Hell Followed With Us, though a brilliant debut novel and a compelling read, is unfortunately not quite for everyone. Tropes: found family, post-apocalyptic, ambiguous endingĬontent Warnings: intense gore, transphobia, religious and domestic abuse, suicide attempts or self-injury, descriptions of illness, body horror, death, and mild, inexplicit sexual content Genre: Young Adult, Thriller, Dystopian, LGBTQ+ White recently tweeted the announcement for his upcoming book, The Spirit Bares Its Teeth, a historical fiction novel that also stars a trans male character. Both of his published short stories star trans men combating abuse. His experiences bleed into many of his other stories as well. White knows the pain that comes with having to fight to be treated fairly, and these experiences are portrayed cuttingly in Hell Followed With Us. This makes the novel an ‘own voice’ novel, meaning the identities and experiences of the characters reflect those of the author. This book’s inclusivity may partially be attributed to the fact that the author, Andrew Joseph White himself is a trans man. Any readers who currently find themselves questioning their own identities can relate to at least part of the protagonist’s emotional struggle. This inclusivity allows the novel to maturely explore themes of self-discovery and self acceptance alongside the more thriller-appropriate fight to survive. Every character is portrayed as powerful, regardless of their race, gender, or sexuality. This is a delightful change of pace as queer characters are often demonized, stereotyped, brushed off, or created as diversifying afterthoughts, especially in horror. He is rescued by the Acheson LGBTQ+ Center, but running proves futile, as Benji has already been infected by a mutated strain of the virus called “Seraph” that was designed to create the cataclysm for the Angels’ cause.Īs readers follow Benji through Acheson, they find that almost every character in Hell Followed With Us is confirmed to be queer. Benji, the gay, transgender son of the cult’s matriarch, attempts to flee from the nightmare in which he was raised. In a post-apocalyptic future, a religious eco-terrorist group self-titled the ‘Angels’ has bio-engineered a deadly virus called the ‘Flood’ that has killed most of humanity. Now a New York Times Bestselling novel, it was published on June 7th by the Peachtree Teen organization.įollowing the teenage protagonist, Benjamin Woodside, or “Benji,” Hell Followed With Us creates a brutal new world within fictional Acheson, Pennsylvania. Brimming with bloody cities and justified teenage fury, the new novel Hell Followed With Us, by Andrew Joseph White, was released over the summer.

Hell followed with us book review