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smalltimereadsAll three library books I got this go-around are small press! A nice coincidence.
Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White is published by Peachtree Publishing Company, which specializes in children's/MG/YA books.
Hell Followed With Us is about a trans boy escaping his religious fundamentalist community and finding a new family with other queer people. It's also about the end of the world, and about body horror. I really liked the horror elements of the book and how it was only partially explained how the world got to be the way it is- everyone already knows, so why waste too much time on exposition when you're trying to just make it through the day? Obviously there is some exposition, but I thought it was spread out pretty evenly and not too obvious.
I liked how Benji's dysphoria was based less on how his body actually was, and more in how other people perceived him- there are many ways to be trans, and it's good to see that variety. I loved how his views on his body evolved as his body changed to become ever more monstrous, too. All the descriptions of bodies changing and rotting and breaking were very well done- body horror is one of those things where I really enjoy it unless it hits certain notes, at which point I am out of there, and this hit only the good notes for me.
I think the real issue that kept me from liking it as much as I wanted to is just that I have mostly outgrown YA at this point. I liked the characters in Hell Followed With Us, and the plot was solid and the horror was too, but I'm in my 30s now and even though a lot of YA books still have plots that interest me, they just don't hit the same way, even if I think they're good. It's just that I think they're good, and not great or transcendent or whatever. It's not a flaw in the book, just a difference between it and the audience of me.
That said, I always love queer monster books, and this one really leaned into the monster aspect. I'll probably check out Andrew Joseph White's next book.
Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White is published by Peachtree Publishing Company, which specializes in children's/MG/YA books.
Hell Followed With Us is about a trans boy escaping his religious fundamentalist community and finding a new family with other queer people. It's also about the end of the world, and about body horror. I really liked the horror elements of the book and how it was only partially explained how the world got to be the way it is- everyone already knows, so why waste too much time on exposition when you're trying to just make it through the day? Obviously there is some exposition, but I thought it was spread out pretty evenly and not too obvious.
I liked how Benji's dysphoria was based less on how his body actually was, and more in how other people perceived him- there are many ways to be trans, and it's good to see that variety. I loved how his views on his body evolved as his body changed to become ever more monstrous, too. All the descriptions of bodies changing and rotting and breaking were very well done- body horror is one of those things where I really enjoy it unless it hits certain notes, at which point I am out of there, and this hit only the good notes for me.
I think the real issue that kept me from liking it as much as I wanted to is just that I have mostly outgrown YA at this point. I liked the characters in Hell Followed With Us, and the plot was solid and the horror was too, but I'm in my 30s now and even though a lot of YA books still have plots that interest me, they just don't hit the same way, even if I think they're good. It's just that I think they're good, and not great or transcendent or whatever. It's not a flaw in the book, just a difference between it and the audience of me.
That said, I always love queer monster books, and this one really leaned into the monster aspect. I'll probably check out Andrew Joseph White's next book.
