Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is excellent!!! I could not put this book down. I read it in an afternoon, and have no regrets.

Dystopia, LGBTQIA rep, religious/political bantering, culture vibes, revenge, betrayal, and multiple POVs.
The armosphere was chef's kiss! This book literally has everything I need in a book!

Trigger warnings include the following: transphobia, vomiting throughout, mass murder (including children), domestic violence (and returning to abuser), attempted suicide, and death of a parent.

3.5 stars - I really enjoyed this! White's writing is absolutely breathtaking; I was both amazed and jealous by his sheer talent. From the first page I was absolutely hooked which is why I was able to read it so quickly. I was enamoured by our main character Benji and primarily, the world he grew up in. If you know me, you know I fuuuuucking love religious cults (disclaimer: not that i would join one obvi, but the idea of them) and White does not hold back with this one. The novel also has amazing diversity, varying between different sexualities, cultures, beliefs that I found to be handled wonderfully. The way White was able to weave horrific elements into this story - I personally love when horror is intertwined into Christianity and creating these puritanic ideologies that feel so realistic and scary. White did a fantastic job describing the more gory and bloody aspects of the narrative. However, despite the fact that White did an amazing job with descriptions, I think the world was left a little confusing. I wish more world-building was done to help place us within the story. There were lots of elements that needed more exploring for me to have truly loved this. This was unlike anything I have ever read, and I just wish I had more. Will 100% be picking up White's next book because I cannot believe this book came out of someone's brain and I need more.

Hell Followed With Us is a visceral look at the harm of Evangelical Christianity through the lens of horror, ecofascist dystopia, and the trans experience. It aims to drive a knife right into your chest and delivers.

Hell Followed With Us is a masterpiece that weaves Biblical verse and dystopian horror to shock the reader through the horrors of Evangelical Christian tyranny. White will use bible verses to convey the duality of the horror and conflicting feelings our protagonist Benji feels regarding his upbringing. Showing that while Benji has physically escaped The Angelic Movement and their dogmatic belief in it being “god’s will”, the earth is destroyed through the flood - a virus that kills and warps the human body into twisted animalistic creatures called Graces or Abominations, more bone, sinew, and amalgamation of human parts than humanity - he has still work to go in deprogramming himself from their awful doctrine.

This is best exemplified by Benji’s mantra “be good” - his father’s last dying wish after being killed by the Angels while trying to escape with his son. A mantra he struggles to define for himself - is being good a matter of giving in to the Angels’ hellish plans for him, or is it to live as his true self as a boy. And while he knows it is to live freely as himself, his struggle to still define for himself what this means is what makes Benji a truly memorable character.

These passages throughout the text both compliment the situation and horrify the reader. You viscerally feel Benji’s horror and subjugation under those words. Just as much as the changes you witness that happened because of Seraph - a super version of the virus the Angels created, that will eventually turn Benji into a puppet for the Angels to use to wipe out the rest of humanity. You can’t help but cry for Benji’s predicament - even if you have never experienced his traumas - because White masterfully puts onto the page the horror of this kind of tyranny.

And while Hell Followed With Us presents us with trans rage in all its glory through Benji’s suffering and fight against the Angels. It also gives us moments of Trans joy and discovery through Benji’s interactions with the ALC (Acheson LGBTQ+ Centre) - a group of teenagers who rescue him from the Angels campaigning out in the abandoned LGBTQIA+ centre. Through his interactions with the ALC and specifically the leader of The Watch, Nick, Benji grows beyond his upbringing, finds his way in this dystopian horror, and truly defines and becomes the “good” man he wants to be.

Hell Followed With Us is a masterful work of dystopian horror that lets you feel every wound physical and emotional that its characters go through—taking you on an emotional rollercoaster ride of Trans joy and rage. And it is one of the best books I have read in 2022.

Thia is one hell of a great book. The writing is stunning and the world building fantastic. It carries a lot of the anger we feel nowadays so that is great too. This book is just all around fantastic.

Thank you to Netgalley and Peachtree Teen for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I don’t even know where to start with this review. I have put off writing this review for so long because I just loved it so much I don’t even know how to talk about it. Hell Followed With Us absolutely exceeded my expectations. I expected to really enjoy it. YA horror is a genre I have loved everything I’ve read so far, but this book totally blew everything out of the water. I really enjoyed the discussions of religious trauma, being queer and trans, and being a teen trying to survive in the world. I am not a religious person, but this hit so many feels and fears regardless of being not religious. It made me feel so many things in so many ways.

This book is not for the faint of heart. It is gory and filled with a ton of body horror. It is definitely the kind of horror book that doesn’t explain everything, and for me that was totally okay. I loved being thrown into the story with no explanation and just having to figure it out as I went along. I honestly didn’t need the explanations for things because I was just so intrenched in the story and was devouring it.

This book was cathartic in a way that I didn’t know I needed. It hit the shy, scared, little queer kid in my chest that I didn’t know wanted to feel anger and revenge for the missed opportunities and for the fear of judgement. This book is all about queer, disabled teen rage and I wanted it all. This is the horror I want. I want gory, raw, and queer as hell violent horror stories that are about revenge and vengeance and rage. This book is going to sit with me for a long time and is definitely something I will need to reread and annotate going forward.

If you can handle the gore and body horror, I think you absolutely need to pick this up.

- Trans boy main character
- Autistic and gay love interest
- Queer-found family
- Body-horror
- Religious trauma

Hell Followed With Us is a dark and intense science fiction story about love, hatred, betrayal, and revenge. But most of all, it's about surviving queer religious trauma.

The protagonist, Benji, is a trans boy who was forced into an Evangelical Christian cult by his mom when he was a child. The “Angels” spread their hatred around the world and caused the apocalypse. They intend to earn their passage into heaven by murdering all non-believers, and Benji is the final weapon for their cause. Benji and his father attempt to escape the Angels, but not before he’s infected with a deadly bioweapon that has the power to annihilate the rest of humanity.

The story began during Benji’s escape after his father was murdered by the Angels. This bloody beginning was riddled with confusion, grief, and gore that captured the essence of what Benji was experiencing in those moments. During the chaos, Benji ran into a ragtag team of queer teens fighting back against the Angels. He jumped on the opportunity to escape the cult and agreed to help them fight the Angels.

One of the things I loved most about this story was how many times the characters fell apart and then helped each other pull themselves back together. It showed a really beautiful side of humanity that I wasn’t used to seeing in post-apocalyptic stories. Even in the midst of all the horror, these queer teens came together and had each other's back. The obvious affection they had for each other made the story more bearable and just a bit less dark.

"There's some kind of awful, enduring myth: that after the end of the world, people will turn on one another. That people will become hateful and selfish. That's just not true. It's never been true."
- Andrew Joseph White, Hell Followed with Us

Although the story seemed anti-Christianity at first glance, the author managed to walk a delicate line between criticizing the bigotry and hatred within white Christianity and criticizing people’s faith. Throughout the story, Benji struggled with understanding the difference between his own beliefs and what he was brainwashed to believe by the Angels. There was one especially touching scene when Benji asks one of the other teens at the ALC about her Christian upbringing. She opened up about still wanting to believe in God, but not wanting the same religion as the murderous Angels. The conversation gave Benji peace about his conflicting thoughts and allowed him to start separating his beliefs from the Angels. I really appreciated the delicate approach the author took to this topic. It was clear to me that the author had experience with having hatred-infused religious teachings forced on him as well as experience deconstructing those beliefs.

Additionally, the narration included Bible verses and quotes from religious commentaries at the beginning of each chapter and sprinkled throughout the text. I’ve always enjoyed books that include quotes at the beginning of chapters, and Hell Followed With Us was no exception. The excerpts provided a great introduction to the themes in each of the chapters, and the Bible verses included in Benji’s thought processes conveyed his conflict between what he was taught and what he believed. I especially liked how the addition of Bible verses portrayed how engulfed Benji's thoughts were in the religious teachings he grew up with even after he escaped the Angels.

I loved that so much of the conflict in Hell Followed with Us was internal. While Benji was fighting monsters and Angels, he also struggled to understand his beliefs and cope with PTSD from his time with the Angels. His conflicted thoughts were also reflected in the love triangle he had with Nick, the leader of the ALC, and Theo, his childhood love and fiance. Theo was familiar and always accepted Benji’s identity as a trans boy, but he also hurt Benji. Nick was gorgeous and offered Benji shelter when he needed it most, but Benji wasn’t quite ready to give up on Theo. While love triangles aren’t usually my thing, I actually loved how this one fit into the overall themes of the story. It emphasized Benji’s internal conflict between what he was told to believe and his truth.

“There is no love. Just breaking and building”
- Andrew Joseph White, Hell Followed with Us

I was also impressed by how well the author captured how sinister hatred and violence are when they're hidden behind a veneer of smiles and false proclamations of love. No amount of gruesome body horror could compete with the discomfort I felt when Benji was with the Angels. I could actually feel all the muscles in my body tense up whenever Benji's mom entered a scene! EEEK!!! The author’s rendering of all the hypocrisy and fear tainting the Angel’s propaganda was right on the nose. It was a perfect representation of what happens when a group of people tries to take God’s judgment into their own hands. Their arrogance and hatred turned their faith into something dark and twisted.

Overall, Hell Followed with Us is a dark and brutal story about a trans boy who survives a religious cult and goes back for revenge. I definitely recommend checking this out if you enjoy post-apocalyptic stories with the addition of queer-found family and lots of body horror.

***I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This does not change my opinion of the work.

This was quite the gut punch of a book, covering both religious fanaticism, an apocalypse, and vivid queer characters. I will recommend it but only sparingly.

This book was SO cool. And that cover is freaking to die for. I loved this book. I freaking loved this book. It was so well-written. The concept was fierce. The execution was so well-done--if it was a steak, I would hate it; that's how well-done it was. I need more book like that. There deserves to be more books like this, and Andrew deserves the world and every accolade for his work in this book. Truly magnificent.

I’m not usually the biggest fan of apocalypse stories (it’s my own fault for reading too many dystopian novels in middle school and wearing myself out), but I’m very glad I made an exception for Hell Followed with Us.

Hell Followed with Us is so, so dark, and Andrew Joseph White writes this darkness so, so well—which is all the more impressive considering this novel is a debut. Obviously, this book is not for the faint of heart; as the content warnings indicate, the main and side characters all experience a fair share of trauma, and the pages are filled to the brim with body horror. But what I love is that the body horror isn’t just there to be shocking and gruesome. White connects characters’ literal monstrousness to their feelings of monstrousness. The most obvious example is Benji, a trans teen boy who was raised (and infected with a bioweapon that will supposedly bring about humanity’s salvation!) by a fundamentalist doomsday Christian cult. At first, Benji runs from his monstrousness, but he later uses it to rebel against his religious trauma and years of limited self-expression and self-agency. The transformation was physically and emotionally evocative. In interacting with Benji, other side characters undergo similar transformations, which made them all compelling—though, of course, Benji stole the show.

However, I did wish for more extensive worldbuilding. I could easily visualize the environment where Benji grew up, but I was less clear about what the rest of the world looks like post-apocalypse. The pacing was also perfect up until the very, very end. I would have liked another chapter or two about the aftermath of the climax since the book ends rather abruptly.

Hell Followed with Us is angry and horrific but also tender and hopeful—a must-read for anyone with a strong stomach and a fondness for strong-willed characters.

The descriptions conjure such beautifully vivid imagery.

The characters felt real and well developed and I think many people will find them relatable.

The climax felt a bit rushed and some of the plot felt a bit too convenient, but overall a really enjoyable read.

4/5

the writing was stunning, the cast of characters was so diverse. the body horror and gore were impeccable. (although i feel like the word "gore" was a little overused, but what can you do, right?)

this was just so beautifully gruesome. i loved the metapors for the trans identity and the deep discussion of religious trauma. speaking of which, i kind of imagine the graces as biblically-accurate angels. 🤔

will definitely be checking out whatever the author comes out next! 😔🤘

If this fantastic, imaginative, riveting, castigating, captivating, intense, passionate, diverse, and grotesque novel is only Andrew Joseph White’s debut effort in the mad, mad, mad, mad world of literary publishing, I cannot wait to see what he has in store for us next, because this book was not only worth the wait, but it exceeded expectations.

I’m going to go ahead and admit that I would need some time to sit and marinate with this book to give you a really good rundown of all the metaphors, parallels, and themes that run rampant all over this book. The double-sided meanings behind every Bible passage quoted and the intention behind their repetitiveness. The evolution from larvae to final form, in more ways than one. The completely justified castigation of evangelical Christianity and their hypocrisy versus the open arms with which the LGBTQIA+ community welcomes everyone and takes them in as a member of their tribe. This has always been the way of the queer community, and it always will be. When religious families kick their queer children, teens, and young adults out of their homes, the LGBTQIA+ community has a long tradition of taking these lost and often broken strays with them to safety and shelter whenever possible. This book illuminates this quite clearly. Even if it’s evident the apocalypse may be coming quite soon, the local queer community has come together and not only managed to find each other, but to stay alive and to prop each other up at the end of the world.

I couldn’t have adored more the queer representation in this book. I think maybe the only letters I didn’t see represented were B and I. And hey, that’s okay! We got more than one trans character in there, and that’s a miracle in and of itself when it comes to mainstream publishing houses.

This book is horrific in many ways, but it’s not scary. The horror comes purely from two sources: what people will do in the name of religion (which is nothing new) and body horror/gore. I say this with one caveat: PLEASE READ THE CONTENT WARNING AT THE BEGINNING OF THE BOOK. This is AJW’s request, as there is a great deal of material in this book that could be triggering to queer youth. I don’t normally include content warnings in my reviews, but since the author himself wants to be sure people read it, I’m gonna go ahead and sling it in here.

I seriously recommend you give this book a shot. It’s horrific but absolutely justified in its righteous anger. Have you ever felt enough rage over the way LGBTQIA+ people are treated that you wished you could rain down a little hellfire on those who oppress them? Believe me, this book will give you a little taste of that.

Thanks to NetGalley and Peachtree Teen for granting me early access to this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Hell Followed With Us is an explosive and fresh novel about a group of queer kids surviving in an apocalyptic world, a world that was brought down by a Christian terrorist group and made to kneel in front of believers who were convinced that the only way to absolve humanity of its sins is to erase it. We follow Benji, a trans boy who was chosen to bring down the last of the human race, but manages to escape, unwilling to ruin everything in the name of something he doesn't even believe in. As he is taken in by a rogue group of queer teens, the infection festering inside his body begins to spread and he only has a handful of weeks to prevent the world ending for good.

I was SO in love with this group of teens, full of resilient and badass individuals of different sexualities and identities, with so much casual rep we DESPERATELY need! (we also had a character, Salvador, my love, use neopronouns which we still don't see a lot of! Another win!) They survived the literal apocalypse and they keep fighting for themselves and for each other, taking Benji in and accepting him wholeheartedly, something he's never known before. His bond is especially strong with the de facto leader of the ALC (this group of teens), Nick, an autistic gay boy who's seen too much and yet is holding it together for everyone else. Nick needs a warm hug and some biscuits okay, I wanted to just keep him safe throughout the whole book.

As these teens are trying to survive, we learn more about the past and what brought forth this horrible fate of humanity, while diving deeper into Benji's own experiences with this religious group he used to be a part of and everything he endured because of them as well. One of the PoVs also comes from Benji's betrothed, Theo, who has a lot of unresolved stuff to get through as well - and who plays a vital role in the story and how it develops.

All in all, Hell Followed With Us is an angry and impactful debut by Andrew Joseph White and I want MORE! The queer rep, the autistic rep, discussions of (and metaphors for - because this book at times felt like the perfect metaphor for trans anger and generally queer anger) queer anger made this into a book I'll return to again and again. Now let's wait for White's second book, deal? Deal.

This book was absolutely amazing! I loved that it explored the "monster within us" as part of the plot line. I think its a subject that needs more attention in order for people to feel they are not alone. I also loved the lgbtqi rep in this book.

Hell Followed with Us was a fully engaging and fast paced YA apocalyptic horror. I really enjoyed how the author did not hold back on the gory and grotesque body horror element of the story and the . The story had heavy themes of homophobia, transphobia and religious trauma but this was balanced by a strong thread of queer found family throughout.

The cast of characters were really interesting and appreaciated the wealth of lgbtq+ representation that was included, though I do whish some of these characters were developed more.

Overall, a unique concept that takes the reader on a wild ride.

It's the end of the world as we know it...

...and Benji does not feel fine. Escaping Christian terrorists with his father in an attempt to live life on his own terms, Benji finds himself alone to survive in a world in which he's hunted by the Angels seeking to return him to his manipulative mother. Benji seeks shelter with a group of queer teens, but fears they will oust him if they discover the monster that lies within.

This horror novel is the most visceral I've ever read, as Benji's body responds to The Flood he's been injected with by his mother's command to transform him into a 6-winged Seraph with the power to control other Graces similarly infected. The goal of Benji's mother's cult is to rid the Earth of the plague of humans by genocide for the glory of God.

Benji wrestles to reconcile his role and obligations to those he was raised with and those he's just met. Will Benji come to terms with the monster inside as he navigates the lies, secrets, betrayal, and hidden identities surrounding him? Will Benji be accepted for who he is, or will he be rejected unless he complies and conforms?

I struggled through the first half of the book, but then zipped through to the end. I found myself rooting for Benji to overcome the trauma inflicted upon him by those who were supposed to love and protect him.

this book was absolutely incredible. I genuinely want everybody and their dog to read it because it is truly that good. I'll be thinking about Benji for a long long time.

as a cis queer person I am living for all these books coming out from trans perspectives, especially when they're not neat and pretty stories. Benji is no angel (ha!) and he will go to any desperate length to protect the people he loves. I am so glad I got to read his story.

thank you NetGalley for providing this ARC !!!

Wow.... this book was everything to me. The description of 'fiercely queer' is so accurate - this book bleeds with queerness, and I'm so grateful to have been able to read it. Thank you to Peachtree for the eARC, and a huge thank you to Andrew Joseph White for writing the queer YA horror we've been yearning for.

Firstly! I adored the horror aspect. I like to describe this book as 'visceral', and it's not for the faint-hearted, if blood and gore descriptions put you off, but I really enjoyed it. The characters as well, not just the mains of Benji and Nick but also the whole host of queer side characters who were so wonderfully real, were fantastic. I personally adored the aromantic side character represention. And the representation (of so many different identities!) was amazing.

Thank you again for the chance to read this eARC. This book is one of my favourites reads of the year, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys queer horror.

“If they believe in judgment, let them feel it.” // “Leave room for His wrath. I am His wrath made flesh.”

HELL FOLLOWED WITH US is a searing, rage-filled YA novel about a trans boy who eviscerates (literally) the fascist, homicidal religious cult that raised him. White imagines a dystopian future that, while extreme, feels like a natural extension of our world: a sect of fundamentalist Christians have unleashed a plague to murder everyone and hasten the end times, chosen ones are infected with a bioweapon that turns them into deadly corpulent fighters, all while climate change continues to ravage the globe and the precious few “nonbelievers” struggle to survive. Benji has been selected to become the ultimate monster: Seraph, a six-winged destroyer destined to finish off the remains of humanity. But Benji has no intention of fulfilling that role. He runs away and finds the Acheson LGBTQ+ Center, where a ragtag group of teens have cobbled together a life and are chipping away at the local death squads. Benji starts falling for Nick, their handsome, autistic leader, and together they devise a plan to embrace Benji’s monstrosity and turn it against those who created him in an epic battle with queer and trans kids at the forefront.

This book goes so hard and I loved every minute of it. White leans into the destructive, hateful, and bloody aspects of Christianity and turns that energy against that oppression. Anyone vaguely familiar with the more extremist groups of Christians who seek to inflict what they see as justice and bring about the future they believe in faster will recognize those elements in White’s story. What I love is how Benji’s character embraces that violence to fight back. The connections between Benji’s identity as a trans guy and his transition into Seraph are incredibly powerful. There’s something so profound about the shame we are taught about the unacceptable parts of our bodies, the dysphoria of not being recognized for who you are, and becoming something seen as vile but revered as holy that is hard for me to articulate but that I felt so deeply. Throughout Benji’s journey we see him wrestling with the changes in his faith and his instinctual turn towards prayer as comfort, despite his lack of belief; I could definitely relate to that unlearning. The story is steeped in biblical language that’s blended beautifully and terrifyingly with gore and body horror; it’s like listening to a death metal cover of a hymn (which very much exist!) that centers trans anger and revels in tearing down the tyrannical, puritanical aspects of religion in the most brutal way.

It’s an utterly ferocious and intimately cathartic novel that, even with the heavy themes, I found so much joy in. Thanks to Peachtree Teen and Pride Book Tours for the review copy! Also, I highly recommend the audiobook; the narration is so earnest and savage.

Content warnings: abuse/control in romantic and family relationships, violence, death, child death, gore, illness, body horror, homophobia, transphobia, gender dysphoria, deadnaming/misgendering, religious trauma

Surprisingly this book was both quite addictive and took me a long time to read. The narrative, the character, ALC, the dynamics all made it very hard to put down at the same time, the content and triggers (and also personally) made me slow down, take a break and reset.. Hell Followed With Us is a dark, powerful and hopeful queer story which follows Trans boy Benji after he escaped New Nazareth (a City of Angels who are trying to wipe the Earth clean and start over as a new race), escaped the future he never wanted, escaped the identity he was born with but never managed to get..
Along the way, after losing his father and only one who supported him, he runs into ALC - a group of nonbelievers/ survivors and finally finds people who understands and accepts him for who he is.. Trying to help his friends survive while also being infected with the virus that was quite literally turning his insides out, Benji manages to wade through and out...
Even though the book is most certainly a masterpiece and one of my favorites this year, it still feels raw and undeveloped. A lot of information has been crammed into the pages as a result some important parts are missed out of lime light.. I am still very confused abt the ending.. Even though the book is chaotic af , it was everything I wanted and didn't knw I needed..
Thank you Andrew Joseph White for this beautiful story..

Thank you Netgalley for the Advance copy.