Ella is constantly trying to suppress her dark half Bella, but soon relies on her, when she ventures out into the dangers surrounding Rio. They both agree that they have to escape the lies of their life.

I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Where to start...
Ella is a brat.

I almost DNFed within the first ten pages, the writing didn't appeal to me at all. And Ella is quickly established as a spoilt, immature, self-centred brat.
Yes, she has a dark side, which she calls Bad Ella - or Bella. Bella is always on the fringe of Ella's conscious, trying to claw control. Ella has to fight daily to keep Bella in check, so she doesn't harm the people Ella loves. Ella has to vent Bella's destructive nature, by torturing injured birds, and destroying her favourite artwork.

Unfortunately, the "good side" Ella is a horrible, whiny individual. She's constantly whining, expects everything, is horrid to her parents for no reason. (She thinks her parents are secretly divorcing, and all she can think about is how it'll impact her, and how they should just get it over with).
Ella's thoughts always goes off on a tangent, as she muses about all sorts of shit. Oh, I'm sure when I was a 12 year old emo, I would have thought it very deep and meaningful. Here and now, she just comes off as pretentious and obnoxious.

Once she gets to Rio, she's even worse. I felt so sorry for her parents, as their whiny little twit of a daughter went from snapping at them for keeping secrets; to giddily demanding everything she could get.

Then she sees Christian, and I nearly stopped reading again. There was eye contact across the lobby, and Ella suddenly <i>knew</i> that he was the guy that featured in every painting and dream she had ever had.
One of the worst cases of instalove I've read.
Ella goes from never been kissed, to wanting to have sex with him, and sharing all of her darkest parts (including Bella - she hadn't even told her best friends about Bella).

Ella decides she's going to the Favelas despite being warned that they can be dangerous for tourists. Because, y'know, foreign teenage girl wandering on her own for the first time, nothing could possibly go wrong.

The plot was... ugh. It was OK. It was highly-fanciful at best.
It just wasn't strong enough, and never compete against the character-driven story.
Unfortunately, our all-consuming main character was a relentlessly annoying brat.

I enjoyed this book. I LOVED "The One Memory of Flora Banks" and dived into this hoping for more of the same, but of course it wasn't.
Ella is a girl with obvious mental health problems trying to save face and keep everyone happy in white middle-class suburbia, but when her alter-ego "Bella" comes out things both inanimate and/or animate tend to get destroyed. While battling with this demon she is suddenly whisked away to Rio de Janeiro by her parents for a very mysterious reason and this becomes central to the plot. I was intrigued as to why Ella was suddenly in Brazil and entranced by the setting, it definietly made me feel like I was there.
When Ella discovers the reason she was flown to the other side of the world she loses it and runs away, ending up in a poor suburb and this is where the story lost me a little. An extremely sheltered seventeen year old runs around Rio, with next to no money and then ends up getting a job & place to stay? I mean it was entertaining but I just didn't buy it. Also the ending jarred with me...I just didn't like it. How could she forget her friends and the people who brought her up and just stay in Rio? I mean I would be annoyed at them as well but I wouldn't move to another country. It just struck me as really bizarre.
Not my favourite Emily Barr, it's a good story, but just didn't ring true to me.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

So I should be honest by saying that Barr’s previous novel, The One Memory of Flora Banks, didn’t do it for me. I mean, I liked it and I loved the idea of it but I just didn’t feel like there was anything…you know, spectacular about it. But her second YA novel knocked it out of the park for me. I really adored this one. It’s an intriguing, dark, twisty story of a girl who finds out her parents aren’t her real ones and discovers the horrific truth of her own birth parents.

What I loved most about this was the characters. I specifically really enjoyed reading Ella as a protaganist because she was often prone to making the worst, rash decisions and proving herself again and again to be an unreliable narrator.

I feel super lucky that I got to meet Barr at Deptcon3 and also managed to swipe one of the ARCs of this book.

If I had to pick something I didn’t enjoy about this, it was when Ella was in Rio and the insta-love happened. Like I was not expecting it at all and thought there would be a twist to the story but they supposedly fell in love within moments of knowing each other. I had to roll my eyes at that and every time the love interest had scenes in the book I started to care less and less. That was probably the reason why I’m bringing my star rating down by one. But don’t be discouraged by that one thing. This book is so great in so many ways and will keep you guessing until the very end.

There were so many things that could have been awesome here. They weren't. Insta-love and miraculous conveniences abound. No teenager should ever read this, self harm, animal abuse, theft, fraud and assault. Now those things wouldn't be a problem if they were vilified however they are not, all the crimes and terrible acts orchestrated by our 17 year old MC are just glossed over completed and never addressed even at the end. She is in no way punished for her actions, in fact she is in many ways rewarded.

A serious mental health issue is used as a plot device and made to seem at times like this great thing which clearly having a voice in your head that wants you to kill other people, small animals and yourself at turns, IS NOT GOOD. SEEK HELP. Christ. Also, do not run away from your family in a foreign country and just keep getting into shady vehicles with strangers or sleeping under the same roof as them when you don't speak a word of their language and have you heard of human trafficking?. 

Anyway, so our MC is somehow at 17 in a country she has never been to and doesn't even know which language they speak let alone how to speak it. She is taken there by her parents who are the stupidest people ever. She then sees a boy once and is in complete forever and ever love. Luckily, he speaks English, in fact he is American. Boy isn't that handy otherwise they could never have been. So then she does a bunch of really stupid and dangerous stuff with the boy and thankfully isn't murdered. Then the actual story starts and turns out *spoiler* she is adopted. Her tiny brain can't deal with this so she decides to steal a bunch of stuff from her parents and become an illegal immigrant in Rio. Instead of you know. Talking. Good message there book. Not like thousands of people find out they're adopted and deal with it totally fine. The felony commiting doesn't stop there btw she then mugs randoms on a beach and lies to a charity whilst commiting identity fraud!. Clap clap. So then her Romeo tracks her down IN THE WHOLE OF RIO despite the fact he is also only a teenager on holiday with friends. Then her birth mother finds her. Then some sort of plot God comes down and hits her with the car then the book ends. I am not kidding that's the book. At the end she decided to stay in Rio (perhaps she somehow got a visa? whilst being a missing person? with no passport) she doesn't see her parents again but says she might. Romeo is also now living in Rio, they get a apartment together (how?) she does her A-levels (how?). Then the last chapter just spoils what was already a stupid but tolerable book by sort of implying she got her mental health problems from her adoptive mother even though she isn't related to her and you can't catch Schizophrenia ? That's not even hinted at in any of the book since the parents are absent for 80% of it. The book also spoils it's self in the first few chapters with a news report basically telling you (if you're paying attention) why it is they are fleeing. Hint: it isn't the flu.


The writting style itself is very simple even for YA (not throwing shade y'all know YA is written differently than adult aimed books). It reads like someone telling you about their day. "I did this and then I did that. Then I said to her and she said to me and then I did this and then I went there and did that." Not very descriptive, no sense of setting at all. What should have felt like a bustling tropical urban setting might as well have been Conneticut if not for popping the odd Spanish/Portuguese word in.

So why not one star I hear you say? Well because before the last chapter it was a silly but enjoyable book, summer read on the plane or the beach and never look at or think about again, which is fine the world needs books like that and I was going to give it three stars.

Ella Black is 17, about to turn 18, her life is pretty ordinary but she has a dark side which she is struggling to keep hidden. When her parents pull her out of school without any reason and take a trip to Rio she is suspicious. Ella thinks her parents are hiding something and she is determined to find out what it is.

After searching through her parents things, Ella makes a discovery which sends her into a tailspin, everything she thought about her life is a lie and this enables her dark side to take over. Ella feels she cannot cope with the discovery and runs. The story follows Ella as she takes to the streets of Rio, trying to discover what about her life is real.

This is a good book, the subject matter is dark and it has several twists, it covers the period of 40 days in the life of Ella, I think the revelations that Ella has to absorb would send anyone spiralling out of control let alone a teenager. A compelling read with an ending you don’t see coming.

I received a free ecopy of this book in return for an honest review. Many thanks to Netgalley and and the publisher for the opportunity.

Having previously read ‘The One Memory of Flora Banks’ and found it uplifting I was excited to be able to read and review Emily Barr’s new book, ‘The Truth and Lies of Ella Black’. The premise was intriguing, teenage girl whisked away mysteriously by parents, finding out the truth of her origins. However, the pattern of repetition and introspection which worked so well in a story about an amnesiac, did not sit nearly so well with what turns out to be a rather disturbed adoptee. What could have been a journey of insight degenerated into the pursuit of a rather whiney self-involved main character, from which there is no respite. By the time the book was half through I was left shaking my head and wondering whether to continue. I continued to the end but found little to redeem the ultimately thankless character. If you are looking for high adventure and travel, this may not be the book for you. If, however, you are a fan of Emily Barr and enjoy her style of deeply emotional internal quest, mirrored by a physical journey, then you will probably enjoy this book.

Ella Black has a darkness inside of her that she's struggled to control for her 17 years of her life. With nothing eventful ever happening in her life, her perfect parents turn up one day to her school and whisk her off with no mention of where or why they are leaving. They arrive in Rio de Janeiro and Ella still has no idea why she is there, but embraces the city she has dreamed about for so long.

This book tackles mental health, familial relationships, travel, independence, romantic relationships, friendship and finding yourself. With all those themes, plus an adventure in Rio, the book is sure to be a winner, right? Meh. I had high hopes for this book and there are aspects that I absolutely loved (the travel part all the way through the book), but I was left feeling disappointed. 

Pitched as a thriller, I was hoping this book would have twists and turns that would make me gasp. However, I just felt like "Oh, this is happening now." I didn't particularly like the main character, she was selfish and we spent a lot of time in her head following her relentless questioning of the world around her. I also HATED the romance in the book, insta-love in its finest form and it was one aspect of the book that made me really lose interest. All the events regarding the romantic interest (no spoilers) could have still happened without it being 'the love of my life.' 

Emily Barr clearly has a talent for writing and the writing style itself kept me intrigued and I flew through this book pretty quickly. I loved her previous YA book, The One Memory of Flora Banks, but this one just wasn't top of the list for me.

If this had not been an arc it would have been a straight DNF. It was one of the most amateurishly written novels I have read in recent times. The book paints itself as a twisty turny thriller but instead loses itself to cheap attempts at psychological drama and a wannabe love story so beyond the realms of far fetched that it's utterly laughable. 

The main character Ella starts out as this seemingly normal teenager with a normal life but she is hiding this darker side. She is struggling to not lose control and always be perfect, fit in etc.

Trigger warning animal abuse.
A big no no for me was early in the book where Ella's supposedly evil alter ego Bella smashed a bird with a hammer. It was disgusting and I felt physically ill as I read it. I understand the reasoning behind this scene but I felt for a YA book it could have been handled with a lighter touch by the author. It was over done and I was unable to pick the book back up for a number of days after I read it. 

Soon after this incident occurs Ella is whisked away to Rio de Janeiro by her parents with no reason as to why. From this moment her life as she knows starts to unravel and she somehow has to piece together who she actually truly is.

And apparently who she truly is is a girl who falls for a boy with one of the worst cases of insta love I have ever read. A lot of people complain about insta love but I don't mind it if it's handled in the correct manner and makes the reader swoon along with the characters. Anyone can immediately see someone and think they're hot and then find themselves laughing and giggling at all their jokes: to me that's <I>insta like</I>. This however... The moment she sets eyes on Christian she sees her future. Her soul's counterpoint. He is the only one that could ever be for her... And then when they actually meet its even more preposterous. I just couldn't believe it as a serious onslaught of romantic emotions. I never felt any of these strong feelings coming from the characters. Instead it was simply a case of I was told as a reader that this is what was happening. There was no heart. No heat. No connection. 

Things then happen that force Ella to go on the run and instead of the book giving us an insight into a character dealing with a genuine mental health problem we just get led down the rabbit hole of ridiculous event after ridiculous event. 

What really lets the book down is the writing. It's just so basic. There is no beauty to it at all. The book doesn't feel like a final draft to me. It feels instead like a hurriedly written first draft lacking in finesse and character detailing. The ending is incredibly unsatisfactory rather than containing the necessary drama a thriller requires. Neither does it give a satisfactory conclusion to the mental health issues in the book. Instead they feel like they were purely there as a plot device rather than feeling remotely well researched or true to life. 

Sadly this book was not at all to my taste and I can't award it more than one star. 

*An ecopy of this book was kindly provided to me by the publisher, Penguin Random House UK Children's, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

The Truth and Lies of Ella Black is a thriller about a girl with a dark, secret side.  As it turns out her parents also have a dark secret and she is whisked away to Rio, Brazil early on in the story.  I found that the story stretched my credulity a lot but it may be enjoyable for users who like fast paced stories and can suspend disbelief.

Wow - this was a really amazing read. I've always enjoyed Emily Barr's novels, and she has recently branched out into YA, with this being her second in that genre after The One Memory of Flora Banks. You definitely don't have to be a Young Adult to enjoy these, though, as there is plenty for a *cough* slightly-older adult to enjoy too.

Seventeen-year-old Ella Black is a bit of an outsider - she has two good friends, Lily and Jack, but life at her private girls' school is not that great. Ella is an only child and her parents are a bit over-protective. Ella struggles with a "dark side" to her personality, which she perceives as a kind of alter ego who she calls Bella ("Bad Ella"). Bella likes to hurt and destroy and is always trying to get the upper hand.  Ella feels her daily life is one long battle to hide and suppress this dangerous other side.

Life takes a dramatic turn though when with no warning at all, Ella is whisked away from school one day by her parents and flown to Rio. To say this is out of character for them would be an understatement, and explanations are not exactly forthcoming. From then on Ella's life becomes a rollercoaster as she learns a shocking truth about her origins, makes some desperate decisions with frightening consequences... oh, and meets a boy. Following Ella's experiences in the favelas of Rio makes for compelling reading. Clearly she is both rasher and more resourceful than anyone has imagined. But as she cycles through identities, who is the real Ella - or indeed Bella?

Some of the subject matter here is really quite dark and you do feel for Ella, who learns never-suspected things about herself which would devastate anybody. Its hard to imagine where it will end for her as she makes some reckless choices, finding danger - but also kindness.

Emily Barr's books generally have a strong travel theme and that is certainly the case here, with Rio - both its tourist side and its poorer underbelly - coming vividly to life.

A brilliant read which is highly recommended.

I am not a fan of instant love and while i'm willing to go with the flow to some degree, this book required you suspend reality completely. It spoiled what could have been a good story.

40 days until she dies. The start of the book sounds clear enough, but as you continue to see these mysterious numbers counting down you realise it's not as simple as you expect. Ella Black leads a privileged life with parents who will do anything for her. But they don't know she is hiding a secret and is not really the simple, nice girl she tries so hard to seem. When they pull her out of school for an unexpected trip to Rio, she finds out that everyone has secrets of their own and nothing about her life is as she thought. Everything Ella goes through made me feel extremely grateful for all the simple things in life. My only slight criticism is that the explanation of Ella's secret at the end isn't very satisfying, I feel like it needed a bit more information and was almost brushed aside with a quick comment.

Settled at a home and happy with two best friends, Lily and Jack in her life, but Ella has her dark side, Bella or Bad Ella to contend with where she imagines committing murders.

When her parents whisk her away to Rio de Janeiro, she unexpectedly finds her seventeen year old life is built on lies and terrible secrets upon discovering an envelop containing documents securing the knowledge that she is adopted.

Her parents aren't her parents or family at all, to her anyway, it soon makes sense to her why they ran away to Rio so swiftly and why her so called parents were acting shiftily.

Still, she has Christian and his friends in Rio that she meets and help her as she uncovers the truth about her adoption and her true birth mother and just who she was.

This was a really great book and keeps you thinking about what could be coming next in suspense! I was rapt from the beginning and loved the way their supposed family unit was in the beginning compared to when Ella finds out the truth. There's a great mystery to uncover about her birth and we stay with her as she finds it all out. 

Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

What a ride.  This author really knows how to take her reader on a journey.  Although this book was advertised as Young Adult I felt this was a bit of a misnomer.  It could be read and enjoyed by any age as in my case it was. The writing is so good conveying the wildness, music and excitement of Rio but at the same time the emotional pull that is the mind of Ella.  

There were a couple of bits that didn't ring true but it didn't detract from my enjoyment.

A girl with a repressed bad side is whisked to Rio without explanation by her parents. This book is not what I was expecting when I picked it up, however, I found the story compelling. The characters are explored well and the plots twists and turns keep you turning the page. I enjoyed this , though I wouldnyafe liked to see "Bella" come out a bit more

Emily Barr is a prolific writer of adult fiction. Her first young adult novel, The One Memory of Flora Banks, was published to critical acclaim in December 2016. This is her second young adult novel, and I think it may be my favourite.

Ella Black lives in Kent with her parents and her cat, Humphrey. She has two best friends, Lily and Jack. But Ella has a secret - sometimes when she least expects it, loud ringing noises flood her head and even though she tries to fight it, she can't stop letting Bella through. Bella is the psychotic side of Ella and makes her do mean things.

One day at school, after being rude to her teacher, Ella is called to the head's office where her mother is anxiously waiting. Ella is immediately removed from school with no explanation, but it's not back home where her parents are taking her. What happens next will turn Ella's life upside down.

Chapter One of the book is titled '40 days until she dies', and all the following chapters count down the days to this event. But who is being talked about? Whose life are we counting down the final days of?

This was such a page turner - I read it in a couple of days. It was fast-paced and full of action and adventure. Ella is brave and fearless, even when facing the most frightening scenario. Move over Flora, there's a new girl in town!

As enticing as 'The One Memory of Flora Banks' but with a much darker tone! Ella Black is a character whose head you don't exactly want to get inside of, but her story is twisted and intriguing nonetheless.