I am getting so tired of all of the psychological thrillers that are all the rage these days. It seems like that is all that is being published for adult readers. I thought I would step outside my intended space and try a new genre - one not directly aimed at my mature forehead. I'm glad I did.

I don't read much YA, so I am not sure if the dystopian theme has been done to death, but the story was fresh to ME... and that's all I really care about!

I received this book free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion. My thanks to the author, the publisher and Net Galley.

This was a pleasant surprise. I loved how the book was set up. Most of the story deals with mental ramifications of living in a cult for most of your life. Moonbeam would talk with a psychiatrist about a story from her past, which helps the reader see the type of life she lived, and then the psychiatrist would point out that the thing she considered normal was not. This builds up to the night most of the cult dies and why is happened.

There is one character who could have been seen as a villain because he did do villainous things but once away from the cult he is shown as a product of his environment.

There is no romance and that is such a relief. Moonbeam's environment was so unhealthy that no believable romance could come from it.

I'm a little curious to see how Moonbeam deals with living in our world.

After the Fire is the story of a cult’s falling apart, not unlike Waco, but different enough to not be boring. Moonbeam and other young children escaped the compound after a severe fire, killing many of the members. The story oscillates between before and after the fire, all told from Moonbeam’s perspective. Moonbeam is hesitant to trust Outsides, including the psychiatrist helping her adjust to being outside and an FBI agent investigating the cult. Moonbeam gives enough information to keep you interested in what happened, but doesn’t tell the full story of the fire until towards the end – keeping you wanting to read more. Moonbeam is a strong, resilient character who you can’t help but root for. The storytelling is very captivating, and, although the plot moved slowly at times, I was very intrigued as to what happened during the fire. Overall, a solid and compelling story that I enjoyed.

Thanks to Will Hill, Sourcebooks Fire, and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book took me by surprise. I picked it up because it was immediately available on Netgalley (thanks Netgalley!) and it was about a girl who escaped a cult, and cults are naturally fascinating to read about in my opinion, despite their horrors. All that being said, I was a bit wary. Books on such sensitive topics can go downhill really fast, depending on how careful the author is at balancing tragedy with humanity.

Will Hill did a fantastic job of finding that balance. He showed just how messed up Father John and The Lord's Legion was, but also showed how a majority of the people in the cult were good but misled souls. I was able to understand why Moonbeam and her fellow believers struggled to see through the lies of Father John for such a long time. Speaking of Moonbeam, she was a perfectly crafted narrator. At seventeen, she had a lot of the spunk and wit of a teenager, but she also had some childlike views of the world due to her sheltered upbringing. It was heartbreaking to read as she struggled with what was true and what was not, and I often found myself having the same reactions as Dr. Hernandez and Agent Carlyle as she told her story - shock, sadness, anger, pity. But Moonbeam came off as more than just a tragic story. Considering all that she had been through, she was certainly a damaged soul, but the author didn't let that take over her entire character. I think that helped elevate this book from being too bogged down in darkness just for the sake of being dark.

I appreciated in the author's note that Mr. Hill mentioned he had no idea how Moonbeam's story would end until he was writing it. It felt a little neat to me, but I liked it. I don't want to give anything away, but I was grateful that Moonbeam's future path seemed to be a hopeful one.

Fans of Minnow Bly will love this book. This story is told in alternating story lines of life before and after the fire. Moonbeam weaves a tale while staying at a facility after the fire of what life was like before and how she ended up with Father John in his cult. She slowly opens up more and more and comes to grips with what really happened. This gives a great look into the thoughts, ways, and how daily life really truly is inside of a cult! Fantastic writing and wonderful read.

This book was very easy to get into and find yourself lost in the plot. Everything was well written and I enjoyed it.

This is the story of a young girl caught in the middle of an abusive cult. It follows her as she finds her own truth and begins to rebel against the system, despite the fact part of her still believes what she is being told. It’s a traumatic, psychologically captivating and well-written story.

Both Moonbean and the author are right about one thing, that there are some children and adults who are broken by their traumatic experiences. Some things aren’t fixable, can’t be therapeutically resolved and can’t be healed by the power of faith. No matter what the experts say, and they can see the difference in the blank hollow eyes. Moon can see the difference, she can hear the brainwashed devotion and the survivors who may never deviate from the path they were taught to walk.

Perhaps the younger generations are unaware of Waco and similar cult-related tragedies, and this is reminder we all need of the danger cults bring with them. They are always run by megalomaniacs, power and money hungry ruthless con-men and sometimes women.

At this very moment there are men and women on trial for creating yet another so-called self-help environment, which is in fact a cesspool of women coercing other women into being branded (yes branded with the initials of the man at the top) and becoming sex slaves to the head of said wonderful group (Nxivm). Like another successful money leeching cult, who brainwash their members into thinking the mother-ship will be picking them up when the end is nye, Nxivm uses celebrities to bring in the vulnerable.

Unfortunately there are still too many religious cults that cultivate sexual abuse and incest, all in the name of the Lord. Fringe groups living just within the borderlines of legality, thereby the authorities are either powerless to help or ignore the children born and brought into these groups by their parents. The ones who become victims to people turning a blind eye.

This isn’t just a YA read, it can be read by both younger and older readers. In fact I would recommend this book to give someone an idea of what the mindset is within these cults. How the upper echelon manage to control everyone within the group.

It’s a fascinating look at what coercion, fear and religious zealots can do to a young mind. How systemic abuse and sexual abuse has become a normal part of the patriarchal society. Hill gives his reader a look on the inside, a close look at the way the mind of this child works. Torn between suppressed anger, feelings of abandonment and guilt, which will either help her save herself or slowly destroy her.

It is a really good read, despite the topic, which is indicative of an author being able to captivate without turning the reader away from disturbing home-truths.

I was immediately hooked! The play between before and after worked really well for the telling of this thought provoking story. The parallels to Waco are obvious but that doesn't take away from the punch of the story. Gut wrenching and extreme. A story of what fear and persuasion can do.

I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.

"After the Fire" is a chilling look at a young adult's tale of growing up in and surviving a fictional cult. I have read from the perspective of an adult but this was through the eyes of a young girl, "Moonbeam". She lived for years in the fanatical religious cult with her mother and her "brothers" and "sisters". We are given a glimpse into her thought process, her true faith, and relationships with the other cult members.

By Will Hill selecting Moonbeam as his central character to tell the story of what happened before and after the fire, we are able to empathize with her and the other "family" members. As with any group, there are good and bad, young and old, male and female. We are able to see they are regular, every day people who believe they are following a prophet.

"After the Fire" was inspired by the 1993 Waco siege in which members of the Branch Davidian sect, including children, and government agents died in a fire fight. This story imagines what it was like to like in a similar base (Moonbeam does not like the word compound) and is told mostly through an interview and flashbacks.

The story of Moonbeam, a young girl who is freed from a cult, After the Fire is inspired by the events of Waco and the aftermath of the tragedy on the children freed from David Koresh.

I really enjoyed this book. Hill does a great job balancing Moonbeam's "before" and "after" narratives. The layers are peeled back slowly so that you become invested in Moonbeam and the people in her life. I found myself unable to put it down. I would definitely recommend you put aside time to enjoy the small nuisances and hints that are buried in the story.

This book took me quite a while to read. It's not that it wasn't good. It is really slow. Every time I would find myself getting back into the story, it would slow down for me.
Overall, it was a good book. Great twist. Intriguing and unique plot.

What a compelling read! I raced through this book, unable to put it down, as I sought to understand how all this horror came to be. I have never understood how cults work to keep their members totally engaged in believing the rules by which they are governed, but this book explained a lot. Knowing it was a fictionalized version of a situation similar to the Branch Davidian cult’s shootout with the government made it all the more believable and horrifying at once. It is told from the viewpoint of a seventeen year old girl who survived the final confrontation, and it is powerful to see her slowly come loose from the hold the leader of the cult had on her and everyone. She feels survivor’s guilt as well as fear that she has some responsibility for the consequences. As she recounts the events to a psychologist/therapist, you can watch her reason through the sequence of events and understand how scarred she will forever be. It is classified as a YA book, but I think it has VERY wide appeal.

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.

After the fire is written through the perspective of Moonbeam, a young girl who grow up in a religious cult compound. The book is written in a before and after the day of the fire. We are told the story of her life through a series of flashbacks as her doctor and FBI agent listen to her harrowing tale. The story was engrossing from page one and I felt absolute sorrow for Moonbeam and the other young survivors. The book takes an extra emotional turn towards the end that had me in tears. It is frightening how easy people will dedicate there lives to the wrong person in hopes of salvation. Father John deserves every bad thing in the world.

I received this book through Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Moonbeam was a member of the Lord's Legion cult until a fire destroyed the cult compound. She, and the other members, had lived totally controlled by cult leader Father John. As the fire is investigated, facts about the cult, its leader and members, and daily life in the compound are revealed.

Although this book is a little confusing at first, as Moonbeam reveals more and more about the compound and cult before and after the fire, the story becomes more clear. She is a strange and disturbing main character because all she knows is the Lord's Legion. She distrusts anyone who isn't a cult member and displays some strange behaviors. Her strangeness just adds to the suspense and slow reveal of facts, making this book disturbing, emotional and mesmerizing. The author does a great job of depicting the story of a controlling cult and its long-lasting effects on members. The tale is not without hope though....which made it easier for me to read.

When I was a child back in the 80s, there was a cult compound raided by the feds near where I lived. The cult leader murdered a man and a 5-year old boy on a rural farm. The trial and all the mess that followed completely shocked everyone in the area. It was mind-numblingly awful. Even as a child, I remember being so surprised that people would follow such a nasty (and crazy) person, and even more shocked that parents brought their children to this weird rural compound led by a nut in overalls ranting strange racist, pseudo-religious crapola. So, this book really hit home with me and made me see things from the other side. As an adult, I live in a town 1200 miles away from where I grew up.....and a local cult (disguised as a church) is being investigated for fraud, abuse, and other crimes. Again, I am shocked that people actually follow the craziness taught by this cult (they scream at people to release demons from them, require people to give all their possessions to the church, control members' finances, etc) and its leader -- an old woman who is just completely disgusting. How do people like this gain control over so many?? It still boggles my mind. I kept thinking about this local cult the entire time I was reading this book. It really hit home with me. Groups like this are more commonplace than anyone would like to admit. I've personally encountered three such groups in my lifetime and heard about so many more.

Definitely an emotional, hard-hitting book! I'm definitely going to read more by this author!

*I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Sourcebooks via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

Thank you Sourcebooks Fire for gifting me a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

I love books about cults, stories like the Manson Family, and Warren Jeffs, and religious cults just truly fascinate me. I think this book was a good mashup of all three of those that I have mentioned. I enjoyed the slow burning build up to the end, and finally finding out what happened the night of the fire. It was not what I had expected, but I liked it all the same. 

This book was told in alternating chapters of before the fire, and after the fire. It shows the struggle that Moonbean had with her belief of Father John, and if the things he was saying were the ultimate truth. Her loyalties faltered, and she was alone. I sympathized with her. I felt like her character was written extremely well. The dynamics between her, and her brothers and sisters was something I really liked too. Overall, this was a good read, and I do think many others will like it too.

The insight into life within a cult was fascinating, the suspense was spellbinding. Moonbeam's childhood controlled by Father John was downright creepy. Her recovery "after the fire" was emotional and hopeful. A unique tale.

Fascinating novel about life inside a cult (think Waco). I wish I had liked this book more than I did, especially when I saw what great reviews it had gotten. I'm sure my inability to appreciate it is no fault of the author or the book itself but strictly my own.

Thanks to Netgalley for the book to review.

After the Fire by Will Hill is a hard read. Telling the story of the rise and fall of a cult through the eyes of a teen girl who has no memory of living in the Outside, this book raises a lot of painful issues. Very well written, the evocative text carries the reader along through her recovery and experiences. Hard to put down even though you know from the beginning where everything is headed. Definitely a must read for anyone interested in understanding the mind control that can be inflicted, especially in the name of religion, to an extreme level.

Through his "used car salesman" tactics, Father John has manipulated the minds of an entire community of people, making them believe he is the voice of the Lord, and he speaks the truth. For years the Lord's Legion has followed Father John and not stepped foot Outside. Children born within the compound walls no nothing other than life Inside. They obey Father John- or they suffer the consequences. Until the fire. Now, after the fire, life as they know it no longer exists. What does that mean for those children that survived? Will they be able to acclimate to Outside? Can they handle new truths?

I have never read a YA like this. To say this book has left an impression on me is an understatement. Hill does an unbelievable job of pulling the reader inside the walls of the Lord's Legion compound. The alternating chapters of past and present create a flashback vibe that helps to truly build the plot and develop the characters to the fullest. Moonbeam is such a strong character who is so raw and flawed, readers can't help but resonate with her. The sexual assault, PTSD, and abandonment undertones make this so much more than a typical young adult novel. Hill brilliantly explores these topics in a "cause and effect" way among multiple characters. This is a novel that I would reread, especially after reading the Author's Note at the end.

After The Fire is a novel that follows the life of Moonbeam, a teenager who was raised in a cult. The story alternates between before the fire and after the fire as she tells the story of her life, the members of The Lord's Legion, its leader, and the activities that came about before the fire.

The alternating timelines between the past and present flow seamlessly. The author'writing is flawless and descriptive, and I felt like I was a part of the story the entire duration. The characters and settings are so well thought out and descriptive. I cannot say enough good things about this book.

After The Fire left me so full of emotions. Shock, awe, sadness, happiness, anger, disgust and hope are just a few of the wide range of emotions felt while I immersed myself in this 5 star novel.

Please don't pass up reading the author's notes at the end.

After The Fire is available now and I suggest reading it sooner rather than later. You won't be disappointed.

Thank you to Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire for allowing me a copy to read and give my honest review.

Happy Reading!