This book… had me hooked from the first pages. My god how amazing it was. Moonbeam is a Survivor of a very traumatic event, and also a Survivor of a very Dangerous preacher, with a very Dangerous mind. I loved the writing, I loved the characters and i loved particularly the realistic aspect of this book. We all know some people are endoctrinated in sects all over the world and it was so beatifully writen that i had a feeling this story would help someone somewhere…

This novel was amazing! I might venture to say it is one of my favorites this year. The setting and plot are very original and interesting. The characters are very well thought out and written realistically from a teenage girl, to a charismatic cult leader to a sympathetic FBI agent. While the alternating timeline is popular, it seems entirely necessary in this context since we would not get the full force of the trauma endured without the current sense of relief and uncertainty and damage. While it is a harrowing story, it is not as gruesome or graphic as it could have been which is a good thing for readers who might not have picked up this novel since it is a must read!

A very strong, interesting read for cult thrillists. The plot was thought-provoking and exciting and follows the main character Moonbeam after she escapes the cult after a raid on her compound. Secrets, lies, and deceit keep the story flowing towards a very strong ending. Very well done book from a great author!

This book is told in retrospect since the main character, Moonbeam, has been rescued from the cult already. The book is inspired by the events of Waco, so if you are familiar with that then you already have an idea of what kind of a rescue this was.

This story had great pacing and the author, Hill, did a good job building up the suspense by going back in forth in the timeline. Hill perfectly matched up the current and past storyline which kept me captivated while reading. There were so many horrific events that Moonbeam went through and witnessed that it was hard to read at times. This book was equal parts heartbreaking, inspiring, thrilling, and sad.

It is so important to keep in mind that the stuff happening in this book actually happens in real life. I find cults so fascinating because it is the complete letting go of your power and sense of self to another person who you are just believing is good, honest and everything they say they are. The characters do such a great job of showing this to be true and showing how devastating the results are. I think anyone would like this book but obviously if you have an interest in cults than this is one you definitely need to pick up. If you are just a fan of contemporaries than I still suggest this book to you as well because it is a beautifully done story.

I found After the Fire to be a difficult read, and that's why I think it was so good. The book is told in two different timelines- before the fire and after the fire. I loved the main character, Moonbeam, who is a member of a crazy cult where people are brainwashed into believing they can never leave the property and must never talk to Outsiders. Moonbeam is constantly surrounded by characters who are the worst of the worst, and Lord John is by far one of the worst characters (in a good way) I've "met" in a long time. Once a fire destroys the cult's compound, there is an investigation and everyone learns just how sinister this cult is and Moonbeam is forced to confront this terrible life she was living. The ending was incredibly satisfying and Moonbeam's journey is so interesting, difficult, and realistic. If you don't usually read YA titles, give this one a chance because it is WONDERFUL.

5 out of 5 stars for After the Fire by Will Hill.

When I saw that this book was about a cult, I was instantly intrigued. I have watched documentary after documentary about the goings on of various cults, and I knew I wanted to read this. While reading, I couldn't help thinking about what the people involved in this cult experienced on a day to day basis. Reading their various traditions and punishments that seemed normal and everyday to them, but appalling to me. It made me reflect on how someone could blindly follow the directions of others, and think that their actions were right.

This was a very well written story that changed tenses throughout the chapters. I was connected with the characters, and would love to read another book from this author!

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

When I picked this book up, I didn’t realize it was Young Adult. I think Hill does a fabulous job of recreating a cult society for a young adult audience, but it left me wanting more details. There is a lot of alluding to wrongdoings which leaves it lacking the details and imagery that could have made this book amazing. The books is loosely based historical fiction with a lot of parallels to the Branch Davidian religious sect and its leader David Koresh. Hill relabeled to The Holy Church of the Lord’s Legion which is run by The Prophet Father John Parsons. The story is told from the persoective of a teen resident named Moonbeam. The chapters are titled Before and After the reference before and after the standoff with Feds and eventual siege. The book discusses Moonbeams’s experiences at the compound as well as how she is coping and healing in a mental health facitlity after the siege. I really enjoyed this book because I find counterculture fascinating, however the fact that the book was writing for young adults left scenes feeling censored.

This will post to all links in my profile 3/4/2019, as well as the Discord App and Amazon (I will edit with the link to the review when the review is uploaded and approved).

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/review/R198AJYROH3TTM/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

After the Fire by Will Hill tells the story of “Moonbeam (appointed, not actual name)” a seventeen-year-old survivor of Lord Legion cult, which is inspired David Koresh, the Branch Davidian Compound and Waco siege in 1993.

Moonbeam is a child promised to the Lord Legion leader, Father John after her father’s death and mother’s banishment. However, when the government raids the compound the few survivors are taken to a safe location for trauma support and recovery.

The story unfolds in a before and after style, in bits and pieces, as Moonbeam talks to both a federal agent a therapist and during therapy. However, Will does this well without it becoming too confusing or tricky to follow. While Moonbeam is both unsure of her surroundings, what and whom to trust, the story walks a fine line between the "unreliable narrator,” triggered flashbacks of a brainwashed girl coming to grips with her traumatic life, her new reality and piecing it all back together in the current time.

The harrowing details from within the cult include sexual, physical and mental abuse in a system inherently meant to demean each other. Absolute loyalty to Father John and the cults core beliefs was ensured through the psychological breaking and brainwashing of every member. There are many excruciatingly vivid portrayals of abuse that are hard to read at times, but they aren’t forced or added for shock value. They are necessary and I believe a reality within this context. To dance around it or sugarcoat it would have been a disservice.
Father John is portrayed in astonishing detail as charismatic leader that plays on the fears and needs of his followers. He is a narcissistic, self-serving man that exploits those around him to fulfill his own ambitions and ego, which ultimately is his undoing.

Moonbeam’s sessions with the agent and her therapist allow insight into essential parts of the story. First, it provides a first-hand account of life within the cult. Having been there her hole life, the memories and traumas she works through give a depth of humanity to the day-to-day happenings within the Lord Legion.
Secondly, Moonbeam’s sessions with the agent and her therapist, coupled with her internal dialogue provide a greater awareness of how she grappled between what she was brainwashed to believe her entire life versus what she later questions and then steps up to fight through. Hill writes these parts and Moonbeam with a genuine authenticity that garners compassion and empathy for her character.

Moonbeam’s ability to start opening up through the want to help other, younger survivors is a realistic and soft touch by Hill. In a very bleak, often heart-breaking book Moonbeam’s work with other older survivors is a light in the dark.

After the Fire follow’s Moonbeam’s journey from cult member to victim and then to how her character changes over time as she learns to trust, first herself, and then those around her, again. It also deals with the complexity of people. Few are all good or all bad but most are all broken in one way or another and Hill uses this vehicle to discuss redemption, compassion and forgiveness.

Thank you to NetGalley and SourceBooks for the ARC in exchange for a fair Review

This was intense and easy to devour, although it maybe too long for average YA readers. My book lovers at my school loved it as well!

I absolutely loved this book. The instant I hear "cult", I'm already sold. I love how this went back and forth between before and after the fire, slowly but surely giving you a picture of what cult life was like for Moonbeam. I like that it kept us in the dark, but gave us enough information to want us reading more. I thought it was interesting hearing about someone who is in a cult who was somewhat questioning the beliefs. Makes me think about cults in real life and how there are probably many people in the same situation, questioning but can't get out for fear of the repercussions. I'd highly recommend this book if you are at all interesting in cults and the people living within them.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The positives-
I liked Moonbeam, so refreshing to read about a smart and strong female character whose life didn’t revolve around her husband. And I loved the ending.
The “twist” in the book I didn’t see coming, but I thought it worked really well. It was a great display of her strength.
I also enjoyed her relationship with the agent and the doctor.

Now for the reasons I gave this a 3/5.

Great story telling and loved the alternating timeline.

But this really wasn’t an original story.
I thought this was too much of a rip off of what happened in Waco, Texas in 1993. For anyone who knows that story there are too many similarities between that and this book. Perhaps this why this book was directed at young adults who would not be familiar with that story.

I also thought this book was too long, but then somehow the ending seemed rushed. I would have liked a little more at the end and a little less detail throughout the book.

Overall I think it was OK, but not something I would recommend. It seems most loved this book and I’m one of the few that did not.

This is the first book in the long time that had me distracted thinking about it at work.

After the Fire is the story of a girl raised in a cult. The chapters alternate between before and after the fire that destroyed the cult's compound. The author clearly has a deep understanding of how cults work and the way a member of a cult's thought process works. The main character in this book is deeply confused about right and wrong. She struggles to fight her own instincts, both the instinct to trust outsiders, and the instinct to trust the leader that taught her for so many years. I felt such compassion for this girl who was raised in such a complicated situation. This book was so utterly captivating.

This was a very compelling read. It's about the Waco cult and how terrifying cults can be in general. That writing was gripping and the subject matter was short of terrifying. An amazing read.

I truly enjoyed this debut novel. Thanks NetGalley for the advanced read (that I didn’t get to before publish date). I’m a little sad I didn’t read this one as soon as I got it! This was a story that felt equal parts unbelievable and believable all at the same time. I truly enjoyed the way we moved back and forth in time, working through all the events alongside Moonbeam. It was a page turner that I didn’t want to put down.

I had never heard for Will Hill before I chose to read After the Fire and now I would probably read his grocery list. It had been a while since i had read anything other than a romance novel when I stumbled upon After the Fire. First the cover grabbed my attention, and then the blurb snagged me up for good.
I remember the Waco incident. And while I was still a teenager the whole aspect of how it came to be intrigued me. I've always wondered what the people involved felt and how they thought. Hill helped me satisfy some of that curiosity with his book.
After the Fire deals with the aftermath of a fire on a "religious" compound. There are only a few survivors and none over the age of 19. Moonbeam is the main character. She is a 17 year old girl who is one of the two oldest survivors of the fire. She is drowning in guilt. Hill has done an outstanding job in getting into the psyche of Moonbeam.

Seventeen-year-old Moonbeam is one of only a handful of survivors of a terrible battle and fire. She has been a member/prisoner in a cult's compound in the western United States. The story is told from her point of view as she talks to a psychiatrist who is trying to help her deal with the trauma she experienced. She is also being interviewed by an FBI agent who is seeking details of what went on in the final days before the fight between the cult members and agents from the FBI, ATF, and local sheriffs' department. The story was inspired by the author's research into the Branch Davidian Sect.
The novel is well-written and draws the reader in immediately. It should make young readers think about what can make people believe a twisted, charismatic figure like Koresh or Jones.
My opinion is based on the advanced readers copy that I received courtesy of the publisher through NetGalley.

This is an intriguing book from the very beginning. The story goes back and forth from before and after the main character, Moonbeam, escapes a cult. The story describes how she (and others) become absorbed in cults, and the trauma associated with it.
The writing is extremely good and the plot is really interesting and unique.

This book was the first one I started to read from netgalley. Unfortunately, I struggled to really get into this book. It did remind me of the fire in that a successful one requires construction and this book does have that. Smith creates a believable story line and characters that I became invested in. I share his fascination with the phenomenon of religious cults and his book shows another side of the story from the eyes of a child of the cult.

I am not a personal fan of a story shift every chapter but Smith employs is successfully, creating a slow “burn” that picks up the pace as the story moves towards completion. I grew to like and admire Moonbeam and felt her sorrows and triumphs. As a librarian, I’d definitely put this book in my HS fiction section. As a teacher, I’d recommend it to a HS reader looking for a little bit of everything (suspense, horror, love). Finally, as a reader, I did enjoy this book.

This was such a harrowing and emotional peek into life inside a cult. Great character building and plotting. Highly recommend!

Such an intriguing story! I was sucked in to the story and just wanted to find out more about what’s going on. Thrilling and suspenseful and so well done.