Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White is a YA novel about a trans boy named Benji. Benji is trying to save what remains of the world from the Christian cult that wants to destroy it. The year of the setting is unclear. Themes in the story will be relatable for those of us who spent 2020 masked and sheltering in place. The premise of the setting is simple – a cult released a plague on the world and killed a solid chunk of the population. That renders a post-apocalyptic setting where survivors wear masks and worry about infection.
The flood infection turns its victims into shambling, Cronenberg masses of flesh, teeth, and bones. The premise builds on the real experiences many of us had. It plays on fears of infection and scarcity. Then it propels them to the next level. How? By introducing upsetting body horror components.
To compound the horror, Benji has been infected. He has an enhanced, more advanced form of the disease that the cult manufactured. The infection was done deliberately. The goal is for Benji to herald the next phase of destruction. The clock is ticking on Benji’s transformation. There are upsetting transformations that unfold as the story progresses. Benji’s emotions (specifically anger) run wild under the Flood’s influence.
The novel has a compelling cast of diverse characters. There are a variety of gender identities, ethnicities, and sexual orientations present. I was delightfully surprised by the neopronoun representation. One of the main characters offers queer and neurodivergent representation. I love to see more explicitly autistic characters.
I wouldn’t describe Hell Followed With Us as scary. It is definitely tense and absolutely counts as horrifying. The level of description and depth employed for the infected is incredibly immersive.
Overall I give it 5 stars.
A non-exhaustive list of content warnings that apply that I picked up on: Domestic violence. Parental Death. Homophobia. Transphobia. Religious Cult. Body Horror.
