After the Fire

Seventeen-year-old Moonbeam details her day-to-life life in a strictly controlled and sometimes brutal religious cult ruled by Father John. But, when a fire destroys the compound, she describes her life at a government centre and the deprogramming she and her fellow teens undergo as they live outside the commune’s power for the first time. This contemporary coming-of-age story deals with themes of family, grief, guilt, belief, abusive power and control, and the courage needed to escape that control. Suited to literature circles, independent study, or classroom library for grades 9-12. Social considerations noted.