100% adored Emily Barr's previous book,'The One Memory of Flora Banks' so.I was very excited to see where she went next.
Well,it was absolutely brilliant,made me cry (again!) and is bound to be a huge hit. It's hard to describe without giving lots away,all I will say is 'READ IT!'

Readable but not taxing, intriguing but a little frustrating at times, at other times Emily Barr at her best - I expect her fans will love it.

I had previously read and loved (or rather had my heart ripped, put back together again and ugly cried) The One Memory of Flora Banks by Emily Barr, so when I saw this book I jumped at the chance to read it. I suppose in some ways its similar to Floras story in the sense that both girls have this journey of self discovery, where they learn to take care of themselves, but that's where the similarities end.

It's true that Ella's parents are hiding something from her, but Ella is hiding something from them too. Its clear from the blurb that Ella's parents aren't her real parents, and when Ella finds out she is devastated, not just because they aren't her real parents but the truth about her birth parents is devastating. Meanwhile Ella is battling her own own demons, or rather a Demon Bella, her "evil" alter ego. Bella has a habit of coming out when someone or something happens to upset Ella, and she ekes out her own punishments as Ella tries to keep her at bay.

The descriptions of the places Ella visits are so clear you can almost imagine yourself there with her.
This was an easy and comfortable read and it kept me interested from start to finish. I may not have sobbed my eyes out whilst reading Ella's story but once I hit the final few chapters I was unable to put it down long enough to make my kids their dinner

My only real issue with this book was the repetitiveness. Some lines were repeated over and over. And I know some of that was for emphasis, but there were other lines that just seemed to be repeated unnecessarily.

Wow what a powerful and at times emotional novel not my normal Kind of book but really enjoyed it getting into Ella's journey from page one and read it in two days quite dark in places but worked well with the story line of a very troubled young lady who has lots of answers to find about her past until she can think about her future and that ending  it came full circle and brought the whole novel together excellent thoroughly recommend it

I got about 11 or so pages into this book before putting it down. I am not a person who can justify animal abuse in any form and taking a hammer to a bird was unnecessary and disgusting. I could not bring myself to read any more.

This book is classed as YA fiction but I don't care I love the stories Emiy Barr tells. 
I would imagine that the moral of this story (if there is one) is ...If your parents decide there are some things you are best not knowing then please believe them because things could be much worse if you find out. 

When we meet Ella we realize that something is not quite right. Ella is trying to suppress a voice from inside her that wants her to do bad things. She doesn't want this to happen but sometimes she can't help it. One day Ella is taken out of school by her parents and taken straight to the airport. Her phone is taken from her and soon all three of them are on a flight to Rio,no explanation given. Once there Ella needs to take matters into her own hands and find out why her usually dull,quiet and over protective parents have moved her to a foreign country and are acting very strange. 

Wow! What a roller coaster ride this story is. I was so afraid for Ella when she found out what she wasn't supposed to know. I was also surprised at how resourceful she became especially when she had the stress of keeping the other voice inside her satisfied. 

I can't say much more without giving the plot away. This book is not just for the YA market it is for anyone and it kept me turning the pages. Once again Emily Barr has came up with a cracking good story.

Star rating 3.5

Ella Black has a secret dark side to her life. She thinks its Bella, her dark twisted other personality who wants to harm. But soon she comes to realise that's not the only secret being hidden. 

Not long before her eighteenth birthday, Ella is suddenly taken out of school by her mum & dad and whisked off to Brazil. The explanation given by them is not forthcoming, though they don't want her found as they take her mobile phone away from her so she cannot contact her friends back home. During her stay, she falls in love with an American boy called Christian she met at their hotel.

Determined to find out why she is here, she breaks into the safe and discovers her parents are adoptive parents and her real parents did an awful deed many years ago that were worthy enough of newspaper coverage.  Her real mum wants to find her, her adoptive parents have lied to her, so she runs away after attacking her adoptive mum, first to a neighbouring island, then to the favelas of Rio where she thinks no-one can find her.  But her family and Christain is so desperate to find her, when she is discovered its not the reunion she hoped for.


It took me a while to get going in this book as the chapters in the beginning seemed far too long and perhaps apart from the odd bit or two which becomes apparent at the end they could be dropped altogether.  

Ella was a strange character, lots of internal dialogue with her internal dark Bella, not sure as it was an ARC if the some of the sentances were supposed to be split down the paragraphs.

Overall, once she got to the island then moved onto the favelas, I found I enjoyed the story more, though at times, her having so much luck in finding somewhere to stay each time was unbelievable along with the meeting she had towards the end. Surely she wouldn't get that far being that notorious.

The little flashback at the end was interesting, is it nature or nurture that shapes us?

I received this copy from Netgalley in return for a honest review.

What an interesting read. A young girl whisked away from her home by her parents to stop her uncovering a secret, which she finds out anyway. They take her to Brazil where she runs away from them and hides in a favela. As the plot developed, it became slightly far fetched, but the detail surrounding life in Brazil, and her struggle to find her self was well written

Ella Black has a doting family and a comfortable life but she is hiding a secret from everyone she knows. She has a second side to her that she can't control. She calls her second half Bella, short for bad Ella. She can't control Bella and does everything she can to keep her at bay. But when she doesn't manage this, Bella is evil. 

One day Ella is suddenly taken out of school and travels to Rio. She has no idea why her parents are taking her there and why it is so sudden. When she gets there her whole world falls apart and she relies on her other side, Bella, to survive. 

A well paced story that touches on dark difficult subjects in a compassionate way. An addictive read that I finished in one sitting,

I really enjoyed this book, it was realistic and disturbing and ultimately heartening.  This also surprised me because I did not anticipate the change of events which led to the climax of the story. Like Ella, I felt the rug get pulled from under my feet.
Ella Black is a girl who feels she is hiding a dark secret, she has a side nicknamed “Bella” or “Bad Ella” and when she emerges, she is prone to dark thoughts and violence. Ella has found ways of coping with this but she fears how this side of her may overtake her. Suddenly she is called away from school and taken to Rio by her parents though they won’t tell her why. She is suddenly away from the world she knows. We follow her on a whole rollercoaster of emotions as she falls in love while finding out who she really is. It is a truth which completely shocks her and when you read this, you will find out why. At first she thinks it all explains why she has Bella and Bella threatens to triumph.  
This story nearly made me cry – amid all her inner turmoil, I felt myself willing her to find herself because she’s stronger than she realises. Ella is the type of girl who doesn’t like herself much but doesn’t realise that she is more likeable than she realises. It was a reminder of how it is to be a teenage girl struggling with identity and also how emotional that time can be.

I quite enjoyed the story line  and there were a few surprises that I wasn’t able to predict which always scores points for me however this wasn’t one of my favourites. 
I felt the writing was repetitive and found myself skimming over a lot of sections. I also felt the love connection was ridiculous and rushed making it unbelievable.  
I really wanted to love this book because I’ve liked other titles by this author.

I found this book incredibly slow to start off with. I had read the blurb and nothing in the first 20% of the book seemed to match up- to the point where I was wondering if it was the same book. Once it got going it was excellent. Quite unbelievable, but interesting and gripping. I struggled at the beginning but flew through the rest of it in an afternoon. One criticism is that it seemed to touch on Ella having mental health difficulties, that there was a bad side to her that she couldn't control and I assumed it was schizophrenia but nothing definitive came of it.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publishers for allowing me to read this book in advance in exchange for an honest review. 

Firstly I want to say that this book covered some topics that possibly should come with a trigger warning. These include self-harm, animal abuse, violence and some mentions of rape. So if these are triggers for you then please think hard before trying this book.

I found this book very hard to get into and I almost gave up at the animal abuse a few pages. The book is very far-fetched and unrealistic plot-wise. I also felt the writing style was a little immature for me personally. The story contains some Insta-love which normally doesn't bother me but in this instance it seemed very unrealistic. Ella meets Christian they spend a few hours together, before Ella does a runner. Christian then spends almost a month tracking her down before moving to live with her in Rio. I also didn't like how easy it was portrayed that someone with anger issues was able to just start teaching children without any passport checks I hope in reality this couldn't happen!

This is my opinion on the book and it's not to say you will agree. I think if you like the sound of the plot then give it a go after the first few chapters it had enough to keep me interested but after reading the whole story it simply isn't a story for me.

A beautifully written book - very plausible.  Ella Black, almost 18, thinks she has a problem as she is always being urged to do bad things by an invisible presence who she calls Bella,  One day she is summoned to the Headteachers office, only to find her mother there looking worried, and is told that she is being taken away for a while, but no further explanation.  Within no time at all she, together with her mother and father are on a plane to Rio, a city she has always wanted to see and explore.  Her parents try to restrict her but will not explain why.  After having made one 'escape ' which she thoroughly enjoyed she decides she has to discover why her parents have refused to let her have her mobile phone and, whilst they are breakfasting, she manages to break the code on the room safe and majesty starting discovery which leads her to disown her parents and to run away.   Please read this book to find out why!

I received an advance copy of this book via Netgalley & Random House.
I've never read and of Emily Barr's previous works and though I think the "The Truth & Lies of Ella Black" is a good book but,  in many ways I found it disturbing and uncomfortable. Given the main protagonist's situation I would have expected to sympathise more with her. I couldn't do it albeit I didn't come down on the other side.
I recommend you read it I think it has many merits it just wasn't for me.

I enjoyed this despite the frankly rather ridiculous premise and finale. It could have been so much better though with a real examination of Ella /Bella spilt personality and personal circumstances etc. I also refuse to believe that any teenager wouldn't find a way to contact her friends even if her parents took her phone away.

Not really sure about this book,not very realistic. Characters very odd,tho the characterisation of what goes on in her head was well done.

Looking forward to reading this book but have tried to read 3 times and cannot get into the story. Sorry

DId not finish at 40%
I loved the summary for this book, straight away I knew I wanted to read it. But something about Ella didn’t click for me. She was a spoiled brat who, more than once, I wanted to kick in the shins and tell to grow up. The scene at the beginning with the bird put me right off, but as of received a free copy I tried to soldier on.
I really wanted to like this book, especially after reading The One Memory of Flora Banks, but the pages I did read of this were like walking through quicksand, long, tiring and eventually, I was going to lose.

Another great YA read from the author of The One Memory of Flora Banks.   Familiar themes abound - a young girl on the brink of adulthood, a disorder and a home life that is actually more chaotic than it appears from the outside.  I really love the three dimensional, young, independent women that Barr creates.  Despite their obvious problems, these characters are good role models for young women - they are independent and feisty and can definitely stand on their own two feet.  The book opens with Ella trying to hide her bad side, Bella from her friends and family.  Bella appears without warning and makes Ella do bad things.  Then suddenly Ella finds herself rushed out of school and hussled, mysteriously to Rio by her parents with such speed that she arrives still wearing her school uniform.  As Ella tries to figure out who she really is, she falls in love - with Rio and with a young man she meets there.  Cut there is trouble ahead for Ella and if she is to survive she'll need all her wits about her.  She'll even need to allow Bella out from time to time.  Flora Banks was a tough act to follow, but Barr has once again produced an inspiring character with an intruiging back story.