Reviews tagging 'Classism'

Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White

18 reviews

aryelee'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? It's complicated

5.0

What a novel! I have never seen an apocalyptic setting like this before, full of desperate people trying to survive while the worst of American Christianity sets out to cause more destruction. Truly an incredible portrayal of religious trauma, especially in queer folks who struggle with who they are and their place in the world when they find they can't stay in a place that wants them dead. Be warned that there is a LOT of body horror and gore in this novel, but it works very, very well to achieve its goal.

My absolute favorite aspect of this novel is how empathy is Benji's greatest strength. He does his best to connect to the teenagers in the ALC who take him in, he understands the pain of the monsters created by the Flood, he even empathizes with

Spoiler

Theo after his betrayal and attack, to the point that even I couldn't be mad at Theo when the rest of the Church had done so much worse, even to him.

 

This is a very dark world and dark narrative. I can see why this isn't everyone's cup of tea. But I flew through these pages, loved the writing style, and how people are the focus and the forces of the world/narrative. I'm fine without having a detailed explanation on everything! I don't need to know absolutely everything about the Seraph and how it's a monster, a separate being, inside Benji changing him while also being a metaphor for being trans while growing up in an environment that portrays transness as evil or monstrous. This is a very contained world; it's the remains of one town. There is a world still out there past the bridge, but we never cross it. Everything happens in one place, and we know all we need to know about it. Not once did I feel overwhelmed by the author trying to shove as much worldbuilding information on the page as possible. No, this took all the time it needed, kept a strong focus on Benji and Nick, and left off at a hopeful note.

Hell certainly did follow with us, but there's a life past hell worth living. Benji has made his way there despite everything. I hope the readers who need this book get there too.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Religious bigotry, Body horror, Genocide, Deadnaming, Injury/Injury detail, Transphobia, and Violence

Moderate: Classism, Child death, Self harm, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, and Pandemic/Epidemic

lucy11110's review against another edition

dark 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

3.5

An oddly endearing, occasionally preachy (pun intended), disturbingly gore-y queer horror romance YA novel.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Child abuse, Deadnaming, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Homophobia, and Medical content

Minor: Classism and Panic attacks/disorders

vixenreader's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective 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

5.0

One of my favourite books this summer, this book portrays what it means to find chosen family, confronting dogmatic prejudice, escaping past abuse (especially biological family), and going through Hell and back. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Homophobia, Medical content, Transphobia, Death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Violence, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Gore, Murder, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Stalking, Sexual content, Child death, Classism, Bullying, and Gun violence

Minor: Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Pedophilia, War, Pregnancy, and Racism

The scenes of the protagonists barging up their organs is creative and grotesque, and the dogma of the cult could be triggering for anyone who has experienced abuse from a zealous community. Be warned that there is also maternal abuse, critique of religion being used for violence and genocide, an almost forced marriage, biological experimentation on unwilling victims, and bodily mutation.

grey's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark hopeful reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Vomit, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Child death, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Mass/school shootings, and Sexual content

Minor: Classism and Panic attacks/disorders

satsumaorange's review against another edition

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? Yes

3.5

Great book! Well-written and impactful, even the very heavy-handed parts were not overdone. Very overly dramatic at times, but you can kinda understand why when you remember that the narrator is a teenage trans boy with deep religious trauma. 
It was a good read to get me out of my comfort zone, but ultimately, not the perfect book for me. Enjoyed it though! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Transphobia, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Genocide, Death of parent, Death, Child death, Gun violence, War, Emotional abuse, Dysphoria, Domestic abuse, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Pandemic/Epidemic, Blood, Body shaming, and Gore

Moderate: Misogyny, Medical trauma, Classism, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Sexism, Physical abuse, and Deadnaming

Minor: Alcohol, Bullying, Grief, Outing, and Gaslighting

This book is FULL OF GORE. And violence. And death. There's a whole opening note from the author warning about potential triggers. Reader beware. Dead dove do not eat.

aehmyers's review against another edition

dark 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death of parent, Child abuse, Classism, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Transphobia, Mass/school shootings, Pandemic/Epidemic, Violence, Death, Genocide, Gore, Murder, and War

gadeusta's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Classism, Deadnaming, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Homophobia, Violence, Transphobia, War, Blood, Body horror, Death, Dysphoria, Grief, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Religious bigotry

blairextraordinaire's review against another edition

adventurous 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Child death, Body horror, Blood, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Homophobia, Violence, Toxic relationship, Death, and Deadnaming

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Grief, Classism, and Dysphoria

bencaroline's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Hate crime, Body horror, Violence, Religious bigotry, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Vomit, Mass/school shootings, Child death, Death of parent, Death, Gore, and Grief

Moderate: Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, Chronic illness, Dysphoria, Forced institutionalization, War, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, Genocide, and Deadnaming

Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, Suicide, Confinement, Bullying, Addiction, Sexual content, Classism, and Domestic abuse

ashs_ephemera's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

3.75

3.75 stars, rounded up. It was hard to get into this book in the beginning. I struggled to picture the world as White described it—the Graces, the flesh, etc. However, once Benji began to change I think it all became clear and I absolutely loved it. The storyline continually has you on the edge of your seat and the characters are beautifully written and refreshingly representational of many marginalized groups. I do, however, think that the plot needed much more editing—it felt half-baked, and that was disappointing. Overall, I would recommend this novel, especially to queer kids looking to see themselves in media that they aren't usually represented in. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Gun violence, Murder, Body horror, Transphobia, Violence, Gaslighting, War, Religious bigotry, Gore, Blood, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Dysphoria, Child death, Domestic abuse, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Classism, Homophobia, and Genocide