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4.3 AVERAGE
4.3 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
loved the therapy scenes and seeing her heal
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Blood, Religious bigotry
Moderate: Sexual violence
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Sexism
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Sekten, wir kennen sie alle: Scientology, Peoples Temple, die Manson Familie,... Religiöse Gruppen mit charismatischen, fanatischen Führern, die ihre Anhänger für ihre Zwecke missbrauchen...
Will Hill nimmt sich in After the Fire eines sehr wichtigen Themas an. Er schreibt darüber, wie Menschen in Sekten gefangen werden und wie ihr Glauben als Waffe gegen sie selbst eingesetzt werden kann. Aber er schreibt auch über das Leben nach der Sekte, über Überlebende, die versuchen die Dinge wieder zu entlernen, die ihnen ihr ganzen Leben eingetrichtert wurden.
Leider konnte ich keine Verbindung zu der Protagonistin Moonbeam aufbauen und da ich mich immer schon für Sekten und Massenpsychologie interessierte, konnte mir das Bucha auch nichts Neues zeigen. Teilweise wirkte das Buch irreal und überspitzt...
Vermutlich gibt es einige Leute, die von diesem Buch schockiert sein werden. Es wird auch Menschen geben, denen Moonbeam sympathisch ist und die mit ihr fühlen...
Diese Person bin nur eben nicht ich!
Will Hill nimmt sich in After the Fire eines sehr wichtigen Themas an. Er schreibt darüber, wie Menschen in Sekten gefangen werden und wie ihr Glauben als Waffe gegen sie selbst eingesetzt werden kann. Aber er schreibt auch über das Leben nach der Sekte, über Überlebende, die versuchen die Dinge wieder zu entlernen, die ihnen ihr ganzen Leben eingetrichtert wurden.
Leider konnte ich keine Verbindung zu der Protagonistin Moonbeam aufbauen und da ich mich immer schon für Sekten und Massenpsychologie interessierte, konnte mir das Bucha auch nichts Neues zeigen. Teilweise wirkte das Buch irreal und überspitzt...
Vermutlich gibt es einige Leute, die von diesem Buch schockiert sein werden. Es wird auch Menschen geben, denen Moonbeam sympathisch ist und die mit ihr fühlen...
Diese Person bin nur eben nicht ich!
Reread for my YA book group ✅
I liked how it went back and forth between before and after the fire and that it was clearly marked to show it. The story was very different and interesting, despite not being the kind of book I'd usually go for. There were lots of twists and turns to keep you guessing and thinking about what was really going on. The writing was strong and the characters so well-definite. I also liked the ending.
I liked how it went back and forth between before and after the fire and that it was clearly marked to show it. The story was very different and interesting, despite not being the kind of book I'd usually go for. There were lots of twists and turns to keep you guessing and thinking about what was really going on. The writing was strong and the characters so well-definite. I also liked the ending.
Enjoyed it thoroughly! The story was gripping and interesting and I was invested in the characters from the start.
I really liked how the therapy sessions evolved and everything was so well paced.
I will say it did get a little repetitive if reading for a while - but it mirrored the experiences of those in the Lord’s Legion having the same words drilled into them and repeated day in day out so I guess that was the aim.
I really liked how the therapy sessions evolved and everything was so well paced.
I will say it did get a little repetitive if reading for a while - but it mirrored the experiences of those in the Lord’s Legion having the same words drilled into them and repeated day in day out so I guess that was the aim.
Once I started this, I really hated to have to go do things, like sleep. It is gripping, even though it moves back and forth in time, not my favorite style, but absolutely suited to the story. Hill tells the story through the eyes, and memories, of Moonbeam, the 17 year old survivor of the fire. As she works with a therapist, and then a federal agent, the reader comes to understand what her life was and what led up to the fire. The grand reveal at the end is not entirely a surprise, but still it has an emotional impact.
3.75
After the Fire was a very enjoyable book. It was well thought out and researched and I really enjoyed the back and forth on the timelines due to the way it was done with the before being her talking to people about what happened etc.
That being said, I only give this book three stars. If we're being really specific it's 3.75, but I can't bump it to 4 just because it doesn't feel like it.
It's a weird one. I enjoyed it and there's nothing particularly "wrong"... I just don't feel like it's worth more than 3.
I should start by explaining my rating system briefly.
1 star is I hate it - dreadful and would actively buy copies i see to burn so nobody else goes through it. Yeah. Extreme.
2 stars is I didn't like it but probably not my cup of tea. A massive step up from 1 star.
3 stars is I liked it. It was good and I enjoyed but I'm not likely to rave about it. If someone asked about this book specifically I'd recommend but I wouldn't suggest it off my own accord.
4 stars is a book i really liked/loved. There's just *something* lacking that means it's not a favourite,
5 stars is just WOW.
It's marketed at mystery/thriller first and foremost, but I personally found it very lacking in that part. There was no mystery to be solved - not to me anyway. The whole "I won't tell them what I did. I'm going to be punished. What happened in the Big House?" thing was just... ??? It wasn't mysterious? I wasn't gasping to find out or shocked because it was blatantly obvious to me how it was gonna go down.
What really made this book was the character of Moonbeam in particular but also all the secondary characters - of which there were a lot - as they were entirely well rounded. I enjoyed learning about the cult and how they lived and whatnot. Had this not been as well done I wouldn't have made it through the book due to the mystery being a let down... but then I feel conflicted when I write that because I don't want people to not pick up the book but I just want people aware that, to me, it wasn't what I expected. It wasn't about figuring something out or anything.
I'm glad I read it and I will definitely pick up more Will Hill books - I'd even pick up a follow up novel to this following Moonbeam out in the real world. I just didn't LOVE this book < see rating system.
After the Fire was a very enjoyable book. It was well thought out and researched and I really enjoyed the back and forth on the timelines due to the way it was done with the before being her talking to people about what happened etc.
That being said, I only give this book three stars. If we're being really specific it's 3.75, but I can't bump it to 4 just because it doesn't feel like it.
It's a weird one. I enjoyed it and there's nothing particularly "wrong"... I just don't feel like it's worth more than 3.
I should start by explaining my rating system briefly.
1 star is I hate it - dreadful and would actively buy copies i see to burn so nobody else goes through it. Yeah. Extreme.
2 stars is I didn't like it but probably not my cup of tea. A massive step up from 1 star.
3 stars is I liked it. It was good and I enjoyed but I'm not likely to rave about it. If someone asked about this book specifically I'd recommend but I wouldn't suggest it off my own accord.
4 stars is a book i really liked/loved. There's just *something* lacking that means it's not a favourite,
5 stars is just WOW.
It's marketed at mystery/thriller first and foremost, but I personally found it very lacking in that part. There was no mystery to be solved - not to me anyway. The whole "I won't tell them what I did. I'm going to be punished. What happened in the Big House?" thing was just... ??? It wasn't mysterious? I wasn't gasping to find out or shocked because it was blatantly obvious to me how it was gonna go down.
What really made this book was the character of Moonbeam in particular but also all the secondary characters - of which there were a lot - as they were entirely well rounded. I enjoyed learning about the cult and how they lived and whatnot. Had this not been as well done I wouldn't have made it through the book due to the mystery being a let down... but then I feel conflicted when I write that because I don't want people to not pick up the book but I just want people aware that, to me, it wasn't what I expected. It wasn't about figuring something out or anything.
I'm glad I read it and I will definitely pick up more Will Hill books - I'd even pick up a follow up novel to this following Moonbeam out in the real world. I just didn't LOVE this book < see rating system.
What a fantastic read. It's terrifying to think that Father John was able to control so many people so effectively, just by controlling what information reached them. A fascinating insight into life in cults, and a novel that will stay with me for quite some time. I see that Will has won awards for this title and I'm not surprised; it absolutely deserves them.
I received an ARC of this title in return for an honest review.
I received an ARC of this title in return for an honest review.
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is the first I have read of Hill’s writing and I am now a fan. He beautifully entwine multiple lives in a story of before and after wrapped around a traumatic event that pulls apart a family, a cult. The life of before shows the sinister side of life in a cult and the after the recovery for those left behind after being ripped apart. Take a walk down memory lane as Moonbeam relives this traumatic life. *Thank you Netgalley for a copy to review. This book has some violence*