Andrew Joseph White encapsulates the idea that no matter how hard you try, you will change-whether that be for good or bad. In his book Hell Followed With Us, a post-apocalyptic horror fiction that deals with themes of religion, growing up, and being an LGBT youth, he emphasizes this idea by using ominous frantic language when talking about the future. This is a fast paced book, filled with betrayal, finding community, and the author's writing style creates an eerie foreboding feeling throughout the book. The main character Benji is a transgender teen who comes from a very religious background, and the story shows his journey accepting himself and finding a community to belong in. This book is not for everyone, as it contains descriptions of gore and religious trauma, but I think it was necessary to show how religion is sometimes used to justify terrible things, and accurately portrays how growing up is not a smooth process. The writing is choppy, which could be seen as a negative, but it is written from the perspective of a teenager facing both the end of the world and unimaginable horrors, so a choppy train of thought makes it seem more real. This book raises issues about how at the end of the world, would humanity unite, or would it be every man for themselves. In the novel, White thought that humanity would form solitary groups that hoard goods and have no care for the wellbeing of others. In this aspect I disagree, because I feel like hardship would make humanity unite and support each other instead of being greedy and making children fight. This book leaves out the possibility that the collapse of the world will bring people closer together, instead saying that the adults will leave everything up to the children to solve. In The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas, this issue is brought up, but with very different results. Thomas thinks that when faced with strife, humans will help each other, unlike White. These two books have very similar themes, and it is interesting to see how each author views the issue. Overall, I thought this was a very well written book, as it explored topics about the end of the world and humanity. I liked how Hell Followed With Us is a stand-alone book, how the ending makes you think about universal issues, and I would recommend this book to anyone who likes books that deal with dark themes and the apocalypse.
Jenna F
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