Review: After the Fire

Title: After the Fire
Author: Will Hill
Publication Date: October 2, 2018
Genre: Young Adult/Psychological
Recommended If You Like: cult stories, strong female heroines, flashbacks used to build suspense

I 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.

The Book:

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.

What I Liked:

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.

Anything I Didn't Like?

The very end felt a little pat, but I loved it anyway.

So...?

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.