Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
WOW where to even begin! Without a doubt this is my favorite book of the year so far; I can't remember the last time I read a book in three days. I was absolutely engrossed in every part of this book, and needless to say I could not put it down.
Every one of my boxes were checked off beautifully: interesting characters, a cool setting, immersive worldbuilding and creatures, the list goes on and on. The cast was fully fleshed out, completely fulfilling its promise of an LGBTQ+ cast in spades.
The main character is a queer trans man, and I think that the author's own experience really shone through in him. As a queer trans man myself, I have never felt so seen in a main character the way I felt seen through Benji. As Benji copes with his transformation, there is a through-line that compares his transformation with the feeling of dysphoria. If that connection was made by a cis author, it would have come off as horrifically transphobic. But because a trans author was able to give the comparison the nuance and care it deserved, you end up getting to see this internal narrative of the true pain of being trans that many cis people will never understand.
This story acknowledges that experience, but more than anything, it celebrates it. This book is a celebration for queer youth, and especially trans youth, which is a demographic that needs to be seen now more than ever. This book came out at the exact right time, and I think that anyone with even a passing interest should give it a chance. There are thoughtful explorations of all facets of the trans experience, found family, religious trauma, and probably even more that I'm missing. The story never feels bloated, though, and you always feel like you're in good hands when exploring these topics. The author does a great job with it.
Aside from the great character study of transness, this book also features non-stop action in a gorey, fleshy post-apocalypse. I am generally a very slow reader with a very short attention span, and I pounded this over the span of three days; it goes down QUICK. Please read this book. If I could give it six or ten or twenty stars, I would.
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