After The Fire

I really did love this book, however I do believe the start was a bit slow and made me want to quit it. But as we all know, the guilt that comes with quitting a book was too much. Apart from this the book had me at the edge of my seat and I would recommend it to a teen audience,

This is a fictional story based on the real events of the Waco Siege in 1993 when a religious sect called the Branch Davidians had their compound raided by the US Federal Government. The stand-off lasted 51 days and ended when a massive fire ripped through the compound and killed over 80 members including their leader, David Koresh.
It tells the tale of a girl called Moonbeam, a member of the ‘Lords Legion’ who has been taken to a secure Psychiatric unit with the other survivors from the fire. The Psychiatrist and FBI agent try to find out what life was like in the Legion under the tyrannical rule of ‘Father John’.
Moonbeam recounts the events to the doctor of the years spent living inside the compound, the hard work, brainwashing, and brutal regime to ensure the members stayed on the ‘true path’. Her relationship with her mother before she was ‘banished’ and her bleak future inside the legion are explored in the chapters ‘Before’ the fire.
In the chapters ‘After’ the fire, Moonbeam’s relationship with her Psychiatrist is a delicate one, as she has to learn to trust that ‘Outsiders’ are not trying to kill her or her brothers and sisters but are in fact there to help them rebuild their lives and prepare them for life in the real world.
I really enjoyed this book and the way it was written and highly recommend to anyone who likes to read a story based on true events. I found myself willing Moonbeam to trust those around her and realise that there was a life outside the compound that could be fulfilling and happy.

This book provides a first hand perspective of living in a cult. I loved the detail of the every day live of the protagonist and how easily the very strange can seem normal. I enjoyed part of this as an audiobook and found it a riveting listen.

I was interested in this book as it is inspired by the Waco disaster in the USA and I was raised in an evangelical/pentecostal environment which was considered extreme by sdome of my friends.
The narrative flips between Before (the fire) and After, with the main character's recollections of how they came to the "End of Times."
This was a gripping novel, unputdownable! It also brought about an understanding of how easy it can be to find oneself drawn into unusual/weird ideas and beliefs thst can become the controlling force one's life!

This book was really good, and really makes you think about what is faith and what is extremism.

it was amazing