Good Me Bad Me

Product Information

Though I finished this book before its publication on September 5, 2017, I just couldn’t decide how to sum up it up without spoilers while relating my enjoyment of this book. Now I know it's only just turned January, but I really do think this is going to be one of the big thrillers of 2017. It has everything you want from this genre. 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. Parts are harrowing, particularly as we're dealing with a young teenage girl whose mother is a serial killer of young kids.

Good Me Bad Me - Penguin Books UK

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. 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. Nature vs. Nurture…..or something in between. That’s the heart of Ali Land’s debut novel, Good Me, Bad Me. Are we doomed to repeat the sins of our parents? Can we start anew? Or is their legacy burned so deeply into our DNA that altering our fate becomes impossible? 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.

Media Reviews

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. A gripping tale about a teenage girl waiting to give evidence at her serial-killer mother's trial. Unsettling and unforgettable.”

Good Me Bad Me: Does Valence Influence Self (PDF) Good Me Bad Me: Does Valence Influence Self

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. Good Me, Bad Me by Ali Land is a disturbing, chilling, and a suspenseful psychological thriller novel with an intriguing and unsettling storyline that is a slightly different take on the life of a serial killer because she is a female. I am going to be in the minority on this one. This book just didn’t work for me. I wish I could pin-point why, but I find myself struggling with specifics. A majority of the book felt like a drawn-out episode of mean girls. The bullying was almost too much. Was it the child abuse, the dysfunctional families...? Well it’s not like I don’t read these themes in books...because I consistently do. There was just something about this book I found unsettling.A gripping, psychological rollercoaster, Good Me Bad Me is an unputdownable read that will leave readers wondering just how much control they have over their own fate.” Land coolly ratchets up tension and takes the reader into a damaged mind, exploring the question of nature versus nurture, and the possibility of redemption. Good Me Bad Me is a heartbreaking, breathtaking chill of a book.” Overall, I think this novel is one of the best psychological thrillers I’ve read this year. It might not be for everyone, but upon much reflection, I think the story is more troubling that it appears on the surface, which is weighty enough, but it also opens up a plethora of questions and endless ‘what if’ scenarios, that kept my brain buzzing deep into the night.

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

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. I received the ARC of Good Me Bad Me from Flatiron Books and Author, Ali Land for an honest review. Bad Me interpersonal behaviors have been associated with moderate anxiety, are highly devalued and infrequently performed.

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.

Good Me Bad Me author Ali Land An interview with Good Me Bad Me author Ali Land

Summarily, Milly is placed in foster care, in what appears to be an ideal household, with her foster father, Mike, doubling as her therapist. Good Me, Bad Me is not for everyone. There isn’t much action, as the majority of the book the reader is in Milly’s head learning about what she is thinking and feeling vs.what she did with her mom and what her mom did to her. Since I tend to like books with twisted and disturbing characters and stories, this one worked for me! I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this fabulously written psychological thriller and I would definitely read more by this author again! But the hearts of small children are delicate organs. A cruel beginning in this world can twist them into curious shapes.” 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.

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As her mother's trial looms, the secrets of her past won't let Annie sleep, even with a new foster family and name - Milly. 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! 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 is dark, compelling, voice-driven psychological suspense by debut author Ali Land: "Could not be more unputdownable if it was slathered with superglue." — Sunday Express 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.