When the synopsis of this book called it "furious" and "queer" they were beyond right. This book punches you in the face from the first page. I got sucked in so quickly that this 400+ page book flew by before I knew what happened.

I adored the complexity of each of the characters and the storyline. Religious zeal turned murderous is one of my favorite tropes and this one went the kind of dark I was hoping for. Throw in all the body horror and I LOVED it. I specifically enjoyed Benji's struggle with his faith throughout the book. Even knowing he was raised by religious monsters, the faith and thoughts were still ingrained in him and he had to work through if it was a habit he needed to break or something he wanted to recreate for himself. And the Theo thing. I love Benji's struggles with everything tbh.

Also, seeing a group of queer kids and having them not be perfect and welcoming! The reality of some being more open than others and people within the queer community still judging each other felt so realistic and made the story feel more relatable.

I loved the quotes at the beginning of each chapter that gave historical context within the story. And the writing just kept me hooked from chapter to chapter!

This book is fast-paced and gorgeous and, yes, furious. I loved it with my whole heart and I hope everyone picks it up!

I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sixteen year old trans boy Benji is on the run from a cult that raised him—the fundamentalist sect that unleashed Armageddon and decimated the world’s population. He’s desperately searching for place where the cult cannot get their hands on him, or more importantly, the bioweapon they infected him with.

But when cornered by monsters born from the destruction, Benji is rescued by a group of teens from the local Acheson LGBTQIA+ Center, known as ALC. The ALC’s leader, Nick, is gorgeous, autistic, and a deadly shot, and he knows Benji’s darkest secret. The cults bioweapon is mutating him into monster deadly enough to wipe out humanity from the earth once and for all. Still Nick offers Benji shelter among his ragtag group of queer teens. That is as long as Benji can control the monster inside and use it to defend the ALC. Eager to belong Benji accepts this offer, until he discovers that Benji also has ulterior motives for offering him a spot.

While I absolutely recommend this book and think it was super enjoyable. I do urge you to be cautious if themes of transphobia, particularly misgendering and using someone’s deadname, and body gore trigger you. There is a lot of body gore with pretty vivid descriptions.

I don’t really read a lot of YA anymore. I think I’ve grown out of it over the past few years. However when I read this description I really wanted to give it a try. A lot of queer stories are overly sweet and tame, and this sounded like the complete opposite of that. A group of queer teens fighting a religious extremist cult, hell yeah. I’m all here for that. What I did not expect was the amount of body gore in this book, like there’s a lot of it. I found myself wondering if this book was really YA at multiple points throughout the book, and for me that’s a positive, because as I said I don’t really read a lot of YA anymore because I’ve grown out of it. The body gore was absolutely disturbing and I loved that.

One of the main points of this book is its representation. Benji is a trans boy, Nick has autism and the ALC is an LGBTQIA+ centre and everyone there is queer. I loved the representation. There were some interesting conversations about what it means to be queer and just how varied the queer community is. I also got my first exposure to neo pronouns within a book which was a bit of learning curve for me. As I said it was my first exposure so I’ve never really used neopronouns and they confused me a bit at first. But I like that they were included and this book actually taught me something.

Overall this was a really enjoyable book and I preordered a physical copy because I want to have this on my shelves and support the author. I will also keep track of anything this author publishes in the future because as a debut novel this was fantastic and I cannot wait to see what the future brings.


The reason why I gave this 4 stars instead of 5 is because to me the body gore started getting pretty repetitive and lost most of its impact. At the start I was genuinely grossed out, yet also enthralled by the descriptions but the further I got into the book the more I started tuning it out. The descriptions started feeling very similar and didn’t do much for me anymore. Also I would have liked to see a bit more development for the side characters. Some of the side characters were really intriguing and I wanted to see a bit more of them, or hear a bit more about their backstories which this book didn’t go into. However I also understand that if that was done the book would have probably been too long.

This book was freaking amazing. From the amazing representation, the beautiful writing and overall theme of the story. I loved every minute of it. Don’t get me wrong this book was horrifying but it was also so freaking queer and I am obsessed with it! I cannot even begin to find the words for how perfect the queer rep was presented. This has been the first book I’ve read where the autism representation hasn’t been offensive. I’m also here for all these queer books shining a light on religious trauma that the community faces. Such a fantastic read!

I will 100% be picking up anything Andrew Joseph White writes.

There are truly no words to fully describe how this novel makes me feel.

Hell Followed With Us follows our main character, Benji, a trans boy that a religious cult wants to make into the ultimate weapon. He attempts to flee the life he was born into and ends up running into a rebel force of queer teens, fighting to stay alive.

What could possibly be more terrifying than a group of religious cultists that think the bible truly is gospel? Honestly, nothing in my book, All of these characters were so warming and lovable, even Cormac at the end of the day (but f--- Calvin). Andrew created a true found family that would leave any queer person giggling with glee despite the circumstances of their meeting. The use of religious excerpts and text throughout the book were perfectly placed. My absolute favorite part of this book was the descriptions of Benji's body changing. They were done so well that I could practically see the transformation and feel it. I also thoroughly enjoyed all the representation from the use of neopronouns to a main love interest with autism.

The angels were absolutely horrifying as villains and exactly how you would expect religious people to view theirselves in a situation like this. Committing mass genocide? Obviously God's will! Drowning babies in a river? Obviously for the greater good. And THEO, man is that guy literally the worst!! The story makes you wonder back and forth if this man is an ally or a foe. What a well crafted villain.

This will probably be my top read of the year, I truly could not put this ARC down.

OMG! Where do I even start...
I don't think I have ever read a YA book that suits my taste for horror this well.
It is the right amount of grossness and emotions and everything was just perfect that it's unbelievable when you think about this being a debut book.
If you like graphic body horror as much as I do, you would love this book.
And White does such a good job at pacing in this book that even though it's a fast-paced plot, the writing made it seem like you went through the whole thing side by side with the characters and not just observing the events from God's POV.

Hell Followed With Us is a dystopian YA novel that is set in a future where the world has fallen apart and then a religious cult took advantage and released a horrific disease to cleanse the earth.
This book has amazing queer and nuerodiverse representation and the found family elements were amazing, but I just don't think it was for me. The body horror was a little too much and there was so much bible quoting I ended up getting frustrated. And I get it, the narrative is deeply rooted in religious themes, I just started to find them pretty unnecessary in a lot of places.
I understand why this book would appeal to other people, but I found more that I disconnected with than connected with.

THIS BOOK DOES NOT MESS AROUND. The intensity of the gore and violence brings to mind biblically apocalyptic anime like Neon Genesis Evangelion and Devilman Crybaby. I knew I would be enraptured by this book as soon as I had read the synopsis, and I was right. Even though there is a lot of focus placed on character, the pace was quick and relentless. AJW's prose is OUTSTANDING -- this book occupies a place between YA and literary in my mind.

I STRONGLY appreciate the ways in which this book faced LGBTQ+ topics. It was refreshing to read about a trans boy who experienced dysphoria in ways that are different from the common narrative (Benji doesn't mind his period, or cares to flatten his chest). Benji's dysphoria and transness is still explored in incredibly complex and raw ways. This story also has a realistic take on the found family trope. I love trope subversions, so seeing a "found family" that was full of conflict, hatred, lashing out, and was basically what a group of young adults would actually act and look like in the kind of apocalyptic scenario they were in was so delightful for me. It was realistic!

I'm giving this 5 stars because I could not put it down, but I do want to mention that I found the ending a little bit underwhelming. Everything leading up to the last handful of pages had my jaw dropped. It's hard to fault the ending though, because the narrative went to some extreme places, so I'm not sure what could have made it more impactful. Keep in mind I'm really only talking about the last few pages, after the dust of the climax has settled.

Overall I am hugely impressed by this debut and cannot wait to see what else AJW produces! 👏👏👏

5 star storytelling right here and an epic debut too! I loved this book, the style, and the characters and the viscerality in the prose too!

A full 5/5 stars for Hell Followed With Us! The writing was amazing, the story and characters were GRIPPING, I couldn’t put it down. Even on the parts that had me cringing (I’m squeamish and easily grossed out so sometimes the body horror was a little Much) I just HAD to keep reading.

This book was stunning and horrific, terrifying and brutal, but with moments of hope that these characters (and readers) cling to in their terrible times. I highly highly recommend reading this but with careful research into the content warnings.

This book was a fantastic YA horror! A bit gory and gruesome for me at times, but I was absolutely gripped by the story and it kept me guessing until the end. Full review on TikTok at https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTdcoDr5G/?k=1

4.75 Stars

Thank you to Netgalley, Peach Tree Press, and Pride Book Tours for an arc of this book!

Years after the Angels released "The Flood" virus and destroyed most of humanity in the name of God, Benji escapes their clutches just after being infected with the Seraph strain that will change his body and let him control others changed by The Flood. Benji finds the past LGBTQ+ Center and the survivors there, including Nick. They have to work together to try and use Benji's new situation for good...and make the Angels pay.

This book is phenomenal! It is dark and twisted and Benji is absolutely feral. He is a trans boy who grew up in an extremely religious community and the internalized hate he has to fight in order to survive is incredible. He goes through so much but he absolutely bites back and that's what I love so much.

I also love Nick and the others at the ALC. They are really interesting characters. I wish Nick had more pov chapters because I absolutely loved those parts!

The world building in this is really good if a little fast. I do wish I had a little more of this story because I just loved it so much and wanted to live inside for longer.

This is an incredible post-apocalyptic tale about queer resistance and taking your world back from oppressors. I loved every second of it.

Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Deadnaming, Body horror, Violence, Gun violence, and Gore
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt

Post-apocalyptic and horrific throughout, but also simultaneously sweet and soft. The celebration of queerness and the determination to embrace the way it changes and others us runs a lovely parallel to Benji's journey with the Flood. The chord of finding fulfillment and belonging within queer community even among the ashes of a broken society and in the face of hatred that this book is built around is timely and will be, I think, moving to anyone who is queer in this day and age. That White manages to pluck your heartstrings and say 'aww' at the tenderness of youth amidst the backdrop of viral death and destruction is admirable and a nice reminder that there really is always hope.

OK folks, heads up: you better have a strong stomach to deal with this one. I am frankly shocked that this is a YA book. I am decidedly not in the YA age group, and there were multiple occasions reading this book where I got physically ill, it was so graphic. So I guess that’s a compliment to the author; I mean, he wanted to provoke a visceral reaction, and succeeded. Between the gory bits and the religious cult’s hate filled psychosis it’s a lot to deal with. But taking the real life prejudice and bigotry of religion against LGBTQ+ people and translating it into a very literal war was excellently done. And the detail and little touches, like showing Nick stimming, were quite realistic. So as long as you’ve got a strong stomach and head to deal with this heavy subject matter then you should read this book.
Oh, and I’m not listing trigger warnings, because I don’t even know where to start 🤷🏼‍♀️

Thank you to NetGalley & Peachtree Teen for this advanced reader copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This was a breathtaking dystopian novel dealing with religious trauma and religious cults with a phenomenal queer cast and so much intensity.

Benji, a trans boy who is on the run from the religious cult he escaped from. They have made him a deadly monster with their bioweapon for mass distraction and he is dying from the inside out.

This is a world where monsters walk among them, made from religious zealots masquerading as godly people. When Nick, the leader of a group of teens from the lgbtq+ community center, known as the ALC happens upon Benji, he takes him in even though he knows his secret.

Even still, after all that Benji has been through, he has a hard time breaking through all of the mindset drilled into him from his upbringing. He doesn’t want to be the monster that they have made him though. Thinking that he and Nick and the rest of the ALC will be working together to right injustices the zealots have thrust upon the world, Benji has no idea of Nick’s deception; the real reason he has included Benji into their group.

This is such a poignant read with intense prose and messages. The world building is incredible. The amount of great representation in this book is a pure joy to see. There is seriously so much to this book. Adventure and found family. I loved it!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

What a hauntingly captivating novel from White. This was a page turner from the very first page. I thought this was well done and very striking. I would happily recommend this!

First Impressions: Most people in my book committee hated this book. As one of few Trans ppl in the group I felt it was important I read it even though I’m not a big fan of the horror genre. (so I thought)

I was anxious about getting triggered by the violence & gore of this book. However, It didn’t faze me. I consider myself someone especially sensitive to that kind of thing and I wasn’t impacted by it in this book at all. I think this is because visually I was imagining the adventure time animation style when gore was mentioned and that helped me. As a trans person who went to catholic school and saw the way the “most religious” (read mean nuns) interact behind closed doors. This was a book I NEEDED to read. AJW is an autistic Trans man and writes his characters with so much love you can feel it. As a white queer author he kept his MC’s from his own perspective and added ethnic and racial diversity to the side characters in the ideal way I want white authors to include people like me. We (Queer POC) exist but dont talk for us, put us in your story but don't pretend to know what we are thinking. I understand that some catholic people may be offended by the way the cult in this book is so closely linked to catholicism but I urge those people to consider what its like being in those institutions as a queer/trans individual. How you have to listen to hatred about who you are every sunday as if that's gospel. How it makes you hate yourself from the inside out. As a queer teen I prayed to G-d to make me different more than once, kids who have had this experience deserve this book.

AJW had neopronouns used consistently throughout the book (Xe/Xem/Xir)
He had criticism’s about cisgender queer folks ( something we need SO MUCH MORE OF in the LGBTQ+ community) He showed our MC Benji, a trans boy who didn’t feel the need to bind. As a Trans non binary person who wants to be read as more masculine without changing my body this is like life changing stuff to read. There's no one way to be Trans and AJW gives us so much to examine while writing beautifully.

Wow wow wow. This book was phenomenal and the perfect read after binging the new season of Stranger Things. White managed to create an apocalyptic atmosphere so gruesome and paranormal with monsters created from the bioweapon known as "The Flood". The story starts with Benji running away from the religious cult he was raised in. From the start this story is fast paced and immediately immerses you into this horrific scene of a young trans boy who just lost his father; the parent who accepted him and wanted to see him safe and free from the cult. From that moment the story keeps a quick pace, dragging out the right moments to build suspense. But overall it was very fast paced and hard to put down. You wanted to know what was going to happen next.
I am a reader who struggles to picture things visually in her mind but White was detailed and it was easier for me to create an image of the setting, the monsters, and characters. The writing in this story was so thought out and beautiful. The use of romantic and flowery writing in a dark horror story was so impactful to me as a reader. I absolutely loved it.

The descriptions in this book are absolutely to die for! The author forces you right into the pages and it feels like you’re there. I could feel the anger coursing through every line, and I loved it. The traumatized Sunday School kid in me healed a bit as I read this

If the song Antichrist by The 1975 was a book, it would be this one. I don't know how to explain it, but both the song and the book scratch at the same very specific spot in my brain.

This is not a perfect book. Yet, somehow, that fact seems to only enhance the effect of this story. This is such a gory and horrifying story, but at the same time, it feels so healing. It’s such an honest exploration of how deep the consequences of our choices, both good and bad, can reach and how many people they can impact. How even good people can make bad decisions, or how the “right” decision is not always the best one. As someone who doesn't have half of the lived experiences of these characters, I have to say this is where the author excels—everything feels so real, so possible, so raw, that you, as a reader, can't help but lean into Benji's rage and root for him to do his worst.

My only real criticism is that I think the few chapters we get from secondary characters’ POVs don’t add anything to the story; however, they don’t detract from it either. Also, I could have made it with fewer Bible quotes, but there's something so precise and so cruelly accurate about the way the author uses religion here that, in the end, I didn’t mind it.

Lastly, I would have loved to get more information about what the Judgement Day was and what actually happened. Consider this my plea for Andrew to write a prequel novella walking us through it. Please? PLEASE??? I NEED TO KNOW!

*incomprehensible screaming* (affectionate)

"Do you believe in God?
—I do, please stop, there's so much blood"

READ THE CONTENT WARNINGS. They are not a joke. Take them seriously. This book is as brutal as it is brilliant, and it is filled with potentially disturbing imagery and triggers. It is not for everyone. Please, please, please I am begging you to READ THE CONTENT WARNINGS.

Okay, got that? Good.

This book will not leave my head; I am paying it rent, and I don't even care. Hell Followed with Us wrecked me in the best kind of way. It tore me to pieces and then—gently, lovingly—sewed the pieces back together. It beckoned me forward and held me close, tenderly ripping my heart from my chest and holding it in the space between us. It was an intensely intimate experience, and I will return to it, over and over, until I know it the way the sun knows the horizon, the way the moon knows the stars. Memories of lines, scenes, emotions, haunt my waking hours—the imagery, the feeling, the hollow ache of it all.

I loved everything about this book. It is gloriously nasty and horrific. I have read it twice now, and I still cannot describe just how much this book means to me. It is everything. I want to read it again immediately. I loved it the first time, I loved it endlessly more the second. Never have I reread a book so quickly. Never has a book hit so much harder the second time around. Never has a book felt more like a home.

Hell Followed with Us is a brilliant debut. It blew away every expectation I had. Andrew's masterful use of prose, complex and delightful characters, and incredible worldbuilding come together to craft a story that will pull readers in and stay with them for a long time. I have never read anything like it, and I desperately hope to see more books like this in the future.

So, what is it about?

"If they want their monster, make them suffer for it."

Benji was raised by Angels: the Christian fundamentalist cult that unleashed Armageddon via the Flood, a powerful bioweapon capable of wiping out billions in a matter of days. If you're lucky, the Flood will kill you, and quick—new bones growing through your lungs, organs liquefying into black sludge, your skull splitting open to accommodate a new set of teeth. If you're not… you become a Grace: a holy warrior of God. An abomination made of ruined corpses held together and kept alive by the very virus that destroyed them.

Wanting nothing to do with the Angels and their genocidal grab for salvation, Benji runs away, finding safety and community for the first time in the ALC—Acheson's LGBTQ+ Center. But Benji doesn't have long before he transforms into Seraph: the six-winged monster the Angels created to wipe out what little remains of humanity. Benji's determined to keep Seraph out of the Angel's hands and to not become the "perfect weapon" of God he was intended to be, but the Angels won't take no for an answer.

"What gets me most of all, though, is that everybody here is a nonbeliever. All of them. Not a single one believes in the Angelic Movement. Not a single one has given themselves to God in the exact way the Angels demand it. Every person is someone I've been taught to hate since I first stepped foot in New Nazareth."

The characters in this book are amazing. Hell Followed with Us has some of the most nuanced and complex characters I've ever seen. They're so well-developed that it's easy to imagine them as real people, to believe that they have lives outside of the plot of the story rather than existing for the sake of the narrative. I really appreciated the diverse representation within the ALC, which felt very authentically true to a queer youth center surviving the apocalypse. Religion is also dealt with in a nuanced and sensitive way, especially when it comes to Benji's struggle with his own faith. Even the characters I would willingly and happily hunt for sport are still given depth, still humanized even in their monstrosity. Which is horrifying. And brilliant.

"Listen to me. My name is Benjamin Woodside. I'm gay and trans as hell, I am a boy, my pronouns are he/him, and I am a goddamn person."

Benji is a love letter written to angry, trans kids who never wanted to fight the world but weren't given a choice. He goes through so much growth and change that it's impossible to say much about him without risking spoilers. He is soft and gentle and sweet and kind, but he is also a raging, feral, monstrous creature who can and will commit violent murder. Benji is a single thin thread away from snapping at any given moment, and, like, I get it. Same, dude. And he only gets more feral as the Flood rampages through his body, turning him from tiny boy into giant disgusting flesh thing. And despite all that, he wants so badly to be good (he talks about it at least 33 times), and he is. He is.

"Also, please note that at least two boys are devastatingly in love with this giant rotting monster, and I think that's pretty cool." -Andrew via Instagram

"He understood the wild look in its eyes when it saw something it could protect, because he feels the same way every time someone comes to him for help."

Nick is my favorite character in HFWU, and probably also my favorite character in anything. His chapters completely gutted me. His narration just hits different, and I related to it in so many ways. Nick is trying so hard. He is desperate to keep the ALC alive and safe, even if it comes at the expense of his own wellbeing. He is also the source of my first ever healthy coping mechanism. The lizards, the lizards . I have made so many bead lizards now, and I love them so much.

"Nick holds the knife out to me, the blade between his dirty, bruised fingers. He trusts me. Even after seeing the letter, even knowing what I'll become.
I take the handle."

Nick and Benji's relationship is so important to me for so many reasons. I won't say much more because it's really something you need to experience for yourself, but despite the bead lizards and the bobby pins and the laughter and the bandages, I have to agree with Andrew on this:

"in honor of Valentine's day, i bestow the knowledge that the most romantic moment in hell followed with us (in my mind at least) is when the love interest barely convinces the viscera-covered, rage-feral, half-rotted protagonist to not murder him :')" -Andrew via Twitter

That is all.

"No, I should be the one saying that. I should be thanking her, Nick, and the ALC. For this, and the bobby pins, and the hands holding me upright, and the people I saved and who saved me. Those are the things I would burn down the Angels for."

Found family is one of my favorite tropes, and there is so much of that here. I love the ALC. See Chapter 25 for the scene I desperately want to talk about here but can't because spoilers.

"It. I can't keep saying it. That's not right. I want to press my hands to its, their, their skin, reach into their organs the way Theo brought the flesh to his lips, whisper to them, We're the same thing, we're the same, can you tell?"

As much as I adore the other relationships in the book, Benji's relationship with the Graces is my favorite. The way Benji interacts with these horrific body-horror monstrosities is so loving and gentle. He calls to them. He whispers that it's okay, that he's here, that he's scared too. He sees who they are underneath all the rotting flesh, afraid and in pain and deserving of love and compassion and help. He holds them, he loves them. And the Graces in turn curl around him, protective and seeking comfort at the same time. They come to him like moths to a flame; look to him like flowers turning towards the sun; cling to him like a child to a parent, trusting him to take care of them. It's precious.

And to end it off, I leave you with couple quotes from Salvador because xe is a treasure:

"I'm super trans. Like, an honestly heretical amount of trans."

"I think we're in a situation where eating the rich is not only allowed but acceptable, encouraged, and part of a well-rounded diet. Essential vitamins and minerals, you know."

If you read a single book this year, make it this one.

I received an ARC from Netgalley and Peachtree Teen in exchange for an honest review.


Original review posted 03/15:

*incomprehensible screaming* (affectionate)

Proper review to come whenever I manage to be remotely coherent about this book. I cannot form a single sentence that makes any sense right now because I have Too Many Feelings, but I acquired a physical arc today, which is genuinely one of the best things that's ever happened to me, so I'm going to go read it again.