Number of Pages: 398

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5

Benji is the one that the angels believe will wipe humanity off of the earth once and for all. The cult had already done most of the work with their first bioweapon, the plague, which can turn people into killing monstrosities known as ‘Graces’. The only kink in their plan is that Benji doesn’t want to go along with their world ending scheme. Benji runs away from Achension in hopes to get far away from their grasps and gets taken in by the rag tag group of queer teens and young adults that have made the LGBTQ center in the town right next to the cult's headquarters. What will Benji’s new found family think about him when they discover that he is turning into a bioweapon meant to kill them? Hell Followed With Us tackles the topics of religious trauma, familial abuse, finding one’s self, found family, and fate while also giving readers a great tale of what life in a post apocalyptic city looks like.

The Good

I loved this book so much! I already have plans to read the other book written by Andrew Joseph White and their third book once it comes out. As someone who grew up in a not so healthy religious system and is part of the LGBTQ+ community, this book hit home. The concept was great and the writing matched the concept level. I personally liked the pacing of this book as it really built to the climax at the end while also giving enough action in the middle to hold you over. The characters were fleshed out really well and felt real through their descriptions and their reactions to all the sh*t that comes their way. The scenes in the book were described very well so that I could really picture the area as well as feel the emotions that were felt by everyone involved. Even the futuristic monsters that were a result of a large scale bioweapon were very believable to the point that I would totally believe you if you told me they are walking around after a disaster. White really poured their life’s experience into this book and did not hold back any kind of punches when it comes to how they feel about topics such as religion, gender, relationships, and family which are sometimes tiptoed around.

The Bad

The only part of this book that I didn’t like was the ending. There’s this huge build up and the main problem is solved and then the book just ends. I wish there was an epilogue or something that just gave a look into what everyone is doing a few months or even a year down the line. I want to know how Benji navigates their new body and their relationships with the other main group of characters. How does the group as a whole deal with the happenings at the end of the book? A little blurb at the end of the book that just answers some of those questions would have gone a long way. The fact that it wasn’t included didn’t take much away from the book but it would have just taken it to the next level.

The Favorite (Quotes)

This is another book where I pulled so many quotes but here are some of my top few of my favorites.

“Sharpen your teeth, take up your fire, and let’s do this.” (What a way to start a book.)

“Kind of like the YMCA but even gayer somehow.”

“At least it’s easier to transition when the rest of the world is gone.”

“I’m an asshole. Thanks for the brain rot mom.”

“Nobody is asking to understand, just obey.”

“Do you believe in God?”
“I do please stop, there’s so much blood.”

“I stare out over a crowd of murders. Of slaughterers. Of people who think the only way to heaven is a fucking genocide.”