Book Review - "Hell Followed with Us" by Andrew Joseph White

Honestly, I finished this book months ago. "So why review it now," some may ask. Merely for the fact I really enjoyed it, and I read it recent enough that it's still in my head.

The blurb on the back of the book reads: "Prepare to die. His kingdom is Near. 

Sixteen-year- old trans boy Benji is on the run from the cult that raised him-- the fundamentalist sect that unleashed Armageddon and decimated the world's population. Desperately, he searches for a place where the cult can't get their hands on him, or more importantly, on the deadly bioweapon they infected him with. 

When Benji is rescued by a ragtag group of teens from the local Acheson LGBTQ+ Center, affectionately known as the ALC, they offer him shelter as long as he can control the monster within and use his power to defend them. Their leader Nick is gorgeous, autistic, and a deadly shot, and Benji soon discovers that he has a hidden agenda, and more than a few secrets of his own.

(End of blurb)

I would like to note that this book does contain, depictions of graphic violence, transphobia, domestic and religious abuse, self-injury, and attempted suicide. 

Okay, onwards with the review. I found this book quite captivating. I was gripping the cover with excessive force and wouldn't put the book down. Maybe that was due to the fact I was on a road trip, but for me to focus on reading in a car full of screaming kids for hours on end, you have to assume the book is at least somewhat attention grabbing. 

I read this book with such fervor, I'm not sure if I even processed the entire thing thoroughly. It had me sitting on the car ride for hours after staring out the window, running the contents of the book over and over in my head. It had me comparing what parts of this book were relevant and what parts were complete fiction. Of course, this is a fictional, apocalyptic tale, but some bits of it really reminded me of things happening with the current day and age. Clearly, some of the book's viscera were metaphors for real things.

I really think I have to read this again because now that I think back on it, I'd really love to analyze it on its tethers to reality and what certain things link to the real world. Maybe even criticize the characters and how I feel their representation was done. I read this book for fun, but now I feel I need to read through it to pick at it. I feel this book was more than just a silly read, but something that can be thought-provoking.

It had me questioning what really makes a good person, what really defines a cult and how they're formed, how growing up in a cult can effect a person. It reminded me how everyone can have different views on what they see as good or bad, how often times even some people, when doing bad, truly believe they are doing something good - just because that's what they are taught. It makes me wonder how many people have certain beliefs just because they were taught it was the "good" or "right" belief, and never otherwise questioned it.

From my enjoyment standpoint, I feel it was well paced, maybe a little fast, but that could just be the fact I devoured this book somewhere under the four-hour mark. I enjoyed the way certain chapters were left on cliffhangers, and how even when I could guess something was to happen in the story, it was done so in a tasteful manner. I definitely related to some of the characters in a varying of ways. I'm a sucker for fucked up creatures, and there were plenty of those in here. I definitely related to quite a few of the characters, and do very much wish to write a fic of them all being happy (but that doesn't make for a fun book now does it lol).

I would give my opinion on the gore, but I don't get queasy from written gore. It should be known, there is quite a bit of it in this book. But, it's nothing worse than a zombie apocalypse level of gore. 

I was quite shocked with the end, but I don't think I'm mad with how it ended. I feel some people might dislike the end, but I was fine with it. I think it reminded me more of the ending of something I would have written in my young teens. Not bad, but something I don't know if many people would enjoy. 

In the end, a 4/5 stars for me. I will be reading this again, viewing it from a different perspective, and see how it does me. Hopefully, I will also review it once more. I have a long tbr to get through before I do any rereading, though.

I'd recommend this to queer teens and young adults, especially those who enjoy apocalyptic scenarios. 

Sorry if this review is messy, I've never really done a book review outside of school but it's something I would like to do more. Also, I tend to be bad at organizing my thoughts. If you have any tips to help with how I review my books, I'd be happy to hear them. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoyed my review, and might even found a new recommendation.