Good Me Bad Me

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This is a tough read to be in the head space of Millie and all that she is going through with such intensity. Mom’s arrested after Milly tips off the cops, and in the run up to mom’s trial, Milly’s placed into foster care with Mike (Milly’s shrink), Mike’s weirdo wife, and their nightmare daughter, Phoebe.

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! 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. Except for a kind dad, who is wooden (masking his kindness), and a kid who Milly befriends, everyone else in the book is horrid, especially daughter Phoebe and her gang.

Perhaps because I found it somewhat predictable, perhaps because it just missing a little something, I’m not quite sure. Milly can’t let go of her mother and she is acutely aware that her mother was grooming her to be just like herself.

Living in the foster home of a psychologist named Mike, one would think she would have the best care and treatment available to her, but early on I could tell that Mike had his own agenda, and he could also be clueless about his own family. SET TO BE ONE OF THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY, CONTROVERSIAL AND EXPLOSIVE DEBUTS OF 2017 - for fans of quality psychological suspense and reading group fiction: once you read this book you'll want to talk about it. Sentence structure is awkward at times with Milly describing proceedings-- "shifted in his chair, he did--” like a sort of mini-Yoda. Morgan is Milly’s only friend who Milly is afraid if she reveals about who she is, whether her friend will leave. Furthermore, the kids that her mom hurt and whom she watched through the peephole haunts her everywhere she goes.

Phoebe, the daughter was utterly despicable, a child completely indulged, who was never going to offer Milly a welcoming environment. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this fabulously written psychological thriller and I would definitely read more by this author again! Chilling, creepy and with a growing sense of unease this book really ticks all the boxes and was utterly compelling. These parts are the hardest to read--at times, I had to put the book down and just walk away as the dark, brutal images got under my skin.

It felt more like a dark Young Adult coming of age novel, but even then, not to the degree of something like the fabulous Girls on Fire, by Robin Wasserman, so I am struggling to place this book into a genre in my own mind. He’s so wrapped up in writing the book that he doesn’t pay much attention to what’s happening at home.

I think this is a very good debut novel and I am already looking forward to reading more from Ali Land. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. Okay already, we know you are royally messed up, as any self-respecting daughter of a serial killer would be.

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. The story is told solely through Milly's eyes and consists mostly of internal thoughts over dialogue or action.We remain poised at the edge of our seats waiting for the figurative shoe to drop--if a shoe exists at all. However, I recently took it on holiday and was over the moon that it was such an enjoyable and entertaining read. I could relate to Milly as she tried to do the right thing, while fending off the memories of being brought up by an abusive, self-absorbed mother. The short and broken sentences provided the effect of being in the mind of Milly, the teenage daughter of a serial killer, yet this narration ended up becoming overkill and annoying after a while. This book is told in the first person point of view following Milly (aka Annie) 15 years old high school student and daughter of the notorious child serial killer.