Center for Teaching & Learning

In the near future, a genocidal, ultra-religious cult has wiped out most of Earth’s population. This cult, called the Angels, has raised Benji, a transgender boy who’s been injected with a virus called Seraph. Seraph is slowly overtaking Benji’s body and turning him into a monster. He escapes from the cult and runs into Nick, the leader of the Acheson LGBTQ+ Center, or the ALC. The ALC is barely surviving and wants to take down the cult, but they need Benji’s help. Will the ALC and Benji survive? Will Benji and Nick put aside their past and learn to work together? Or will it all go to hell?

Hell Followed With Us is not a happy, feel-good story. It’s death, destruction, and trying to get through life. Andrew Joseph White crafts a brutally beautiful tale of the queer struggle and the rage that can accompany this struggle. His crafting of the narrative makes it an easy 9.5 out of 10.

White is a master of descriptive language and gore, with vivid and vulgar descriptions of Benji’s transformation. I don’t usually like visceral books, but I could not put it down. Throughout the novel, there are unseen twists and turns, which augment the reading experience. But the fast pace and sensational language are not all this book has to offer. It also features a realistic portrayal of one character’s experience in the LGBTQ+ community.

The world of this novel is apocalyptic. Corpses lurk around every corner. Killers roam the streets. A virus runs rampant across Earth. The truly scary thing, however, is this all seems possible. In the world of Hell Followed With Us, the planet is still recovering from the effects of climate change: it hasn’t snowed in years, and the summers are deadly hot. With the current climate crisis, human intolerance, and violence, a murderous cult doesn’t feel too far off . from a possible future.

But there is some twisted sort of hope in this blood-stained world, however. While change is irreversible, it’s up to us to choose how we deal with it. Benji is shifting into a monster, but that doesn’t stop him from trying to do what’s best for his friends. And while we all make mistakes, that is our nature. We can learn and grow from our past errors, as this book shows. This hope rising from the carnage sparked a light in me.

This book is a brutal, dark, and terrifying rebellion that will linger deep inside readers when finished. But there is optimism inside the representation, the characters, and their story arcs. All these things keep us clutching that small spark of hope.

And maybe, just maybe, it’ll all work out in the end.

Ori

Peachtree Teen, 416 pages