An astonishing saga of suffering and joy, guilt, evil, redemption and truth.
A teen raised in an isolated religious cult deals with the aftermath of the fire that destroyed her community.
Hill (Darkest Night, 2015, etc.) loosely bases his story on the 1993 standoff between the Branch Davidians of Waco, Texas, and federal agents. Seventeen-year-old Moonbeam has been raised from toddlerhood in the Holy Church of the Lord’s Legion, an arid, closed compound outside the fictional town of Layfield, Texas. Essentially orphaned after the early death of her father and the banishment of her mother, she considers the other cult members her family while at the same time beginning to recognize that their lives revolve not around God but around the will of their dictatorial leader, Father John. But that was before FBI agents invaded and an inferno destroyed her world. Now Moonbeam lives locked inside a federal building with 18 other children from the cult, gradually recounting her life to psychiatrist Dr. Hernandez and Agent Carlyle. The complex, brutal story unfolds slowly, in alternating chapters labeled “before” and “after,” as Moonbeam learns to trust both her captors and herself. British author Hill creates a wholly believable world full of complex, interesting characters; he exposes Father John's madness and the mind control of the cult without denigrating either the people who followed him or religion itself. Characters’ races are not identified.
An astonishing saga of suffering and joy, guilt, evil, redemption and truth. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4926-6979-1
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: July 29, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The final third doesn't quite match the can't-put-down promise of the start.
Two teens are trapped in a California earthquake—a big one.
Aghast to discover that her mother is dating her high school water polo coach, Ruby skips practice in favor of the laundromat beside the liquor store, where she hopes she can find someone to buy her a beer. She's approaching the only other person there, a boy who appears slightly older than her, when the ground begins to thrash. Ruby dives for cover but the building collapses—she's trapped. So is the boy, named Charlie. Though they can't move or see each other, they converse over the next day and a half while injury, dehydration, and aftershocks make their situation ever more perilous. When rescuers eventually come, Ruby is reunited with her mother and friends. Told in Ruby's first-person voice, with flashbacks detailing her relationships with her mother, boyfriend, and best friend, Mila, the accounts of the quake and its immediate aftermath and the relationship that develops between Ruby and Charlie are immediate, visceral, and compelling. But the rescue comes less than halfway through the book, and after that both pacing and plot falter. Suspense leaks out, and what should be emotional reunion scenes feel underwritten. The novel defaults to an all-white cast.
The final third doesn't quite match the can't-put-down promise of the start. (resources) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3917-0
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 16, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Highlights with painful honesty the process of moving forward following trauma.
In this follow-up to 2016’s The Way I Used To Be, a high school senior comes to understand that surviving rape is only the first part; what comes next is hard, too.
Eden is learning how to live after coming forward and publicly naming her rapist following three years of self-loathing and destructive behavior. In counseling, she’s working to understand who she is now, while also maintaining relationships with friends who don’t know what happened and family members who are dealing with guilt and anger in their own ways. Others’ reactions often leave Eden feeling like her honesty was more burdensome than helpful. She awaits the trial and reconnects with Josh, the boy she loved even when she couldn’t love herself and the only person outside her family who knew the truth. While Eden and Josh want love to be enough, both come with emotional baggage that must be dealt with before they can truly give themselves to each other. This emotional story about learning to take back control explores the fraught journey back to self for survivors and those who love them most. It is well paced and well executed and effectively shows how the legal system can make victims feel pressured and lonely. Readers need to be familiar with the first volume to fully understand this one. Main characters are cued white.
Highlights with painful honesty the process of moving forward following trauma. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9781665947107
Page Count: 432
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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