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A review by cameronreads
Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White
4.0
I really loved this book, and it’s definitely an upper 4 stars for me. It embodied trans rage in the exact way I wanted, and I loved watching Benji come into his own and take his revenge. I loved the conversations it had about fitting into the world as a trans person, as an autistic person, and the criticism of religion, but also the nuances it took in those discussions; not all religious people are the same, not all trans people are the same, etc. As a trans masc person and an autistic person I felt both Benji’s and Nick’s struggles with my entire chest, and just thought this book encapsulated the experiences perfectly.
The reasons it didn’t get a five are twofold. One is completely a me problem - although I really liked lots of the writing and descriptions, I didn’t quite gel with the writing style, I think because I’m just growing out of YA. Secondly, I wanted just a little bit out of the ending. I think the main battle was done interestingly, but I wanted it to take up a little more space, and also see a little more of the aftermath. I think the relationship between Nick and Benji didn’t come to a peak because of the slightly abrupt ending as well.
Still, I loved this book, and if you can handle the trigger warnings, I’d definitely recommend.
The reasons it didn’t get a five are twofold. One is completely a me problem - although I really liked lots of the writing and descriptions, I didn’t quite gel with the writing style, I think because I’m just growing out of YA. Secondly, I wanted just a little bit out of the ending. I think the main battle was done interestingly, but I wanted it to take up a little more space, and also see a little more of the aftermath. I think the relationship between Nick and Benji didn’t come to a peak because of the slightly abrupt ending as well.
Still, I loved this book, and if you can handle the trigger warnings, I’d definitely recommend.
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Minor: Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcohol