Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White

328 reviews

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

5.0

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

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

c_hamdete'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? It's complicated

4.25

This book took me back when I was fourteen years old, and I was so angry. In a way, I think I faced my teen self. I, like Benji, realised that my existence is outside of the binary of this cis heteronormative society. Like him, I hurt people I loved because I trusted the wrong ones. Like him, I thought I'd found love just for it to turn the other way around. Like him, I wanted to make people proud and to love me, even if it meant to hide my true self. Like him, I felt like a time bomb. Like him, I was so hurt and angry, I still am sometimes. But like him, I learnt to stand up for myself, to be proud of who I am, and to fight for what I think it's right. 

I would've liked to read more chapters from Nick's point of view. I would've liked to know more about the ALC members. I would've liked to know more about Benji's life before The Judgment Day, specially about his dad. And I think it would've been great if there were chapters from New Natzareth's people point of view, like Sister Kipling or Benji's mom.
 I expected to find an epilogue at the end of the book, just to know what happened with The Vanguard, with the ALC and other Angels. But overall, I really liked this book. The characters are very well constructed, each feel unique, flawed and beautiful. Most importantly they feel like kids, kids trying to be grown-ups, but kids nonetheless. Which I think is difficult to achieve, most of the time, when authors try to write teenagers they often seem annoying, immature, cringey and childish (at least some of the ones I've read). So, incredibly well-done! I'm looking forward to read more of Andrew White! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Deadnaming, Transphobia, and Dysphoria

doctorw0rm's review against another edition

4.25

this was a tough read, especially towards the end, not because it’s not good but because the descriptions of dysphoria and the transphobia Benji faces were so authentic and relatable. i’ve never been in any situation nearly as awful as what Benji goes through in this book, but I think all trans people have been through some version of many of the events, like learning that someone important to you is misgendering you or doesn’t view you the way they said they did, or just realizing how bullshit the rules of the society you’re accustomed to are. 
I wasn’t a fan of Nick.

I never forgave him for using the wrong pronouns for Benji. Every autistic person I’ve ever met has respected trans people’s pronouns, so his black and white thinking being the reason he called Benji “it” just doesn’t work for me. Yes, it technically was not for transphobic reasons, it was because he didn’t view Benji as a real person. But if that isn’t a metaphor for how trans people are so often dehumanized which leads to people intentionally misgendering us to be cruel, then what was it? That had to be what White was going for, right? And while I know people can change and learn from their mistakes, I think Benji forgave Nick WAYYY too easily, and should not have apologized for comparing Nick to his mother. If I found out that a cute cis guy friend I liked was intentionally misgendering me behind my back, I would tear his throat out with my teeth, not continue to consider him as a romantic interest. I also just didn’t really buy their chemistry. Nothing about their relationship stood out as particularly profound or romantic to me.

I wish Benji had gotten to hang out with the other transmascs more,

just because Calvin was terrible doesn’t mean the rest of them are.

Literally the best part of being transmasc is hanging out with other transmascs.  
That’s really my only gripe with the book though.

Seeing Theo through Benji’s eyes go from a flawed romantic partner to a monster was great! Benji’s turmoil at having to pretend to continue to like him while he’s at New Nazareth was great! Really all of New Nazareth was great.

The book really shines in its descriptions of body horror,

and Benji describing the monster he had been turned into by the church was fascinating and horrifying. I definitely preferred the latter half of the book because of this, since most of the relationships Benji built at the youth shelter seemed pretty surface-level and not all that interesting, except for maybe Cormac since he started out an asshole and then they warmed up to each other.

I can’t wait to see what Andrew Joseph White will do with his Adult book, when he isn’t restrained by the barriers of the YA genre! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Blood, Murder, Dysphoria, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Sexual content

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

marloesisalive's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

3.5

The book is quite heavy on body gore. I do still have a lot of questions, like

why did Benji survive and how did Seraph form his body

I don’t find it realistic that everyone was quite mentally stable despite the flood happening in 2015. Benji’s dialogue also did not always fit, I would have like to see some personal growth.

He talked a lot about his feelings about bodydismorphia but I didn’t feel his emotions. When he changed into Seraph he mentioned feeling a different bodydismorphia. I did not feel it, the author should have showed and not told us about it instead. I wanted his dialogue to reflect more that he finally could be open and out trans man.

It was the first horror book I read and it was enjoyable. The antagonist is a christian cult so that is something yoy have to consider before picking up the book. There is quite some religious criticism

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Torture, Transphobia, and Murder

Minor: Confinement, Cursing, Grief, Cannibalism, and Classism

sal_the_cat'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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Deadnaming, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Medical content, and Alcohol

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 ...

pastelhxrmony's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense

• 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

Body horror and religious trauma. What more could you ask for? Never seen myself more in a book, definitely one of my favorite books

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Child death, Deadnaming, Death of parent, and Dysphoria

Minor: Sexual content

todrick_the_tree's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.0

be not afraid

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gun violence, Homophobia, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Child death, Deadnaming, Genocide, Gore, Racism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Self harm, Sexual content, and Sexual violence