by Brahidaliz Martinez
Benji escapes the fundamentalist cult he’s been raised in and finds refuge in the Acheson LGBTQ+ center (the ALC). However, he can’t escape the flood rot (the plague that had destroyed the world) that the cult had infected him with. For Benji, a young trans man, time is a luxury. Instead of the privilege to explore his gender and accept himself, he’s faced with a life-threatening situation. He’s slowly transforming into a Grace, a beast meant to eradicate humanity. And the Angels, the members of the cult he had just fled from, intend to use him as their ultimate bioweapon.
As a (recently out) transmasc who has yearned for Queer and trans stories about monstrosity and transformation, I bless Andrew Joseph White for penning the novel of my dreams. Benji’s devastatingly beautiful narrative arc still breaks me after the last page. He learns to not only embrace his monstrosity but to strike back at the people willing to use him for their own means.
However, Benji doesn’t receive the acceptance he’s been deprived of after joining the ALC. His story also tackles the issues within Queer groups and communities. The survivors at the ALC include young adults from various sides of the sexual and gender spectrums, and yet it’s not the ideal escape from the nightmare that is the cult. One of the novel’s moments describes Benji politely declining a binder from another trans man in the ALC. The latter reacts rudely. But there’s Nick, the leader of the ALC (and autistic), who takes Benji in on the condition that he uses the Grace inside him to fight the cult.
Benji falls for Nick over time but restrains himself because of Nick’s mysterious motives. Benji also struggles with his feelings for Theo, his betrothed and abuser. The author does a spectacular job of conveying Benji’s desires to belong and feel loved. For Benji, it’s about surviving with the time he has and retaining his humanity. The Angels want him to complete their apocalyptic plan. The ALC wants him to help them destroy the cult. Benji eventually chooses what he wants for himself and for those he’s come to love.
In real life, not all LGBTQ+ people in the US and other countries can come out and be themselves even in “liberal areas.” Hell Followed With Us unleashes a powerful narrative about surviving and then thriving in a world where you’re either useful to society or discarded.
