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Suspense. Thriller. Young Adult Fiction. Young Adult Literature. HTML: An Edgar Award Finalist! The things I've seen are burned into me, like scars that refuse to fade. Before, she lived inside the fence. Before, she was never allowed to leave the property, never allowed to talk to Outsiders, never allowed to speak her mind. Because Father John controlled everything�??and Father John liked rules. Disobeying Father John came with terrible consequences. But there are lies behind Father John's words. Outside, there are different truths. Then came the fire. "Genuinely different...thrilling and spellbinding!"�??Patrick Ness, #1 New York Times bestelling author "The gripping story of survival and escape...It will keep you up late until you get to the very end."�??Maureen Johnson, New York Times bestselling author of Truly Devious… (more)
User reviews
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 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.
The very end felt a little pat, but I loved it anyway.
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.
As I was reading, I kept waiting for the story to start. Somehow, it did not really sink in that the story had started with Moonbeam in therapy explaining the events leading up to her escape from the cult. I had trouble really staying in the moment while reading. After getting a third of the way into the story, I did skip ahead to the midway point. From here I started reading again but only got a few chapters done. Finally, I just "passed go" and proceeded to read the last dozen chapters of the story. It was here that I actually felt a connection to Moonbeam and the story and I felt the tide turn some with my feelings towards this book. Sadly, this book did not do anything for me.
This book was hard to put down. I loved that the author tackled the aftermath of the raid and fire. The psychiatry was fascinating. Moonbeams internal struggles felt completely real. It was hard to believe that she wasn't based on a real survivor's account. Highly recommended.
Advanced reader's copy provided by Edelweiss.