Good Me, Bad Me is one those strange books where the beginning and end are kinda meh, but the middle is fantastic. The story opens with a brilliant premise: Teenaged Annie turns her serial killer mother in to the police. Afterwards she’s given a new identity-- Milly--and is sent to live with her London psychologist, Mike Newmont, and his family. There Milly will be prepped for trial and attend school with Mike’s troubled daughter Phoebe. Mike and his wife, Saskia, are aware of Milly’s true identity. Phoebe is not. And it’s that deception that proves integral to the plot. Phoebe wages a brutal war against an innocent Milly. As their war reaches a fever pitch, Milly will discover whether she can escape her mother’s nature--adhere to her own goodness--or if blood does inevitably out. When it comes to courtroom drama, this one is right up there with the best. The tension is indescribable as Milly prepares to go into the witness box. She will be behind a screen while she gives evidence but her mother’s poisonous, powerful influence could penetrate a shield of solid lead. Good Me interpersonal behaviors have been associated with minimal anxiety, are highly valued and frequently performed.

This book ended up being very different than what I expected. 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). This is an outstanding debut novel. I highly recommend it to fans of psychological thrillers, especially. This one will mess with your mind and conscience, all at once, and I promise, despite all the comparisons to the ‘girl’ books, this one is unlike anything you’ve encountered, blowing all the coattail riders in this category right out of the water. This is one of those plots where you find yourself second guessing yourself as you read and make predictions of where the book is going only to change your mind a few chapters later. It's very engaging, the writing is tight and the pace is gripping. If you love to get into the headspace of dark, damaged and complex characters you will really enjoy this book. I think this is a very good debut novel and I am already looking forward to reading more from Ali Land. Milly’s new foster parents, the Newmonts, are specially chosen to give Milly the best possible support. Her foster father, Mike, is a psychologist. 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.The family live in Notting Hill Gate and it is here that the teenager is coached on her role as star witness at her mother’s trial, on multiple charges of torturing and murdering nine children. Right way, I knew this journey was headed down a dark, twisted path. I read with increasing trepidation, as Milly’s harrowing story unfolds. Milly’s mother, a female serial killer, whose voice is always running in Milly’s mind, planting seeds of doubt, is absolutely chilling. Finally, Milly makes a friend at school called Morgan, a reserved girl who doesn’t have any other friends. She doesn’t have an easy home life, and Milly sympathizes with her. Milly wishes she could tell Morgan the truth about her past and what happened to her, but it’s too risky. She doesn’t want Morgan to think that she’s bad or monstrous. All I'll say is if you enjoy reading psychological/suspense thrillers then you have to read this book. It's another one of those books where the least you know about it, the better. I know people say that all the time, but it really is. Beautiful, pure things make me feel ugly. Tarnished. I remember asking you when I was three, maybe four, where I came from. 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. But you didn't respond, you walked out of the kitchen left me standing there alone"

In the meantime, Milly speaks to her counselors and the prosecution. They go over the murders and what Milly witnessed. She describes what her mother called “the playground.” This was a special room at home where she mutilated and killed young children. She also frequently tortured Milly in there. Land doesn’t describe the murders or child abuse in detail; rather, everything is implied. Sexual assault is also implied. H μητέρα της Άννι είναι ψυχοπαθής serial killer. Ευτυχώς, αυτή τη στιγμή βρίσκεται στην φυλακή οπού πληρώνει για τα φριχτά εγκλήματα της. Η Άννι είναι ελεύθερη, επιτέλους, να ζήσει μια φυσιολογική ζωή με καινούρια ταυτότητα, πλέον ως Μίλι. Η μήπως όχι; Η Άννι- Μίλι είναι δέσμια του παρελθόντος της, δέσμια μίας διεστραμμένης αγάπης, δέσμια των σχιζοφρενικών διδαχών μιας παρανοϊκής μητέρας που έκανε τα ΠΑΝΤΑ για να αφήσει τα σημάδια της στο κορμί, στο μυαλό και στη ψυχή της Άννι. Και το κατάφερε. I think the problem lies in the plot structure. There isn't a classic murder puzzle to solve and some of the situations felt implausible. For instance, I could never figure out how Milly's mom was able to continue killing without getting caught. For heaven's sake, the bodies are all in the basement (not a spoiler). Wasn't anyone investigating these missing children? Good Me Bad Me is an astonishing debut - technically sophisticated and emotionally heart wrenching. So many things are done well - the status jungle of girls school, the psychological dissonance of a dysfunctional family, the internal machinery of damaged children. I thought it was wonderful' Helen Callaghan, bestselling author of Dear AmyTowards the end of the book Norma and Kaceey were feeling a sense of creepy dread leaving Kaceey feeling like she didn’t want to finish and Norma a sense of foreboding that didn’t sit well and was scared to finish. For Lindsay and Brenda they were unable to feel any creepiness or dread as they were so overwhelmed by the mean girls and everything this story touched on which was pretty much everything but the kitchen sink. All of this not helping with Kaceey’s unsettling sense of dread. Some of it felt out of place or just didn’t fit well into the story. With a new foster family and a new name - Milly - she hopes for a fresh start. Now, surely, she can be whoever she wants to be. But as her mother's trial looms, the secrets of Milly's past won't let her sleep . . . This would make a fantastic movie and I bet it will be. It's just one of those books you can picture on the big screen. 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. 4.5 stars from me!

From the beginning I felt a great deal of sympathy for Milly. This young teen, who had so much to forget, had already been through so much, witnessed something beyond terrible, who now just wanted to be normal, and in a home where people cared about her in a healthy way. A therapist household sounds ideal but there was more going on here, making this a less than healthy environment for a troubled young girl. Wow....This really was quite a book. A chilling read. In my opinion a really well-written psychological thriller. An engrossing, disturbing plot with many well-developed yet flawed characters. There were times that I thought the believability envelope was being pushed a bit far, but I was totally wrapped up in the story and able to overlook most of it. Good Me, Bad Me takes place in England. Fifteen-year-old Annie lives with her mother who terrifies her. She doesn’t have many friends because she’s too scared to bring people home. Her mother is a vicious murderer who tortures and kills people in the family home. Despite loving her mother, Annie calls the police because she can’t take it anymore. Design, develop, and deliver assessment-based development solutions for early-career leaders that ensure a diverse and sustainable lership talent pipeline. Provide guidance to management on their role in adopting and promoting such an approach to organizational sustainability. Support efficient and effective use of solutions with certification training and ongoing research on best development strategies. About the Founder I told the story again. And again. Same story. Different faces watched, different ears listened. I told them everything.Ali Land’s psychological thriller, Good Me, Bad Me (2017), follows a young girl who finds out that her mother is probably a serial killer and that she must testify against her mother at trial. The novel received an overwhelmingly positive reception from critics upon publication, and reviewers comment on its unique voice and narrative style. An English writer, Good Me, Bad Me is Land’s debut novel. She worked as a child and adolescent mental health nurse in the UK and Australia for more than 10 years. While Norma was listening to this story and was lost in the unstable mind of Milly and her thoughts the rest of us were overwhelmed with the constant bullying from the mean girls which left us feeling exhausted and really sad at how mean they really were. There is a lot going on within this story and many topics touched on here that for us overshadowed the creepiness and distracted us from the struggles going on in Milly’s mind. For the Twisted Sister Norma it was a very different experience as she really got into the minds of the characters as the narrator of the audiobook was absolutely brilliant and really showed how creepy and disturbing these characters really were. But Milly has secrets, and life at her new home becomes complicated. As her mother’s trial looms, with Milly as the star witness, Milly starts to wonder how much of her is nature, how much of her is nurture, and whether she is doomed to turn out like her mother after all. Ali Land's sentences are concise, no commas needed. (LIFE GOALZ). The pace of the writing is on point and completely effortless. A joy to read. I'm really looking forward to this young writer's future career! This will be a Fall must-read when it publishes on September 5, 2017.