Welcome to Litsy!

A quick page turner about two teens who escape a doomsday prepper cult. The story was decent, but it dealt with extremely serious topics and I was disappointed by its superficiality.

There's a #KindleDeal for my friend's book today. I may be slightly biased, but looking at reviews, I'm not the only one who thought it was good.

It's set in #Kansas if you're doing a US state challenge.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B09HLH7H5B/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?ie=UTF8&qid=&sr=

#10
Wow was this story so good, I even cried, so sad at parts...

I only completed 9 #booked2022 prompts. Possibly I can squeeze in one more before 2023.
1. Cult/religion - After We Were Stolen
4. Weather Term - Klara and the Sun
8. Written by Journalist - American Baby: A Mother, A Child, and the Shadow History of Adoption
10. Make Your Own Prompt - Based on a true story - The Lost Girls of Willowbrook
11. Nautical - The Sunken Sailor
12. Murder Mystery - The Killing of the Tinkers
Continued in next post…

For a debut novel, it was a powerful one! This story of a cult is so scary but so realistic that you could see it being true.

One twist after another, this story describes how difficult it would be to transition back into the world after many years in a cult, not knowing any different. How does one find their way through life when the only thing they know how to do is survive in the wild?

#cult #thriller #mystery

4¼⭐This deals with both life in a cult & life after escaping it. There‘s also a mystery involved with a fire that happened at the compound and was the catalyst that enabled the 2 characters we follow, Avery & Cole to escape the cult. Once rescued, Cole returns to his birth family, & Avery is left feeling scared, alone, & confused. ⬇⬇⬇

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Loved this debut novel and you will too if you like books about cults and doomsday preppers!

How infrequently we hear about the people who survive cults and this story is a great example. Told from Avery's point of view, a fire destroys the compound on which she lived but her "parents" were leaders of a survivalist cult. I loved the complexity of everyone's feelings in this and how much of our identity lies with how we're raised.

Trying out Hoopla ahead of my vacation this week! I really like the functionality, especially the driving mode! This book is destroying me, though... 22% in and it's ripping me to shreds!!!

Don‘t miss this one y‘all!

https://reecaspieces.com/2022/07/20/after-we-were-stolen-by-brooke-beyfuss-dream...

After We Were Stolen is compelling. Avery deals with some rough situations, but despite the heavy subject matter, it's fast paced and reads easily. If you prefer your beach reads to be something grittier than a kissing book, After We Were Stolen gets my vote.

I've known Brooke for about 30 years so I'm extremely proud of her achievement. It really is good. I'm also proud that I didn't cry like pageant mom during her reading.

Avery and her siblings are the few that are chosen to survive the end of the world- they are assured of this and other lessons in the compound they grow up in- one isolated from the outside world and started by her grandfather. Well-performed, this audiobook may follow some expected paths, but it remains engaging from start to finish. There are a few plot points that are sure to incite lively discussion amongst readers!

Thanks for the tag @RaeLovesToRead 🤗

1. NYC & Dubai/Brooklyn - The Flight Attendant / Seven Days in June
2. Just finished one: Bossman by Vi Keeland
3. Tagged by a friend from high school, coming out July 19th

Want to play? @Meshell1313 @Cazxxx
#wondrouswednesday @eggs

I thought the story was a very superficial look at cults and trauma. I always find a lack of complex emotional development within troubling storylines dissatisfying. I also found, especially in the second half, that there was a great deal of repetitiveness. Lastly, the grand shock at the end was not remotely surprising, but it would have been a disappointing revelation either way.

Full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4394944226