Hell Followed with Us

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When I started this… I didn’t know that it was a TRUE HORROR novel, but BOY, DID I FIND OUT. I look forward to reading more from this author! No author has ever scared me like this, AND I LOVED IT, HOLY HELL (pun intended 😂), did I adore it— I love horror because it scares the living hell (I need to stop with the puns, BUT I CAN’T, hahah) out of me, which I LOVE because it makes my TRUE anxiety fade away, & gives me a respite from it. A compelling, powerful, and ultimately reassuring message for teens deep in their own varied versions of misery.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

HELL FOLLOWED WITH US is a book about queer kids trying to live long enough to grow up; the world presented here is often cruel, and so are the people within it. While I love setting things on fire, if any of these topics will burn you, please stay safe. This quote may not be in the published version of this novel, it was copied from the advanced reader’s copy.) The first thing Dad told me—when Mom said I’d see the Lord’s plan for my womanhood eventually, that she’d carve it into me if she had to—he told me I’m a man, and I fought for it, and nobody can take that from me.” I could stop this. I could whisper across this street and make the Angels regret ever laying their hands on me. You ever just want to become the monster everyone is begging you to be? The Monster everyone sees you as because then you'll have the power you claim they have? You'll finally be able to scream out your heart and make them pay for all they have done to you? Yeah. I'm not okay either. That's what this is.This story was about the community fighting war against the Angels, New Nazareth and the bullshit cult and Angels, dystopia etc. The issue is, if I didn’t get a whole depth on the Nazareth World / the Angels, how was I supposed to get a grip on the revenge plot? The whole concept was there, but like I said, the execution was terrible. This authentic story of consuming fury and the power of found family to heal is an excellent choice. . . .”— School Library Journal

One of the bodies is twisted, the leg held at a broken angle, and I can’t tell if the Angels did that or the Flood did. The Flood is cruel. It’ll do some terrible things to a body. The story throws you into the action, right as Benji is escaping something, and you're really left to piece together what exactly is going on, what the state of the world is and what the Angels and the Graces even are. After finishing the story I'm still not quite sure of the full picture.

bottom line: i think a younger audience might get more out of the book than i did. while it does have a lot of gore and violence it is very much YA - from plot structure to character motivations, it's definitely something targeted towards a more teenager-esque audience. Sexual manipulation (consensual during the act, but one party realises they were being used after the fact)

Podfic of petals by moonlightsblue. Language: English Words: 41 Chapters: 1/1 Collections: 2 Comments: 5 Kudos: 7 Bookmarks: 1 Hits: 68 A long, sustained scream to the various strains of anti-transgender legislation multiplying around the world like, well, a virus." —The New York TimesI had to pull a knife to keep from falling into his arms, begging him to forgive the transgression that made him raise a hand against me. He did it to me, he hurt me, and I wanted to apologize.”