Hell Followed with Us (2022) Parents Guide: Is the book OK for kids?

This novel contains no explicit sexual content or intercourse. The relationship between Benji and Nick is built on emotional vulnerability, shared trauma, and tender moments including several scenes of kissing and holding one another for comfort. More significant is the background context of the Angels of the New Dawn cult, which enforces rigid gender roles and heteronormativity. Benji was formerly betrothed to a girl against his will, and the cult views his body as a reproductive vessel to be controlled. This…

The violence is extreme, unrelenting, and characterized by intense body horror and graphic gore. Benji’s transformation into a bioweapon involves his skin splitting, bones elongating, and extra organs growing in visceral detail throughout the novel. Combat scenes feature characters being torn apart, dismembered by monsters known as Graces, and shot with high-caliber weaponry. Benji eventually uses his shifting form to slaughter enemies, with the text dwelling on the sensation of teeth, claws, and blood. The novel…

Strong profanity is frequent throughout the book, including numerous uses of the F-word and other vulgarities used by the teenage protagonists in high-stress survival situations. More central to the narrative is the use of linguistic abuse by the antagonists. Members of the Angels of the New Dawn frequently deadname Benji and use transphobic slurs to dehumanize him. These slurs are presented as evidence of the cult's cruelty and the protagonists' struggle for identity. The language is sharp and reflects the…

Substance use is present but remains a minor element of the story's survivalist backdrop. Characters occasionally use scavenged alcohol for both recreation and as a coping mechanism for the trauma of the apocalypse. There is also a scene involving the use of improvised or stolen medication to manage pain and the physical toll of Benji's transformations. Because the world has collapsed, there is no formal medical infrastructure, leading to the use of whatever chemicals the characters can find. The narrative does…

Religious abuse and transphobia are the spine. The Angels of the New Dawn are a doomsday evangelical cult that released the Flood to purge the unrighteous; they consider Benji's transness a sickness and his body their property. The book deals directly with conversion-style coercion, a father complicit in his child's abuse, and the specific horror of a community that says it loves you while remaking you. Against that, the Acheson LGBTQ+ Center crew - including Nick, who is autistic and written with genuine care …