After We Were Stolen by Brooke Beyfuss

 

A fire. Her escape. And the realization her entire life has been a lie.

When nineteen-year-old Avery awakens to flames consuming her family's remote compound, she knows it's her only chance to escape her father's grueling survival training, bizarre rules, and gruesome punishments. She and her brother Cole flee the grounds for the first time in their lives, suddenly homeless in a world they know nothing about. After months of hiding out, they are arrested for shoplifting and a shocking discovery is made—Avery and Cole were kidnapped fifteen years earlier, stolen by cult leaders they knew as Mom and Dad.

Cole is immediately returned to his birth family, leaving Avery alone and desperate. She is uncertain if her "parents" survived the fire and is terrified to find out. The loss of Cole and the trauma of her former life threaten to undo her, but when the police investigation reveals there may be more survivors, Avery must uncover the truth about the fire to truly be free.

Suspenseful, emotionally charged, and deeply thought-provoking, After We Were Stolen delves into the idea of family—those we're born into and those we make—resilience, and the lengths a cult survivor will go to finally be free of her painful past. Brooke Beyfuss's powerful debut novel sparkles with heart, grit, and extraordinary characters who will stay with you long after the last page.

Amazon 

 

About The Author

 Brooke Beyfuss is a freelance writer who lives in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey with her husband, daughter, and far, far too many pets. She graduated from Rutgers University with a BA in psychology and comparative literature, despite failing pre-calculus three times in a row. As a freelance writer, her audiences have run the gamut from holistic healers to adult entertainers. After We Were Stolen is her first novel.

 

My Review

 This is a story of survival, starting with the day you arrive at the Cult, and soon they remember nothing of the previous family, when a new sibling arrives, it is a if they were always with them, no matter their age.
This is a dark story, so much child abuse, and it is taken as norm! We follow two of these children, Avery and Cole, and what happens as the trudge through the forest and try to survive after the fire. We then wonder how these two can go on and what will happen to them out in the wold?
There are so many twists and surprises between these pages, and in the end, yes, I was surprised!
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Sourcebooks Landmark, and was not required to give a positive review.