After the Fire by Will Hill

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A teenager’s world is shattered in a devastating confrontation between the cult she grew up in and the forces of the U.S. government
Father John controls everything inside The Fence. And Father John likes rules. Especially about never talking to Outsiders. Because Father John knows the truth. He knows what is right, and what is wrong. He knows what is coming.
Moonbeam is starting to doubt, though. She's starting to see the lies behind Father John's words. Then a fire engulfs life as she knew it, and Moonbeam is forced outside The Fence into a world she does not recognize.
Alternating between Moonbeam's life before the fire, and her time spent in a government-sanctioned facility afterward, After the Fire is a fascinating look at life inside a cult and its harrowing affects on survivors.

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.