Hell Followed with Us

This intense young adult novel follows Benji, a transgender teenager fleeing a destructive cult in a post-apocalyptic world. Infected with a bioweapon that is transforming him into a powerful monster, Benji finds refuge with a group of queer teens at the ALC, led by the enigmatic Nick. The story explores themes of identity, self-acceptance, and fighting oppression, using the 'monster within' as a powerful metaphor for embracing one's true self and unleashing its strength against injustice. Parents should be aware of the prominent body horror, graphic violence, and mature themes of religious fundamentalism, discrimination, and trauma. It's a raw, empowering read for mature teens interested in queer representation within a dark, action-packed dystopian setting.

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A furious, queer debut novel about embracing the monster within and unleashing its power against your oppressors. "A long, sustained scream to the various strains of anti-transgender legislation multiplying around the world like, well, a virus." —The New York Times Sixteen-year-old trans boy Benji is on the run from the cult that raised him—the fundamentalist sect that unleashed Armageddon and decimated the world’s population. Desperately, he searches for a place where the cult can’t get their hands on him, or more importantly, on the bioweapon they infected him with. But when cornered by monsters born from the destruction, Benji is rescued by a group of teens from the local Acheson LGBTQ+ Center, affectionately known as the ALC. The ALC’s leader, Nick, is gorgeous, autistic, and a deadly shot, and he knows Benji’s darkest secret: the cult’s bioweapon is mutating him into a monster deadly enough to wipe humanity from the earth once and for all. Still, Nick offers Benji shelter among his ragtag group of queer teens, as long as Benji can control the monster and use its power to defend the ALC. Eager to belong, Benji accepts Nick’s terms…until he discovers the ALC’s mysterious leader has a hidden agenda, and more than a few secrets of his own. Perfect for fans of Gideon the Ninth and Annihilation. A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year A William C. Morris Award Finalist A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year A YAVA Award Nominee! A Booklist Editors' Choice Selection A BCCB Blue Ribbon Book Named to the ALA Rainbow Roundtable's Rainbow Book List