Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White

105 reviews

misslupescu's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Deadnaming, Death, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Dysphoria, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Transphobia, Medical content, Kidnapping, and Medical trauma

zombiezami's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Body shaming, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Sexual content

gothic_moss'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 book made me feel so unbelievably seen.
I have a complicated relationship with (culty) religions, and growing up around them. So this book really was so meaningful to me - It made all of my fears about my queerness and the religion around me feel warranted and valid, real and raw. 
Andrew Joseph White wrote the most beautiful, twisted, and genuine queer horror that spoke to every part of my experience. The fears, the confusion, the hiding, the rage, the feeling of finally finding a queer community to support you. It was all there.
Can't wait to consume everything else Andrew Joseph White has written.
(Check TW's before reading - they are very intense.)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

pagesofplatypus's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense 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

4.0

This is definitely a gripping dystopian and body/religious horror book. Taking place in an alternatw future in which a mysterious disease known as the Flood has ravaged hunanity, making their organs and flesh degrade and mutate in gruesome manners, Benji is on the run and hiding the fact that he is a Seraph.

The world building is strong and the characters are all believable for kids who have had to grow up to quickly. I like how doverse and inclusive the cast is with one character showing how to seamlessly use neo-pronouns.

The horror elements are also very well done and stomach churning as Benji's body begins falling apart. So if you are squeamish, probably skip this one. I have to admit some scenes were pushing the limit of grossness for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Fire/Fire injury, and Outing

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

ktv's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Excellent world building. Love the characters from the ALC and their found family. Fuck white evangelicals and colonialism and ecoterrorism. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Child death, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, and Colonisation

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

sample_text's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Dysphoria

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, and Medical content

amy_reading_23's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

This book is a dystopian horror novel about a scared boy who is trying to figure out who he is while the world is trying to turn him into what they want him to be. 

I loved the idea of an LGBT+ youth community centre being a safe hub in the apocalypse. I would have liked maybe some more warm moments from that. But I know, as the author attests, that the book comes from rage and that is evident throughout. I thought it was interesting the sort of parallels between the idea of transitioning and Benji turning into the Seraph. The characters were also complex and not usually black and white which was well done. This is evident in Theo, who even though he has done bad things, you can still understand his way of thinking. 

I would have liked to have seen more of Benji and Nick's relationship blossom. I'm not sure if this book will be having a sequel, but that would be interesting. Its great to see books with so much trans and autistic representation. 

I think this book might resonate more with queer Americans as I know that the Church is quite different there to other places. From what I've seen from American media, this book seems pretty plausible. 

It was well written, and I read it quite fast as I kept needing to know what happened next. I'm not sure why it wasn't five stars for me. Maybe because it was so consistently bleak and horrific without much beauty. I think a few more moments of joy and hope would have made it a more enjoyable read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

alexsartifacts's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

mylazybones's review against another edition

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? Yes

3.0

if i had read the is book in middle school, it would have been my new gospel. i loved the body horror elements. i couldn’t practically hear my own mom saying all the things the Angels said. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Genocide

Minor: Bullying, Deadnaming, Blood, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Dysphoria