A review by clarke
Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White

dark 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? It's complicated

3.0

Hell Followed With Us is a multi-POV post-apocalyptic story, primarily focusing on Benji, a trans boy on the run from a cult of ‘angels’, finding refuge at a LGBTQ+ centre. Here, he meets Nick, their autistic leader, who knows that Benji has been turned into a weapon to end humanity. 
 
I’ve had this book on my ‘to read list’ for a while, especially with such an artistic cover, and I’ve heard a lot about it. I was pleasantly surprised when it became available on Netgalley as an arc. The book has a lot of religion involved, but also a lot of representation. It is descriptive of the cult’s violence and mutilations, which some may find graphic but I was left wanting more. The characters are mostly YA, and understandably some of their decisions were juvenile or stupid but mostly felt appropriate. No one is perfect in this book. 
 
There is a portion of the book, after Benji has made his gender and pronouns clear to the group at the LGBTQ+ centre, where Nick refers to Benji as ‘it’ because he knows he is a weapon. I feel this wasn’t called out enough, and whilst it is explored in the narrative with characters purposefully reinforcing Benji’s he/him pronouns and Benji expressing his hurt, it did not feel enough. I imagined it’s to express that even LGBTQ+ aren’t perfect, have prejudice, etc, but he isn’t the only trans person in the group nor do I believe Nick (or any one there) is naive enough to not think that would fucking hurt. As a trans/non-binary person, this was not fun to read and it really didn’t add anything to the story. 
 
Benji’s transition into the bioweapon (Seraph) could be a metaphor for transitioning gender, except he didn’t like these changes. He is reassured that he is still ‘him’ by his twat of a fiance, but otherwise tries to hide the changes and what he is becoming. There is some body horror here. The cult also dead name and misgender Benji, and are similar to IRL religious extremists who hate anyone who doesn’t conform to their values - these ones just set loose a plague and mercilessly kill, all in God’s name of course. These concepts are close to reality, especially in todays political climate. Benji’s identity and new found home serves as the antithesis to the cult and their agenda. They took his family away, leading him on a path to find another. 
 
I would recommend checking out trigger warnings for this book, namely death (including parental), violence, murder, body horror, transphobia, and religious extremism. 
 
Overall, this was a very interesting concept that just didn’t quite hit the mark for me. I found a lot of the book slow and meandering, and was watching the percentage read increase very slowly. I also wanted more horror and less transphobia. Thank you to net galley for the arc. 
 

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