I’ve read a LOT of books in my life and this book is most certainly in my top 3. If I could have given it 6 stars I would have. Special thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this as an ARC. And I am hopeful they release it as an audiobook because I’d absolutely listen to it as well. Having watched the tragedy in Waco as it unfolded, it was fascinating to imagine what it might have been like from both the inside and outside. And wrapped up in an impossible love story, was pure brilliance. 100% RECOMMEND!!

We Burn Daylight by Bret Anthony Johnson is a coming-of-age love story set inside a cult in Waco, Texas. This novel takes a look at what it might have been like to grow up in and around this extraordinary series of events (loosely based on the Branch Davidian cult in the 90's but the names and some of the details have been changed).

“Sometimes [my father] took me with him to serve warrants… He wanted me to see how people we knew–grocery store cashiers, parishioners from church–could turn unrecognizable if things went sideways in their lives”

This book has:
✔ A coming-of-age love story
✔ 1990’s Waco, Texas cult
✔ Historical Fiction
✔ Short chapters
✔ Multiple POVs

This book is for you if you enjoy true-crime podcasts, historical fiction novels, and a smattering of action and adventure.

Content warning: This book mentions pedophilia (frequent, but not graphic), and has some violent chapters.

This was such a great read. A telling of the Waco murders through the residents of the town and young teenage love. I immediately wanted to research the real events after my read.

“But what was the appeal? Why would people uproot their lives and move to Texas for him?”
“Honestly, openheartedness, vulnerability. He owned up to his wrongdoings, and he didn’t hold anyone else’s against them. Don’t have a green card? Come on in! Stay a while! Made some big mistakes? Well, partner, so have I. He went out of his way to welcome and protect us, so we reciprocated, we found purpose in the labor, and what he asked of us, how tomorrow was always going to be harder than yesterday”.

I must be the only person in America that didn’t know anything about Waco, Texas or the siege of the Branch Davidian compound in 1993…..and all the people who followed the ‘Lamb’s gospel’….

My husband tried to say to me — “sure you do, you’re just having a senior moment”.
“Surely you remember reading the news reports”….
but I didn’t remember. 😕
In 1993 I was in the thrones of detail preparations for our daughter’s Bat Mitzvah…
so forgive me for being a dodo- head.

I found this book so fascinating….
*absolutely fascinating*!
I went into this book completely blind!!
Want to know why?
My answer is easy. I ‘adore’ Bret Anthony Johnston.
‘After’ reading his book, “Remember Me Like This”…..( loved it!!!!)….months later from California to Texas — I went to the Texas Book Festival. I’ll never forget sitting in a room inside the Capital listening to Bret giving a book reading.
Honest to god — Bret Anthony Johnston is my ALL TIME FAVORITE author to sit and listen to.
I’ve been to dozens and dozens of authors-readings …
many terrific— most great — but NONE AS ENJOYABLE as my afternoon in Austin, Texas….with Bret.
I loved his thinking, his thought-process in sharing about writing books — I loved his funny bone - his intelligence- his warmth…. and all he had to say.
Ha…. just a little crush.
So….as you can see — I didn’t care what this book was going to be about — I just knew I was sooooo in the mood for another Bret Anthony Johnston experience……
Soooooo
not surprisingly…
but a little surprisingly ….
this book was TERRIFIC!!
I thoroughly enjoyed it.
It was fascinating to learn all this STUFF!!

Characters and dialogue make reading “We Burn Daylight” an engaging storytelling experience.
Small example…. [two teenage girls just ‘shootin-the -breeze’ ……
Jaye and Charity share bunkbeds. Charity is on the top bunk when Jaye walks in their room.
“The Lamb’s a prophet, Charity said, her eyes still on the Bible”.
Jaye thinks to herself:
“I rarely heard her speak, but her voice was always lower and fuller than I expected.
Charity says:
“He believes in redemption and community”.
Jaye says:
“He also believes rivers used to turn to blood and donkeys could talk. And he believes it’s cool to break up marriages”.
“So did Jesus, Charity said.
“Every disciple chose to leave his family behind. You have to love Jesus more than anyone else. That includes your husband and offspring and parents”.
“Perry isn’t, Jesus, Jaye says. I’m not even sure Jesus was Jesus”.
“Belief’s hard. You have to trust God‘s truth will cure your pain. We live by faith, not sight”.
“You sound like a zombie, Jaye said”.
The dialogue continues….
… I laughed -I cringed - I reflected ….

Meeting the teens Roy and Jaye were especially enjoyable….
They added a lot to the Podcast Interviews with Professors, survivors, retired FBI agents, and consulting services…
…..because their intimate stories, family history, and experiences transported me back to a time - a place - a religious compound — and the tragedy I knew nothing about.

Great book….
And it’s true:
“We Burn Daylight” ……
is …..
“an unforgettable, love story, a heart pounding, literary page turner, and a profound exploration of faith, family, and what it means to truly be saved”.

Moving, harrowing, intimate, brave…..
….with psychological acuity, cinematic pacing,
disturbing facts, and storytelling flair….
Bret Anthony Johnston enhanced my little world again.

I’ll never think of Waco, Texas the same again.

Thank you Net Galley for the free ARC. Book about the Waco Branch Davidian siege by the FBI and the ATF. The build up was slow, but the actual conflict was interesting.

This is set in Waco, Texas in 1993, at a compound. You can infer from that what this is about.

I greatly empathized with Roy and Jaye. It’s hard out here for fourteen-year-olds! They meet because Perry Cullen has bewitched Jaye’s mother into joining him in Waco, and Jaye decides to come along. The latter is astoundingly wise to all of Perry’s BS, and her observations and witty comments are quite hilarious.

I purposely did not brush up on what really happened during those months of the standoff, so I wouldn’t inadvertently be biased in any way against the reimagined story. You may think that this is a slow burn, but I don’t consider it to be one. Johnston really makes you care about the characters (at least the ones worth caring about), and I was invested in their fates.

What happened is sad, yes, but there’s a tale in here worth reading. Look for this in July 2024!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an eARC, which I voluntarily reviewed.

Based on the true story of the 1993 events in Waco, Texas, here Perry Cullen is the David Koresh figure and people from all over begin to follow him, calling him “the Lamb,” and signing over their possessions and money to him as he prepared for the day of reckoning. Jaye Carroll’s mother Marie is a devout follower of the Lamb, following him from California.

Roy Moreland, 14, is the local Sheriff’s son. He falls in love with Jaye but doesn’t know about Jaye’s mother Marie’s relationship with Perry or his designs on Jaye. The book is told in alternating points of view between Jaye and Roy.

Oh, I love me a cult book! The book is also interspersed with transcripts from a documentary which provides additional perspective. I enjoyed this, but it’s likely not for everyone. Recommended.

I really enjoyed this. The characters were enjoyable and I loved the plot. Highly recommend. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review