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After the Fire
De Will Hill
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An Edgar Award Finalist!
An Amazon Best Book of 2018!!
The things I've seen are burned into me, like scars that refuse to fade.
Before, she lived inside the fence. Before, she was never allowed to leave the property, never allowed to talk to Outsiders, never allowed to speak her mind. Because Father John controlled everything—and Father John liked rules. Disobeying Father John came with terrible consequences.
But there are lies behind Father John's words. Outside, there are different truths.
Then came the fire.
"Genuinely different...thrilling and spellbinding!"—Patrick Ness, #1 New York Times bestelling author
"The gripping story of survival and escape...It will keep you up late until you get to the very end."—Maureen Johnson, New York Times bestselling author of Truly Devious
Actions du livre
Commencer à lireInformations sur le livre
After the Fire
De Will Hill
Description
An Edgar Award Finalist!
An Amazon Best Book of 2018!!
The things I've seen are burned into me, like scars that refuse to fade.
Before, she lived inside the fence. Before, she was never allowed to leave the property, never allowed to talk to Outsiders, never allowed to speak her mind. Because Father John controlled everything—and Father John liked rules. Disobeying Father John came with terrible consequences.
But there are lies behind Father John's words. Outside, there are different truths.
Then came the fire.
"Genuinely different...thrilling and spellbinding!"—Patrick Ness, #1 New York Times bestelling author
"The gripping story of survival and escape...It will keep you up late until you get to the very end."—Maureen Johnson, New York Times bestselling author of Truly Devious
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After the Fire is an incredibly engrossing novel that had me absolutely captivated from the first page. It is a complex psychological thriller that is loosely inspired by the Waco Siege - a real life stand-off between armed authorities and members of a religious sect. Its not a novel that actively attacks Christianity, but instead provides a thoughtful and sensitive look at how faith can be twisted and turned into something negative. It also explores what it is like to live in a compound like this, exploring the mentality of those who choose this lifestyle and the fear of the outside world that is indoctrinated in them.Because of this, there may be elements of this novel that are disturbing to some readers. Although not graphic, the book does contain references to sexual abuse, child abuse and gun violence. You have been warned.The chapters of the book are relatively short and always easy to follow. They focus on Moonbeam - a teenage survivor of a compound that is raided in the opening chapter. The chapters that follow all take place either "Before" or "After" the fire of the title, slowly revealing the events that lead up to both the siege and, prior to this, the loss of Moonbeam's faith. The chapters are non-linear, but the story slowly does start to come together to form a complete sequence of events that cover the entirety of Father John's stint as the leader of the Legion.Although the opening chapter does reveal who the survivors of the siege are, the novel still retails its tension surprisingly well. Moonbeam's therapy gradually reveals the terrible things that she witnessed while in the compound, unearthing twist after twist as the story progresses. This gradual escalation was really effective, as I was never sure entirely what would happen to characters. I was left with a gnawing fear about what being "banished" really entailed, and what Father John was hiding in the basement of the Big House. Moonbeam also proves to sometimes be an occasionally unreliable narrator, eventually revealing that certain events didn't quite play out the way that she first claimed.While the novel relied on tension more than action to carry the story, this did mean that it was a fantastic character study. I quickly fell in love with Moonbeam. Despite her traumatic experiences she's still brave, sarcastic and a lot smarter than the adults in the novel give her credit for. The contrast between her and the other survivors is also fascinating, as the book details the shift in power that took place after the fire. Characters that were frightening inside the fence soon find their roles reversed on the outside.Yet the thing I enjoyed most about the story was the interactions between Moonbeam and the adults in her sessions. Her growing relationship with Doctor Hernandez and Agent Carlyle is really heartwarming, beginning with Moonbeam's mistrust of "the Governments" and following her as she gradually starts to open up to them. Their reactions to her story felt very human and loved their different approaches towards helping her to come to terms with her trauma.All in all, this book was an excellent read and one that I'd recommend. While it's not always a pleasant novel to read, the plot and characters are gripping and it will certainly appeal to fans of psychological thrillers who are looking for something a little different.
Rating: 5I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.There was a fire, a terrible fire with gunshots and people dying all around her. But Moonbeam made it out. Now she has to figure out a life outside of the compound, outside of Father John's control, all while holding two secrets inside her that refuse to let her go.The opening is so powerful, it had me sucked in right away. Hill then brilliantly uses the trope of Before and After to build up the suspense. Before takes readers back to the events leading up to the fire of the title, while After details the life of Moonbeam after everything she has known is gone.Moonbeam is a great strong female narrator fighting to get her life back and help her fellow survivors while trying to deal with the two secrets inside her. She is telling her story to two other great characters, a psychologist and an agent, and readers get inside her head and her feelings through the first person narration.The very end felt a little pat, but I loved it anyway.This is a well-written, suspenseful look at a cult and how someone tries to rebuild their life when they suddenly find themselves on the outside.
Rating: 3This is a book that I wanted to like. In fact, I was drawn to it because I had started seeing this book every where. Ok, the thing about "cult" books is that the cult leader has a big commanding presence. For me, I didn't really experience that from Father John. Yeah, he was crazy but he did not capture nor keep my attention. As I was reading, I kept waiting for the story to start. Somehow, it did not really sink in that the story had started with Moonbeam in therapy explaining the events leading up to her escape from the cult. I had trouble really staying in the moment while reading. After getting a third of the way into the story, I did skip ahead to the midway point. From here I started reading again but only got a few chapters done. Finally, I just "passed go" and proceeded to read the last dozen chapters of the story. It was here that I actually felt a connection to Moonbeam and the story and I felt the tide turn some with my feelings towards this book. Sadly, this book did not do anything for me.
Rating: 2When the government storms the Lord's Legion compound, only a handful of children survive the deadly fire. Moonbeam, one of the survivors, find herself in a psychiatric facility being questioned by Dr. Hernandez and Agent Carlyle. Moonbeam is scared, overwhelmed, and feeling guilt over the raid and her survival. Slowly, she begins to open up, telling stories of her life before the fire.This book was hard to put down. I loved that the author tackled the aftermath of the raid and fire. The psychiatry was fascinating. Moonbeams internal struggles felt completely real. It was hard to believe that she wasn't based on a real survivor's account. Highly recommended.
Rating: 5I wasn’t sure that I’d like this book. It wasn’t a subject I was particularly interested in and I had never read anything by the author so I was reluctant to read this. I looked at the chapters and they alternated between before and after. I usually don’t like books that combine future and past. However, the author used this present and past technique to weave this unsettling tale into a fascinating story based on real events. I loved this book. It was beautifully written and was gripping from the beginning until the very end. The emotions of all the characters are exquisitely portrayed. You can feel the love, the hate, the fear, the strength and the weakness of each character and his or her feelings which produces a rich and touching tale. When thinking about cults, religious or otherwise, it is difficult to understand how followers are recruited and retained. This story shows the difficulty in maintaining hold over a group. It shows how evil people can twist and bend every fact to serve their own purpose and control people with fear and bullying tactics. I know this is fiction but it portrays the danger inherently in following false profits in cults and groups such as Scientology. It’s a chilling tale that makes me want to do further research into what happened with the Branch Davidians. This was an interesting read and I thoroughly enjoyed it.. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Rating: 5