If you're looking for something beyond the book club, I highly recommend After the Fire I don't think it's spoiling anything to say it's a fictional account of life in a cult, similar to the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas, as told from the point of view of a 17-year old girl who was a member of the cult.
I hadn't heard of it, but my favorite book of the year so far is The Sound of Gravel, which is a memoir. Anyway, I've added this to my Amazon wish list. Thanks for the rec!
Oh that does sound good ... reminds of The Girls by Emma Cline. Anyone read that? It's super dark and creepy but it was so good!
Added it to my list! I used to be really obsessed with reading anything I could get my hands on that had anything to do with cults.
Oh dark and creepy sounds like a perfect October book! and thanks for your suggestion Julie @mrs2a50! Right now I have 3 on BPD (borderline personality disorder) on hold to give me forgotten tips on dealing with/helping my daughter again. I definitely need escape fiction too!
I read After The Fire this week. Thanks for the recommendation. It was very well written. Sometimes I have trouble, especially at the beginning, with books that alternate between past and present, but this flowed well and was easy to follow. The story was horrifying, but I too have a curiosity about the extreme things some humans do. I want to try to understand. I liked Moonbeam and the psychiatrist and the agent and how they were described. Sometimes it seemed like she recovered a little too easily but maybe that's because it's a YA novel. I'm happy with the ending. I'm impressed with how much research went into the book, according to the author note at the end. Now I'm returning to a book I was reading before, The Good Girls Guide to Getting Lost by Rachel Friedman, which I put down to read After The Fire when the ebook became available from my library because I only get it for 2 weeks and can't renew it. I found The Good Girls Guide to Getting Lost on display at my library with other books on a table under a sign that said, "Non-Fiction That Reads Like a Novel." And it's true. I'm enjoying following her on her travels to Ireland and Australia, and soon she'll be heading to South America. Thank goodness for books that somewhat satisfy my desire to travel.
