We Burn Daylight
A Novel
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- £3.99
Publisher Description
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • An epic novel of star-crossed lovers set in a doomsday cult on the Texas prairie that asks: What would you sacrifice for the person you love?
“Symphonic and suspenseful . . . In an epic act of empathy, Bret Anthony Johnston inhabits every point of view, from doomed devotees to perplexed law enforcement.”—Geraldine Brooks, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of March
A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice
Waco, Texas, 1993. People from all walks of life have arrived to follow the Lamb’s gospel—signing over savings and pensions, selling their homes and shedding marriages. They’ve come here to worship at the feet of a former landscaper turned prophet who is preparing for the End Times with a staggering cache of weapons. Jaye’s mother is one of his newest and most devout followers, though Jaye herself has suspicions about the Lamb’s methods—and his motives.
Roy is the youngest son of the local sheriff, a fourteen-year-old boy with a heart of gold and a nose for trouble who falls for Jaye without knowing of her mother’s attachment to the man who is currently making his father’s life hell. The two teenagers are drawn to each other immediately and completely, but their love may have dire consequences for their families. The Lamb has plans for them all—especially Jaye—and as his preaching and scheming move them closer and closer to unthinkable violence, Roy risks everything to save Jaye.
Based on the true events that unfolded thirty years ago during the siege of the Branch Davidian compound, Bret Anthony Johnston’s We Burn Daylight is an unforgettable love story, a heart-pounding literary page turner, and a profound exploration of faith, family, and what it means to truly be saved.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Inspired by the infamous 1993 siege in Waco, Texas, that left dozens dead, this innovative historical novel blends religion, politics, and compelling human drama. Jaye is a teen girl who’s been dragged to Texas to join an apocalyptic cult called the Branch Davidians. But when she gets romantically involved with the sheriff’s son Roy, she’s torn between religion, family, and love. Bret Anthony Johnston does more than just revisit the famous tragedy, crafting a taut story of conflicted loyalties with violence threatening to erupt at every turn. Though Jayne and Roy’s story is fictional, Johnston faithfully portrays the lives of the Branch Davidians. Whether you’re a fan of Shakespearean-level drama or you’re just fascinated by cults, We Burn Daylight is a gripping read.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A Texas teen tries to rescue his crush from a Branch Davidians–like cult in Johnston's gripping sophomore novel (after Remember Me Like This). In 1993 Waco, rebellious 14-year-old Roy, son of the local sheriff, meets California girl Jaye Carroll and falls hard. Jaye's mother, Marie, brought her there after meeting Perry "Lamb" Cullen at a gun expo and agreeing to join his flock of disciples in Texas. Jaye, who's now living with Marie on Lamb's compound, is skeptical of his doomsday prophesies and unnerved by his stockpiling of weapons. When she tells Roy about the obsessive attention Lamb pays to her, Roy enlists his dad's help to rescue her, setting the stage for a Shakespearean tragedy of star-crossed lovers. The propulsive plot, which builds to a violent raid on the compound following the sheriff's discovery of Lamb's arsenal, is juxtaposed with colorful excerpts from a present-day podcast called On the Lamb, featuring interviews with former cult members and their loved ones including Jaye's father, who rails about the "pissant pedophile" who "cost me a family." Amid the plethora of stories about cults, this stands out.
