In the first few pages, we learn that Benji is a transgender 16 year old boy who is on the run from a Christian death cult who unleashed a plague upon the world in order to bring about Armageddon. They want him, and him specifically. In the rest of the book, we watch him struggle in various ways against the cult and the plague-ridden world they have wrought, with some brave and battle-hardened fellow-queers at his side. Also, one of the characters is unabashedly autistic.

I was entranced by this book’s cover as soon as it showed up to my library, and then drawn in further by the blurb. Once I finally checked it out, it was better than I could have imagined.

This book is definitely YA, and while it may be a little juvenile for adult readers, it is great fun for people of any age. The ending makes any understandable gripe you could have with the rest of it worth it, in my opinion.

Trigger warnings: the entire work is rife with body horror. I did not find it particularly grotesque but may have struggled more if it was a movie instead of a book. There’s also interpersonal violence, arson, transphobia, religious abuse, eco-fascism, self-harm, and vomit throughout. I found it delightfully dark instead of unpleasantly grueling, but YMMV. It is also full of hope and solidarity. If you think you can handle these subjects, when they are directed towards a YA audience, I highly recommend picking it up.

I give it four stars for its quality and five stars for my enjoyment of it.