After We Were Stolen: A Novel

"One night, Avery is awoken by a fire consuming her family's compound; she runs away with her cult brother Cole, hiding in the woods and then in a school gym for weeks. After police apprehend them for shoplifting, a horrific discovery is made-their entire lives have been a lie and they were actually kidnapped as children, taken by the cult leaders they knew as Mom and Dad. Cole is quickly reunited with his family and permanently separated from nineteen-year-old Avery, who is taken to a women's shelter when no family comes forward. Avery isn't certain who survived the Bakelite cult fire or, more importantly, who set it. As she tries to move past the lies and the emotional and physical trauma of her childhood, the events of that fateful night come burstingback into the news, and a police investigation throws Avery back into the spotlight. The memories of that night and her former life threaten to undo all the progress she's made, but she must uncover the truth about the fire to truly be set free"--
"After We Were Stolen is an intelligent and heartrending story of vulnerability, power, resistance, and redemption. An excellent read that is sure to be a favorite book club pick." —Rebecca Taylor, author of The Secret Next DoorAn emotionally wrought debut novel perfect for book clubs about a girl who escapes from a cult after a deadly fire destroys her family's compound, only to be haunted by That Night as she tries to build a new life for herself.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.Praise for After We Were Stolen:"Brooke Beyfuss's After We Were Stolen kept me feverishly turning pages, anxious and eager to find out what happened to Avery and Cole as they emerge from a life they never asked for and into one they're totally unprepared to navigate." —Melanie Abrams, author of Meadowlark