throughout this book was NOT his profane metamorphosis, but the knowledge that none of it- the death of billions, the murder of his father, the hatred of his identity- had to happen at all. If the church had simply accepted the world the way it was, the world would still be standing, and perhaps Benji would become the man he knows he should have been. 
The second part of this theme is displayed by Nick, leader of the ALC, and once a member of the Angels. throughout the book, we see Nick's mistrust of Benji, and with good reason. There was a really good moment where benji confronts Nick about using the pronoun "it" in stead of "he" and I think it was a really good example of how trans (and minority) characters cannot be written like they exist in a vacuum, and also the ways that people even inside the queer community can still level violence at one another. Of course, at the end of this intense scene, half of benji's face falls off, and suddenly the audience is reminded that this whole conflict over pronouns might not be happening if not for christian extremism in the first place. Perhaps there is a world where Benji and Nick would happily be friends, celebrating their queerness in a loving community. But that world is not theirs anymore.
Finally, I think that Nick's fate in this story is worth noting. Nick, leader of the ALC, whom nobody expected had any ties to the Angels, still gets partially transformed by the latent virus that he was inoculated with as a kid. This is a perfect metaphor for the life-long consequences of being exposed to religious abuse. Even years after you've escaped their influence, and after spending your whole life dedicated to righting their wrongs, a trace of it is always there with you, waiting to bare its teeth.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Murder, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Homophobia, Deadnaming, Hate crime, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Genocide, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Gore, Religious bigotry, Vomit, Death, Body horror, Blood, and Body shaming

Moderate: Dysphoria, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Mental illness, Outing, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, Medical content, Rape, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, War, and Misogyny