Good Me Bad Me

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Dark. Chilling. Atmospheric. WOW. This book.. it sunk its claws into me and didn't let go..not even when the book was over. I feel that this book will stay with me for a while and that I will have a book hangover from this. This is a book that generated a lot of hype and because of that I was a little hesitant going into it. I was hoping it would live up to all of its "pizzazz" if you will, and it did! You turned your head to the side. Faced me. Your eyes never left mine, I read them with ease. You said nothing to them, yet everything to me. I nodded.

Richard and Judy Introduce Good Me, Bad Me by Ali Land Richard and Judy Introduce Good Me, Bad Me by Ali Land

Milly's development throughout the book was very intriguing. It was as though she was at war with herself; struggling with her good side and her bad side. She feels strongly about not ending up like her Mom and we see this thought process throughout the book. A deliberate pace and a skillfully woven plot conspire to create a visceral read that’s at once a gripping psychological thriller and a devastating exploration of the damage wrought by childhood trauma.” A teenage girl with a very troubled past reports her mum to the police for the terrible things she has done, and is fostered by her psychologist. Is that even allowed? I would have thought you would be placed in temporary foster care and provided with a separate psychologist. 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. Perhaps this is perfectly acceptable practice, I don’t claim to be an expert in this matter, but did personally find it a little hard to find this situation believable. Mike has a big part to play in the work to be done. A treatment plan drawn up between him and the unit staff detailed a weekly therapy session with me in the run‑up to the trial. An opportunity for me to discuss any concerns or worries with him. Yesterday he suggested Wednesdays, midway through each week. I said yes, not because I wanted to. But because he wanted me to, he thinks it will help. I used to tell the kids I looked after, ‘Just do your best and don’t forget to breathe,’ and that’s what’s next for me as I begin the journey of writing the difficult second novel. It’s a thriller set on a scarcely inhabited Scottish island where young twins – who have grown up in complete isolation – become fascinated by a group of newcomers on a training expedition. There are secrets aplenty, and as the end of summer looms a dark undercurrent threatens to rise, shattering the idyll of island life forever.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. 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.

Good Me Bad Me by Ali Land | Waterstones Good Me Bad Me by Ali Land | Waterstones

Who’s going to be the next Gillian Flynn or Paula Hawkins or Ruth Ware? Ali Land, that’s who....Reader, I was enthralled.” 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. The ending left us underwhelmed and unsatisfied. We all still highly recommend this book and feel listening to this one would be the better choice as we did feel like we were missing out on an experience that Norma had that we didn’t. I struggled with the style of writing too at first. That’s when I started thinking, Oh no, this is young adult fiction, not the controversial adult psychological suspense I was hoping for. 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. A sense of creeping dread drives the narrative, and that most fascinating of crime-novel subjects, the female serial killer, casts a formidable shadow…Readers will be more than happy to go along for the ride and may be surprised how they feel about the conclusion, proving the unmistakable spell that Land has cast. Sly, unsettling, and impossible to put down.”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. We used to call this argument ‘the slippery fish’ on the adolescent unit where I worked. How to measure the unmeasurable. Even after a decade of working in mental health, I’m not sure where I stand. I don’t believe a child can be born evil, but I do believe certain traits are inherited and in a loving, nurturing environment can lie dormant. Put that same person in an abusive, violent environment, however, and those traits grow in strength. I’ve seen twins brought up separately who end up developing the same mental illness. I’ve seen children who you would expect to be ill, but aren’t; the factor of resilience muddying the water further. I’ve seen teenagers take on traits, not just from the parent they live with, but the absent parent they haven’t seen since they were a baby. I’ve seen all of that, yet I still don’t know. It has always, and will always be the greyest of grey areas, but even if it seems futile at points, we should never stop trying to understand or care for our young people, the product of both their environment and their genes. His hand—I noticed a slight tremor as it reached for the telephone. Come now, he said. You need to hear this. The silent waiting for his superior to arrive. Bearable for me. Less so for him. A hundred questions beat a drum in his head. Is she telling the truth? Can’t be. That many? Dead? Surely not. 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. I thought the events at the school with the bullying were very true to life and realistic and though most characters were very unlikeable they were excellently portrayed.

Good Me Bad Me: Prioritization of the Good-Self During Good Me Bad Me: Prioritization of the Good-Self During

This is the story of a young woman, her mother is a serial killer and as a child she was witness to things no child should ever be subjected to. She is a scarred woman, you don't come out of that unscathed. When her mother is put in prison she is taken in by a foster family who also have a teenage daughter the same age. Yet, the household is far from stable. Mike and his wife have a teenage daughter of their own, named Phoebe, who, unaware of Milly's past, is jealous of the time her father spends with Milly. Phoebe decides to punish Milly by making her already difficult life, absolutely miserable. This is a chilling debut novel that does not flinch in the picture it paints of the traumatic consequences of a monstrous childhood for fifteen year old Millie. Millie used to be the abused daughter, Annie, of a serial killer mother whose victims were children. We never meet the mother although her presence is writ large throughout. It was Annie that reported her to the police after she felt her mother had gone too far and needed to be stopped. Annie becomes Millie, and is fostered into the care of Mike, a trained therapist and his wife, Saskia. Millie wants that new start in her life but is it really possible for this to materialise?This is the debut novel by Ali Land that is due to be released in January 2017 and I am sure that it will be one of the books of the year. This excellent psychological thriller will be a big success and I know we will hear a lot more from this author. Annie is a damaged 15-year-old. She is the daughter of a child serial killer and she helped the police catch her. The court case is now looming, and she must give evidence against her mother. The story is very well developed to provide a tense atmosphere with that edge of suspicion and apprehension that Annie was either more involved or will repeat what her nature may preordain. How alike is Annie to her Mother, does the apple fall far from the tree? Is she GOOD or BAD?

Good Me Bad Me by Ali Land - Penguin Books UK Good Me Bad Me by Ali Land - Penguin Books UK

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. Annie too, has suffered terribly at the hands of her mother, but at the age of fifteen, she decides to inform the police of her mother's crimes. The fact is, she was unable to help any of the children, and the last murder was just too much for Annie to bear, because she was very close to the victim. But then the game changed, and it all happened within a few months of taking the job. Customers were experiencing more problems more frequently. They became increasingly demanding, and conversations became more heated. Some team members stayed longer than they otherwise might have because they liked John. But after observing that neither they nor John could cope with the demands, and that John was not able to “stand up” to management, they began leaving. 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. I think the first half of the book was a little slower than the second half, hence the 4 star review. However, the second half more than made up for the first half. I felt as if I was on a roller coaster of the best kind. Up, down, and around. You just never know what is going to happen. I really, really enjoyed this book and I am anxious to see what the author will write next.

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. Thank you to Netgalley & Penguin UK Michael Joseph for my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review*