Definitely a creative and interesting plot. This being said, I don’t think it’s for me. I would consider it more of a literary fiction, and generally that is not my favorite kind anyway. Great premise, just not my style.

thank you netgalley for providing me with an arc of this book .hell followed with us is a story about a trans boy who has just escaped a cult in a futuristic america. this book blew me away, it was so powerful, emotional, angry and tense. the pacing was perfect i never felt bored and it was super easy to read. there were a few shifts in perspective which made the story well rounded. the plot was well thought out and the slightly more ‘fantasy’ elements of this book were explained well as the story went on, the same can be said for the world building which wasn’t confusing whilst reading but it wasn’t over explained either. the representation in this book is something all books should aim for i loved seeing the inclusion of someone who uses neopronouns! i would recommend this book to those who liked ‘Between Perfect and Real’. however i think readers should be aware that this book can be quite graphic and gory at some points and features moments of transphobia and dead-naming. i would recommend this to readers 16 or older. i thoroughly enjoyed this and have rated it 5 stars.

*3.75 stars*.

I'm honestly really disappointed that I didn't enjoy this to the extent that I thought I was going to. The premise sounded incredible - a rag tag team of Queer kids trying to survive the apocalypse? Yes please, sign me up. For me though, the execution was not pulled off as smoothly as I wish it had. I didn't enjoy the worldbuilding, and the world itself didn't really excite me. The idea of an eco-fascist Christian cult taking over the world sounds interesting, but it didn't pull me in in the way that I thought it would. Perhaps if I had grown up with an Evangelical Christian background it would have a bigger impact on me, but lots of the references just went straight over my head.

But onto what I did like: The characters! I loved the diversity in race, genders and sexuality and am so happy to see more of that in YA literature. Benji was a sweet main character, but it was Nick who stole the show for me. I loved the way he was portrayed, and especially loved the way his autism was written. Seeing an autistic character who isn't treated like a baby was incredible, and I hope to see more of that in literature.

Although this wasn't my cup of tea, I'm looking forward to reading more from this author in the future!

"For fans of Gideon the Ninth" hell yeah it is! Although if you're familiar with the Locked Tomb Series, Hell Followed With Us is a lot more Harrow the Ninth than it is Gideon the Ninth. Something about body horror, religious trauma and queerness just speak to me.

Let's be honest, I was a little afraid going in because I cannot stand any kind of zombie media. I just cannot. So when I saw reviews about how heavy it was on body horror and how people who liked zombie video games I was apprehensive. Well yeah they were right but I feel like I've grown into loving the weird queer genre. I want more. I want more queer stories that are raw and weird and gross and angry.

Hell Followed With Us is an post apocalyptic story where Christian terrorists have unleashed a plague that killed most of the planet (yeah they're the ecoterrorist "too many people on the planet" type). Benji escapes the cult that's been making him into a monster and runs into a group of queer teenagers where he learns to full embrace his transness. And his revenge. This story just reeks of anger and vengeance in the best way. The anger of queer kids who were wronged by their upbringing and will never let it happen again.

There's something about a trans kid (especially a transmasc teen) turning into a monster that's so poetic. To shed the the skin of "girl" and been born anew into yourself but yourself is a monster angel of destruction and wrath. I absolutely loved how Benji thinks about how "monster" hides "girl". Peak transmasc experience (I may be going through some things right now and trying to figure myself out so this whole book is a blessing). The way Benji speaks about his dysphoria... chef's kiss "My dysphoria comes from the way other people see me" yes.... so true king.

Also I need to talk about Nick who is the man Benji bonds with after he escapes and our other main character. Nick is autistic (among other things) and I just loved all the little things: the way he hides his stimming even though he is surrounded by people who could technically understand, the "acceptable" stimming, the way he processes emotions and feelings.... Nick you are so dear to me.

Also this book is Queer Religious Trauma: the book. Like queer ex-christians that's your book. I feel like it will feel more visceral to (American) Protestants than Catholics because it's missing some stained glass and and I don't know the vibes are different. As a non American, what Christianity has become in America both fascinates and terrifies me (what on Earth is a mega church?). But overall this will be very cathartic for some.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book.

I was excited to get an early copy of this because the concept was so unique and interesting, the cover even more so. A cult that brings about an apocalyptic plague, check. A trans boy who may be the key to saving humanity, check. Representation out the wazzoo, check. Religious deconstruction, check.

Unfortunately, and the reason this is a 2.5-3 star read for me, the body horror/gore elements didn't just border on gratuitous, it jumped the fence and ran into the next county. I KNOW that there is an audience for this level of gore but I am not it. If that had been scaled back I think it would have made for a stronger overall debut novel.

All of this said I am so interested in seeing where Andrew Joseph White's literary journey goes next.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This is a book about queer/trans rage and horror of Christianity gone even more wrong. I was hooked from the author’s note to the end, if you do Dec to read this please do heed the content warnings included in that note because this book is not for the weak of stomach or faint of heart.. Horror is not typically my jam but I think it portrayed the anger of a young trans character and how mess up society is very well. I enjoyed the multiple perspectives in the story and honestly wished there was more but I think how they were used was a great way to give information to the reader that the main characters still had to learn.

My favorite part of this sorry were the many in-group (trans) based jokes and the multiplicity of diverse well developed characters. Very impressive to have a story of horror and rage turn into one of found family and hope. Definitely recommend!

When I first laid eyes on Hell Followed with Us I knew I absolutely had to read it. That cover alone is worth a five star rating. I mean.. look at it. It's stunning and gorgeous. It would make a lovely tattoo. I jumped at the chance to read this when I saw it was a read now book on NetGalley. Then I had to brag to my friend that I had it.

As for the actual story which is what I'm really supposed to be talking about, let me just say it is as awe inspiring as the cover art. Right at the beginning, you're picked up by the scruff and tossed into this world that seems like hell on Earth. The main character is Benji, a trans boy who has escaped a cult but not before they injected him with something that will turn him into a monster.

Benji does not want to become Seraph but he especially doesn't want the cult to use Seraph to wipe out what remains of humanity. They already killed so many during the Flood, which deformed those not killed and made other monsters they use called Grace. The cult's soldiers are called Angels. So Benji is being hunted by Angels and Grace when a group of kids save him. The group is lead by Nick who knows what's up with Benji and wants to have him on their side.

So Benji is taken in by the ALC, named for their home base at the Acheson LGBTQ+ Center. He immediately bonds with and is accepted by his new found family. Though there are exceptions of course because humans are complicated. I love all of the representation, love that these kids have each other and can be themselves. Just like in real life, they have to band together and fight for the chance to live as they want and be left alone.

Hell Followed with Us is dark and brutal. It is chock full of blood, gore and body horror. There's rage and love, hope and despair. Take heed of all the content warnings the author has kindly provided. If you can handle it, this book is a must read.

Thank you NetGalley, Peachtree Teen and Andrew Joseph White for the opportunity to read an e-ARC.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I want to read everything Andrew writes.
Hell Followed With Us explores the religious trauma, how society tries to form us and make us in the image that they think is the right way. I love Benji, I love Nick and everyone at the ALC. I hope this is not the last time we see them.

(I received an advanced readers copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)

Hell Followed With Us was one of my most anticipated books of 2022 so when I saw I got an ARC I literally SCREAMED and let me tell you, it delivered!

I rarely read horror but this book really made me delve deeper into the genre. The horror parts of the book are so unsettling and creepy in the best way possible.

The rage in this books is so visceral and very cathartic for me as a trans person so thank you to Benji for taking one for the team and being the rage monster I sometimes want to be😎

Also can we please talk about that cover it’s stunning!

All in all, I’m definitely planning to buy a physical copy of Hell Followed With Us when it comes out!

Rep in this book: trans and queer mc, autistic and queer major character, a side character with neopronouns + very diverse and almost all queer side characters

Some major trigger warnings: religious bigotry, trauma, and horror, transphobia, gun violence, violence, very graphic body horror, death, cults (the cult is based on Christianity)

Thank you so much, NetGalley, Peachtree and Peachtreeteen, for the chance to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

TW: violence, abuse, murder, body horror, transphobia, religious abuse, abusive parents and partner, victim self-blaming, self-injury,
Check the author's website for the complete TWs
https://andrewjosephwhite.com/content-warnings%3A-hfwu

Benji is a sixteen year old trans boy, on the run from the cult that raised him, a religious extremist sect that unleashed Armageddon and decimated the world's population and infected him with a bioweapon. Desperate to find a place where they can't find, hurt and use him. Benji is rescued by a group of teens from the local Acheson LGBTQ+ Center, known as the ALC. Its leader is Nick, gorgeous and autistic and he knows Benji's darkest's secret, that the bioweapon is turning him into a deadly monster. Rescued and sheltered, Benji decides to learn how to control the monster and use its power to defend his new family. Even if that means confronting the cult's hate and power and escaping from it alive and free.

Hell followed with us is a magnificent and furious queer debut, about embracing your monster and fighting back against your oppressors, to be alive and free.
The story is set in a post-apocalyptic world, with destroyed cities, dead and/or mutated bodies, where the survivors are fighting to live, eat and be safe from the monsters, humans or not.
Benji was raised by a fundamentalist cult, struggling with their hate and ideas, trying to get free and to live as a boy, when everyone in the cult wants him to be their savior girl, battling transphobia, deadnaming and violence from abusive parent and partner.
When he's rescued by the ALC, a ragtag group of queer teens, with different ideas, but who built a safe place for them, Benji starts to see another world, a chance to be himself and to find his own home, place and love.
The ALC is strongly opposed to the cult's ideas and violence and there Benji starts to make friends, to find a new family and a place to survive and he will be willing to do anything to keep them all safe, even getting back to the lion's den and destroy it from within.

The worldbuilding created by the author is eerie and scary, filled with violence and surviving, monsters and mutations, virus and religious fanatism and religion used and abused to justify genocide and bigotry. the writing style, the prose is so vivid I could imagine everything so clearly and I absolutely loved how immersive and evocative the story was.
Benjii is a great main character, struggling with victim self-blaming, religious brainwashing and wanting to be free and himself. He's stubborn, brilliant and filled with justified anger and the desire to destroy those who hurt and still threaten him.
I loved his relationship with Nick and how they slowly start to understand, respect, protect and love one other in a very messy and violent situation. I've also loved the disability rep and how wonderfully written was Nick's character.
The extremism, the constant use of religion to justify hate and violence is strongly opposed by the ALC and by these wonderful queer kids, fighting back and resisting a world bent on destroying them, by loving and taking care of one other.

The horror, grief, rage and hate are mixed with hope, found family and love in this awesome dystopian story. The author wrote a book full of gore, fire and justified anger, about monsters who decide to fight back for themselves and their loved ones. A story about embracing yourself and the monster within and fighting against your oppressors, finding your own home and family.

Hell followed with us represent a cruel world and the amazing queer teens who fight to survive.

Absolutely one of my new all-time favourite books. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it!! Can't wait for this book to be out, and for everyone to be reading it. It's just so so so good.
Angry and spiteful and graphic - this is exactly the feral queer story my heart needed right now.
Obssessed.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to review this book in exchange for an honest review!

Wow… I’ve got to say that I’ve been wanting to read this book for ages. The cover and bio stood out to me immediately. Religious trauma mixed in with an apocalypse and gay people, heck yeah! Anyway, the general plot of this book focuses on a young trans boy named Benji who has been raised in a religious cult during an apocalypse started by that very same cult. He meets up/is rescued used by a group of youth from a former queer rescue center and things fall into place. Also, the cult did something to slowly turn Benji into a monster. Furthermore, the book itself sure did impress. As a nonbinary/trans individual myself, I relate a whole lot to Benji. The book drew me immediately in with the first chapter. Gore, trauma, evil manipulative jerks that taunt the MC, amazing! I love love love it when a book just hits you with absolutely terrible environments and characters who have been through a whole lot.

The description in this book was absolutely rich. As someone obsessed with horror, I was totally satisfied. The Flood is definitely something that still freaks me out. The realistic and gut crushing portrayal of abusive relationships was another thing that hit me hard. It is hard to love someone who treats you horribly. And when everything comes crashing down, everything just sucks.

Despite really loving the plot, atmosphere, and the MC, I felt slightly unsatisfied with how rushed the ending was. Nick and Benji in particular felt slightly rushed. We went from Benji being in a not-so-good place to immediate romance, and that just wasn’t my style personally. Moreover, we were introduced to a lot of interesting characters that sadly never got the development they needed. I didn’t get the warm satisfaction I craved when I reached the ending, but I suppose for a mostly horror-based book that’s just what happens.

All-in-all, I’d give this book a solid 4/5. I think the bittersweetness of the end just didn’t cut it for me.

TLDR of my review: Weird in the best way possible. I loved the plot, the relationships between the characters, and the diversity of the characters. Such a cool read 5/5 stars. Check out the full review here: https://maeflowerreads.wordpress.com/2022/03/02/hell-followed-with-us-review/

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for the ARC

Wow i really don’t know to start this book was just amazing and my top read of 2022 so far !!

The representation in this book is just outstanding !! almost every character is queer as hell and i’m here for it !! our main protagonist Benji is a trans boy who escapes from a deathly cult who have just injected him with their deadliest weapon yet. on this path to escape he comes across an LGBTQ+ centre who take him in.

Yes you heard that right an LGBTQ+ centre, literally everyone is queer and the representation is just amazing !!! we have trans rep non binary rep, characters who use neo-pronouns, lesbian rep, aromatic rep, POC characters and autism rep and more !! i really loved the autism rep in this book the way it was portrayed in my opinion was genuine and with sensitivity.

I just love love love the plot of this book, it was so interesting and such a page turner i couldn’t stop reading as soon as i started !! i also really conected with the characters, and whilst their were quite a few i found myself connected to almost all of them by the end of the book and i thank the characterisation for that. the main queer (mlm) couple as well, i had so much love for them and were rooting for them the whole book and i think the author did a good job at building the romance whilst making sure it didn’t compromise the plot or get in the way of it. don’t even get me started on the found family this book has, my biggest weakness !!

Perhaps what captioned me the most abt this book was the writing and writing style this author just has a way with his words and descriptions that i could actively picture most of what was happening in my head especially the description of the horror and gore involved.

I really think this book has the potential to become a top seller for 2022 and i hope that everyone enjoys it as much as i did.

First of, i want to say that i was scared to be disappointed by such a large cast of lgbtq+ teenager, i didn't want it to be cliché or even bad representation like it often end u being, and i wasn't disappointed at all. The anger that many lgbtq+ teenager, especially transgender people was so well depicted, i wish i've had a book like Hell Followed with Us when i was a younger.
What i also loved is the relationship between the main character and religion, because he never hated God, he only ever hate the organisation representing Him and i think it was brilliant, because not all lgbtq+ turn their back on religion or hate it.
On another less serious topic i loved how love is depicted, this fierce feeling of loving something or someone so deeply that it easily turns to hatred.

Bear with me, it's a five star which means that it might be difficult for me to express my thoughts. So.

The world ended 2 years ago due to a Christian eco-terrorist cult unleashing a deadly, monstrous virus on the world. Most people have died, but not all, as had been their goal. In order to fix that, (kill more people), they have been trying to create Seraph, a bio-weapon to wield against the survivors. Unfortunately, Benji, a trans boy, is the one carrying the successful strain of it and he does not want to a part of it at all, which is made clear by him escaping into the city of Acheson, where he is taken in by the ALC, where he badly want to belong. All he has to do to accomplish that is control Seraph and get revenge on the people who hurt him and killed his father. Easy! Not.

Okay, awkward attempt at a blurb over.

The writing is wonderful. Here's a quote(non-spoiler):

"I tried to feel it. I did, I swear. I reached for it, squeezed my eyes shut as tight as I could and begged for it. I pretended I was stretching mu hands out into the darkness behind my eyelids, fingers splayed wide, trying to find even the barest touch of something out there in the abyss. To feel the warmth Mom always assured me was waiting once I accepted God into my heart.
There was nothing. Always nothing."

Speaking of God. This book is very, very heavy with Christianity and the damage it can do. As sapphic woman who has been exposed to a similar kind of rhetoric, to people spitting Bible verses in your face as an excuse for telling you that you were "unnatural" and "going to hell", a lot of it resonated with me in a dull-clang-in-your-chest-and-suddenly-you're-about-to-cry kind of way.

The plot progression is a combination of slow and fast paced -- lots of minor events happening constantly and slow progression of the main development. I don't know if that made sense, but that is the best kind of pace.

We mostly follow Benji's point of view with the occasional (declared) switch to Nick or another character's (I'd say out of 36 chapters only 3 or 4 are not from Benji), which was pretty cool.

The characters. Lots and lots of representation. This is the first book I've ever read where neo-pronouns are used freely, which is great! Everyone deserves to see themselves in the books they read. Nick's autism is well written. The characters all feel very real, by which I mean not every "good" person was likeable and not every "bad" person was irredeemably terrible.

The world was developed well enough for us to focus on the plot and character development. We mostly stay in the now and how things are now, post-apocalypse, but we get little glimpses of what might have led up to this genocide happening through little excerpts from speeches and articles at the beginning of every chapter (also a lot of Bible verses) and Benji's recallings of what it was like before. The Flood is described in enough detail for us to understand what Benji was going through.

Love certainly plays a part in this story but I wouldn't say that it was the focus. There is a toxic relationship involved within the plot, which I feel was well done. Also, the themes of morality, grief and recovery are brilliantly explored here.

Like the author says in the note at the start of the book (that's actually when I knew I'd definitely greatly enjoy the book, actually) this is a story of survival. It's not doom and gloom, despite being post-apocalyptic. It's hopeful.

Overall, read it. Especially if you enjoyed Wilder Girls and/or Gideon The Ninth. Also, I did warn y'all about incomprehensibility but even so, I hope I made sense. Please be aware that Benji does get misgendered and deadnamed on paper and there's a lot of gore (from The Flood) and pandemic terminology used throughout the book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Peachtree for providing an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

4/5

This book grabs you from the first chapter, spits rot all over you, screams in your face and makes sure you cling on for dear life. The writing is sharp, gory, a little dirty and queer as hell. This book had multiple things that would not usually keep me invested, such as horror, first person povs, and quick worldbuilding, but I kept finding myself coming back for more.

As someone that is not well-versed in the world of horror, a genre I admittedly ignore, this was a wonderful way to dip my toe. While I did gravitate toward this book for it's queer representation and The Last of Us comparisons, I found myself running through it for the unique body horror, terrifying and visceral images and snappy dialogue.

The characters are fleshed out and unique, each of them owning their identity and never bending to the plot or those around them. This made the story really pop out to me, I was able to keep up with each character because of all of their different characteristics. Benji is a trans hero in a world that doesn't deserve his utter kindness, he had faced such terrible things in his life and he still tries to be good and help others as his father told him. He's a wonderful protagonist and I loved living in his mind for this story.

The queer representation is out of this world! Never have I read horror-dystopian novel that filled itself with as many queer character as it's pages could possibly hold. I loved Salvador's use of neopronouns, Benji's occasional body dysmorphia, Faith's aromantic-but-protective relationship with Aisha and Nick's platonic queer relationship with Erin. It was just overflowing and I couldn't get enough.

My only critique would be something that could just be a fault of my own: the worldbuilding confused the hell out of me. I'll put it out there, I'm not religious and this book leans heavily into Christianity, a topic I've actively avoided and never cared to educate myself on. While the author does a great job of giving a crash course on all of the religious aspects that held importance in the story, I still found myself having to go back a few pages to reread and try to peace together parts of the plot. But again, this could be a fault of my own.

I can only hope that this is the beginning to a series or a duology because I want more of this world and it's inhabitants!

I'll start this off by admitting I finished this book in two days, a surprising feat after my two-month dry reading spell - it was that good. Also, have you seen the stunning cover art and chapter illustrations? I know you're already eyeing the synopsis and going, but what about the part about dystopia? Pretty sure I'm not alone in saying that we were all scarred by the same boring, looted-city backdrop and cardboard heroes circa 2014 when dystopia was all the rage. I pinky-promise you that this time you DON'T have to be afraid.

Written by Andrew Joseph White (@AJWhiteAuthor on Twitter), HFWS follows trans-boy Benji on a harrowing journey across a city plagued by disease, where bodies hang from urban structures and carnage decorates the curbs. Every chunk of rotting flesh, ruptured organ and exposed bone is worshipped by Andrew in beautiful prose and hauntingly vivid vocabulary, yet I'm pleased to report that the banger of a setting isn't even the greatest thing about the book.

As an absolute slut (I said it) for character-driven stories, I fell in love with the inhabitants of the LGBTQIA+ youth shelter Benji takes refuge in. From Nick, affectionately described as "gorgeous, autistic, and a deadly shot" (can you already see me screaming?) to Salvador who goes by xe/xir pronouns and the asshole who dislikes Benji for not binding, Andrew Joseph White creates people with complexities and flaws that are painfully raw and real. Buckle in, because we're about to go to hell with a bunch of scared queer youth who are funny and mean and above all, wonderfully human.

Symbolism hammers this masterpiece into queerlit Hall of Fame. I drank in every single parallel, every metaphor that AJW used to describe the turbulent relationship between Christianity and the queer community. Prayers twisted into monstrous contexts, God's grace depicted in the cruelest of ways, and Benji's ultimate form as Christianity's celestial being and Earth's horrifying bogeyman.

HFWU is a riotous and triumphant tribute to the struggle of the LGBTQIA+ community against radical Christianity. Plot twists, striking characterisation and bobby pins make ME want to kneel in worship, and I don't think I'll ever stop yelling about the brilliance of this.


This book is a shoutout to queer kids in homophobic societies who are tired of being kicked around and forgotten. Mark your calendars for its release on June 7, 2022 for a ride of chaos, friendship, faith and love.

I have no words. I don’t really know how to explain this book or my feelings. I just know I loved every minute of it.

It was bloody, raw, and emotional. This bloodied dystopian world after these “Angels” took over and ruined it absolutely hit hard seeing as how some of the issues in our world now are hurting it just as much as this enemy. It’s hard for me to touch on everything in this book as I’m a straight cis woman. I feel like my words are not as important than those who can sadly relate to the darker parts of this book. But just the emotions the writing put me through, the Bible verses mixed in? It was gorgeous in a gruesome way.

I really can’t put my feelings into the proper words at the moment. Please, heed the trigger warnings on this book, but if it sounds like your thing I beg of you to please read this book. Please bring these characters and their stories into your life.

Thank you so so so much Netgalley and Andrew Joseph White for letting me read this early. I loved it.
#netgalley #hellfollowedwithus

Absolutely nothing is better than the feeling of a powerful book and that's how you know for sure you've got yourself a five-star book. This is by far one of the best debut books I have *ever* read if not one of the best books in general that I've ever read. I have a good feeling this is gonna be one of the most talked-about books once it's out, mark my words. The characters felt so real that they were literally coming off the page; they (particularly the teens of this book) are so multi-dimensional. From the very beginning, this book was extremely engrossing and brings you right into its world-- to the point where I nearly missed some trains on the way home from work. There's so much emotion coming from this book. With first-person narratives, it's very easy for the POV character to seem bland, boring, and just like anyone else--that was the furthest thing from the truth with Benji. The queer representation of this book does exactly what it should, it helps enhance the story, it isn't the only aspect of the story that keeps you reading. I also really loved the autistic rep, both confirmed in text and not confirmed in the text (I very much read Benji as an autistic character too). There were a lot of trans/queer/autistic parts of this book that I related to and I believe others will as well. This book is really something special and while everything didn't go the way I thought it would by the end, I can't recommend this book enough. There are a lot of unanswered questions by the end of the book, so I really hope we see a sequel, but even if we don't the book still ended in a good place-- with hope for the future.

To my fellow queer friends with religious trauma, this book is for you. Give it a preorder, and a read, and you will not regret it.