Annie decides the only way to put at stop to these atrocious crimes is to report her mother to the police. The ability of Ali Land in structuring this plot, her character of Annie/Millie, one person split in two personalities, and our conception or perception of what constitutes good or bad, good or evil, a bad seed kept me turning the pages.

It soon becomes apparent that the foster family is dysfunctional in its own way and Mike may not be as altruistic as first thought. The story opens with a brilliant premise: Teenaged Annie turns her serial killer mother in to the police. After graduating from university with a degree in Mental Health, Ali Land spent a decade working as a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Nurse in both hospitals and schools in the UK and Australia.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. 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.

As Annie is the only witness to her mother’s crimes, she must be put on the stand and testify against her in court. Milly is an unreliable narrator par excellence, withholding information and her real emotions from both her foster father/counsellor, the art teacher who encourages her, the girl she befriends, the cruel Phoebe and just about everyone around her – as well as the reader, we come to realise as Milly dispenses just enough of the truth to tease and mislead. To be treated very badly by a parent is unbelievable, to be with a mother who treats other kids not only bad but torments them, torments then and kills them and a 15 your old daughter being aware of this is outstandingly shocking. Good Me Bad Me closed off in a way that surprised me in a way, a couple of twists were thrown in to this disturbingly intense novel that continued to provoke me to read page after page. Ali Land’s debut novel Good Me, Bad Me has as its narrator a distinctive female voice, one that grabbed this reader from the very beginning as she tells her story of escape and survival.Annie's name is changed to Milly to help protect her and Milly is trying hard to not let the bad overtake the good within her, she doesn't want to be like her mother. Ali's debut novel Good Me Bad Me is an international bestseller and will be translated into twenty-two languages. This is a chilling book that will not only give you goosebumps but will make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck. 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.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. Plus the mean girls went too far, always—they quickly became stereotypes with no power to make me shiver. I waited for you to sweep me up, rub our noses together in an Eskimo kiss and reply, you came for me, you belong with me, I love you. The creepy and disturbing parts of this story are handled extremely well and are done in a way that didn't give too much detail (which I was very thankful for). Her voice demands that we listen to her and it’s fascinating to hear about her coping mechanisms while adjusting to a new home, a new (albeit temporary) family, a new school at which she’s bullied, the tentative moves she takes towards making friends, preparing for and having sessions with her foster father/counsellor and giving testimony during the trial.Many were saying that this book was going to be one of the more controversial novels released in 2017. Now in foster care, she is doing her best to fit in and enjoy what family life is supposed to be like. Not only does Land tackle a very controversial subject matter, she also delves into other quite difficult territory. He has never worked with someone as damaged as Milly, but he is well placed to help her adjust to life without her mother, and he knows what warning signs to look for if she’s struggling.