Good Me Bad Me

Product Information

She features briefly in the court episodes of the novel but Land chooses to focus on her daughter’s story instead. Great characters, dark and disturbing plot with great twists and turns to keep the reader interested.

but she is struggling with a darkness inside of her that constantly brings her back to flashbacks of her life as Annie. Milly has ongoing conversations with her mother inside her head which gives us insight into the toxic environment Annie/Milly grew up in. I felt that I had worked out the story and outcome very early on, it didn’t really give me much more as it progressed, and at no point did I feel tense. With some unexpected moments I really recommend Good Me, Bad Me to other readers who like this style of book and especially if you have a book club. This book explores her life in foster care after she hands her mother to the police and how she deals with her internal conflict as to what extent she was like her mother.With doctor patient confidentiality, I just can’t get my head around a teenage girl opening up to her psychologist who also happens to be her foster dad. I do think regardless it will be a popular book and a great one for book clubs due to the great discussion that could be generated! Now in foster care, she is doing her best to fit in and enjoy what family life is supposed to be like. Milly wishes she could tell Morgan the truth about her past and what happened to her, but it’s too risky. Milly, on the other hand, proves to be adept at her own secret agenda, and as more time goes by, we see her behavior ratchet up to an extremely manipulative level as she hears her mother’s imaginary voice guiding her and reminding her that she has to make her own wishes come true.

It's gripping, takes you to dark and disturbing places inside people's innermost thoughts, can get pretty twisted, is well written, keeps you guessing and hits you with some huge surprises. Annie becomes Millie, and is fostered into the care of Mike, a trained therapist and his wife, Saskia. Chilling, creepy and with a growing sense of unease this book really ticks all the boxes and was utterly compelling. She asks herself, can I ever overcome the influence of my mother – and which version of me will triumph, the good me or the bad me? This certainly didn’t seem a very likely scenario, as there’s not many female serial killers in real life for a start, and for worker in a women’s refuge to get away with killing so many children of the women staying there implies that the police must be pretty inept.The focus is more on the mindset of Milly and how those past events are shaping her thinking and actions to those around her. I did get used to the writing style eventually, and the last 30% of the book was more interesting, despite being predictable, so I did still enjoy reading it, even if there were no real surprises.

Phoebe, the daughter was utterly despicable, a child completely indulged, who was never going to offer Milly a welcoming environment.

The last victim was the one that broke the camels back for Annie, she was very close to the victim, the author made you feel the emotionally pull between Annie and the mother's last victim. It is interesting to note that Land seems to steer clear of the most fascinating aspect of the story and the reason which initially hooked me into this novel. You may find book reviews, chocolate sampling, adventures with squirrels, and a lot of tea drinking, happening here.

It raises so many questions, asks so much of your understanding of justice, asks for your acceptance (or at least for understanding) of why people do what they do. Norma was listening to this one and while we were discussing this book it left the rest of us slightly confused with her take on it and we had to stop and ask Norma if she was listening to the same book as we were reading. For instance, I could never figure out how Milly's mom was able to continue killing without getting caught. Good Me, Bad Me is Ali Land’s debut novel and was published yesterday by Michael Joseph, an imprint of Penguin UK.For our Twisted Sister, Norma this book definitely worked for her and she was satisfied with the ending but for the rest of us not so much. An intensely creepy novel about a young teenage girl Milly, who was unfortunate enough to grow up with a sadistic mother. Annie's mother is a Serial Killer, The only way Annie can make it strop is to hand her into the police.