One if the worst books I've read....its basically a teenager throwing a temper tantrum. Also did we need the animal cruelty...no thank tou

Felt quite inappropriate that this privileged girl took herself off to the favelas because it was so far-removed from her normal life, and the book only served to highlight the poorer areas.

I quite liked this one. Bit slow in parts but in all a good read that kept me heated and I enjoyed it.

Having loved The One Memory of Flora Banks, I was really looking forward to this. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite live up to my expectations. I really enjoyed the premise, but the character of Ella was so unlikeable that it was hard to root for her, and some of the twists were too far fetched not to pull me out of the story. I know quite a few of my pupils really enjoyed this, so I do recommend it to them if they’re after a twisty page turner, it just wasn’t for me personally.

I found this book a little slow to get into but suddenly I realised that I was captivated by it. It was an amazing book and totally original.

A fascinating read. Learning the truth alongside Ella made me feel like a confidante on her journey to find her true self. The Ella/Bella aspect was an interesting way to realise the concept of a young mind, divided by circumstances it couldn't comprehend or remember, trying to make sense of its reality.

A story that touches on a lot of current issues - the protagonist's friends being mixed race and gay. Whilst it is always good to address these topics, it almost felt a little overdone for the sake of including them.

The main story line was interesting although I was expecting it to have a faster pace to the story. Some bits I found myself losing interest slightly.

I took some time to get to read this book but it was worth the wait. This is a young adult story with lots of different themes of love, loss, 'finding yourself', 'finding your identity' and family ties. Once I got into it the book was a page turner. Ella's world is turned upside down just before her eighteenth birthday when finds out that all that she thought was true - isn't. We follow her on a journey to find her true self.
A great read and thanks netgalley.

Unfortunately I didn't like this book. I tried reading it twice but couldn't get past the first few chapters... The summary seemed interesting but the story didn't draw me in. I had a look at the last pages (sometimes it gives you an idea of how the book will evolve) but it didn't help make me want to read more. Some readers might like it but it just wasn't for me.

I will definitely be reading this again. I’ll be looking forward to more books to come from this author.

The Truth and Lies of Ella Black

I’d seen quite a bit of hype surrounding this book and so was eager to read it! In all honesty, it wasn’t exactly what I thought it would be but I liked it!

The Truth and Lies of Ella Black is a powerful and entertaining read aimed at the YA market. Charting 40 days in the life of Ella, when her life changes beyond al recognition. Dramatic, dark and gripping, I think people should look past a lot of the reviews for this book and make your own mind up! Four stars from purplebookstand.

The girl in this book seems like such a spoilt brat. Her parents treat her to a boat to Rio but once she find out she’s adopted she basically turns against them. I went for this book as it was the same author as one memory of Flora Banks but I couldn’t get into the writing style of that one either. I think I’m going to have to avoid Emily Barr unfortunately

My daughter loved this book, she has just started reading YA and has seen this one spoken about.

She liked the main character and loved the twists and turns as she kept reading. This was her first book by this author and I'm sure she will read more as she has been raving about it every since.

Unfortunately I didn't finish this book, as I couldn't get into it - nothing against the author or book, just not to my personal taste. Thank you for the opportunity to read it.

Unfortunately I could not get into this book and only managed half way. I think it's a love or hate book. I'm sure a lot of readers will thoroughly enjoy it just not me.

I really didn't like this book and had to DNF 20% through - I didn't like the writing style and thought the protagonist was awful.

OK, at first I found Ella intensely irritating, but as the book went on, it was great to see how she grew as a person. As a "coming of age" novel, it works really well. Ella sets off to find out who she is on one level, but in the process, finds out who she really is as a person. Liked it a lot.

I adored the writing and setting of this book and loved the detailed descriptions Emily Barr wrote. I also loved how she made it fast paced and didn't allow the book to lag

I'm not quite sure why it took me so long to read this book from my shelf. The title isn't inspiring, which is all you have to go for on kindle, and it just didn't grab me. When I did eventually force myself to read it, I found that it was a really good book, with a captivating and skillful storyline - well worth it.

After reading The One Memory of Flora Banks I was so looking forward to this book but found it lacking in comparison. I just couldn’t get into it. Whether it was because of how good the Flora Banks story was I don’t know but for me this was a bit disappointing.