Read + Review: After the Fire by Will Hill

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After the Fire by Will Hill is about the journey of 17-year-old Moonbeam, a seemingly ordinary person at first glance, but actually is involved in a cult-like organization run by a man who claims he can speak directly to The Lord. This organization is also known as The Lord’s Legion. In the Lord’s Legion, there are a few rules that all involved need to know: adultery is not permitted in the compound, watching movies, reading books, and listening to the radio are all banned, and lastly and most importantly that you should never to talk to an outsider, never listen to an outsider, and to never go near outsiders at all. This all changes after the fire, when Moonbeam is taken from her home to the George W. Bush Municipal Center. There, she spends most of her days talking to a psychiatrist, where she slowly reveals the truth about The Lord’s Legion and what she did that fateful night.

I really enjoyed this book, and highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in thrillers or other genres like it. This book kept me up all night until I got to the end, and I enjoyed the writing style a lot. The book is formatted in quite an interesting way, with the narrative focusing on what happened in the Lord’s Legion, and telling about the Lord’s Legion through the therapy sessions Moonbeam participates in. Speaking of Moonbeam, I really liked her as a character as well as the rest of the cast, with the obvious exception of the antagonists. Overall it was an enjoyable read, and I rate it a 5/5.

One of the most memorable parts about the book was the ending, of which I will not spoil, but was still very heart-warming to say the least. I liked this ending mainly because of all the build-up to it, and even though I suspected it might happen, it took me completely by surprise, making it a memorable yet sweet moment.

Reviewed by Aryan A., Glen Allen library