Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

I was intrigued by the premise of this story. It follows Nina after she is freed from a cult, as she learns how to live a normal life.

The book is split between her diaries from when she was with the cult, and afterwards. What happens to Nina is very harrowing, and the character Cas, a Socisl Worker who is teaching Nina the mundane everyday thing we do without thinking, provides some light relief.

I haven’t read Caged Bird, and think anyone who has will look at this book very differently.

‘Nina is twenty-eight years old and this is Nina’s second day of freedom…’

Based on the real-life story of Katy Morgan-Davies and the so-called Lambeth slavery case, Ewan Morrison has created an intriguing and moving novel. It reminded me of a mix of Mark Haddon’s ‘Curious Incident’, with its childlike view of the world something akin to an autistic view, and Emma Donoghue’s ‘Room’, which is much more related in terms of subject matter. I don’t know the ins and outs of how much Morrison has consent to write Katy’s story, or if he has met the original Katy, so this is not the place to discuss exploitation or manipulation. For me, it didn’t come across as either.

The novel’s structure is split between Nina as a child - known simply as The Project, trapped in a Marxist-Leninist cult led by Comrade Chen – and the older woman who has now escaped the cult and is trying to fit into a society whose rules and routines are totally alien to her. The cult has tried to literally beat the notion of individuality out of Nina, and the book plays on her referring to herself in the third-person, erasing and deleting references to herself as ‘I’ in her diary entries from her childhood. It takes some getting used to as a reader, and at times it verges on the annoying when the author uses different colour of type to indicate thoughts and words to be erased. I understand why he has chosen to do this, but it could be accused of simply being a gimmick. To be honest, I’m on the fence about that one.

Where the book succeeds is creating a naïve, childlike perspective of horrific events: abuse, rape, violence, brainwashing and death. And as Nina is caught up in the social work system as an adult, and the trappings of modern life – journalists and ‘no win no fee’ solicitors, medical and psychological tests, the benefit system, sheltered housing – her life in the ‘real world’ comes to be as much of an ordeal as her life in the cult. Whether it was intended to be, the book turns out to be a quite damning indictment of the system designed to protect the vulnerable in our society.

However, it is not unremittingly bleak; there are obvious opportunities for comedy as Nina comes to terms with modern life (TV, supermarkets, mobile phones, etc) and there is genuine compassion in some of the individuals who try to help her, Sonia and Cas in particular. It becomes, somehow, a coming-of-age story as 28-year old Nina starts to live her new life, and learns to come to terms with what her recovered memories of her life in the cult actually mean.

A rewarding read, if at times a little harrowing, that ends with some sort of positivity and hope for the future. 4 stars from me.

(With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this title.)

I loved the whole premise of Nina X, the story of a young woman hidden from the real world and totally and utterly brainwashed by a cult leader. Told in alternating chapters Morrison took us into the two and conflicting minds of Nina. Nina number one has been locked away, believed she would die from radiation sickness if she went outside, no concept of human emotion, believed that Comrade Chen and Chairman Mao would bring the revolution. Nina number two lived in Freedom, where everything was the opposite from what she had been taught, a world that confused and intrigued all in the same breath. Morrison skilfully handled both Nina’s both pretty horrifying to read but so utterly compelling, that you couldn’t quite bring yourself to put down and leave. You felt her utter confusion, the inability of her brain to empathise, have feelings and the terrifying concepts of TV’s, mobile phones, cars and shops. I found the chapters of her incarceration extremely uncomfortable, but Morrison was unflinching in his narrative, and left nothing untold. I felt frustration with the other women in the commune, that they allowed Nina to endure punishments, to see things no young girl should see. As for Comrade Chen, you could feel anger, and total disbelief that a man could have this hold over these women, that had done such an excellent job on brainwashing and programming Nina to his way of thinking that you knew he had ruined any chance of her ever having a normal life.
Morrison brilliantly portrayed how professionals dealt with Nina, their lack of understanding and the situations that they placed Nina in. Yet how could they deal with her if they had never had the experience of such a damaged individual. It was certainly very thought provoking.

I loved the whole premise of Nina X, the story of a young woman hidden from the real world and totally and utterly brainwashed by a cult leader. Told in alternating chapters Morrison took us into the two and conflicting minds of Nina. Nina number one has been locked away, believed she would die from radiation sickness if she went outside, no concept of human emotion, believed that Comrade Chen and Chairman Mao would bring the revolution. Nina number two lived in Freedom, where everything was the opposite from what she had been taught, a world that confused and intrigued all in the same breath. Morrison skilfully handled both Nina’s both pretty horrifying to read but so utterly compelling, that you couldn’t quite bring yourself to put down and leave. You felt her utter confusion, the inability of her brain to empathise, have feelings and the terrifying concepts of TV’s, mobile phones, cars and shops. I found the chapters of her incarceration extremely uncomfortable, but Morrison was unflinching in his narrative, and left nothing untold. I felt frustration with the other women in the commune, that they allowed Nina to endure punishments, to see things no young girl should see. As for Comrade Chen, you could feel anger, and total disbelief that a man could have this hold over these women, that had done such an excellent job on brainwashing and programming Nina to his way of thinking that you knew he had ruined any chance of her ever having a normal life. Morrison brilliantly portrayed how professionals dealt with Nina, their lack of understanding and the situations that they placed Nina in. Yet how could they deal with her if they had never had the experience of such a damaged individual. It was certainly very thought provoking.

That this book was inspired by real events makes it all the more horrifying. It's brilliantly written and makes for compulsive reading. Nina's voice is as distinctive as it is heartbreaking. Morrison has (quite beautifully) explored and articulated the vagaries of human nature; plus the potential impact of environmental factors on child development and mental health. This is the type of novel which worms its way under your skin and stays with you forever. I am heartened (in our current culture of incessant blame and obsession with 'the patriarchy') that a man has told a woman's story so astutely. As a woman I don't feel 'appropriated’, or exploited, by the writer in the slightest. I feel heard and understood. It's a truly excellent read. Parallels with “The Wizard of Oz” are genius! Observation of DWP assessment criteria is the icing on the cake. I think that people generally don't consider how difficult it is to describe something you have never seen or experienced, and that is something which is perfectly portrayed throughout this book. My take away is that there is a great deal more to this novel than initially meets the eye. I sincerely hope that Ewan Morrison achieves the acclaim he deserves for this creative, unique, observant and poignant piece of work.

It was hard for me to stay focused while reading the book. I found that it just couldn't grab my attention as other books do which was unfortunate as I was intrigued by the blurb and interested in what was to come of the book.

As it is a fictional book based around true events I was curious to see what would happen. However, i found myself skimming through the pages unable to focus on what was written.

Although the book was unfortunately not for me, I hope that others will read it and be much more interested in it.

REVIEW
Wasn’t sure about this title….I mean had Katy given permission for this book and spoken to the author? or is this book just a fictional story based on an element or two that this author has chosen to concentrate on based on what this author has read about Katy’s time within the cult and the possibilities of what problems she would have integrating back into society
I had extreme mixed feelings about reading this book which I think I can honestly say I wouldn’t have had if I hadn’t already read CB. I would have taken Nina X and simply read it on the strength of its own blurb.

The cover is a bright eye-catching red with Nina X “painted” on it, which is a reference to the fact that every where in the cult home was white-washed. I think the little lonely figure half hiding, half sheltering under the X is a great visual for a scene within the book and the image also manages to put across how Nina X is feeling alone, scared and hiding. The genre I have seen listed for this book is general fiction, and I would say based on reading the “real Nina X” biography that this is book is a fictionalisation of part of her life, so it is fiction created around a real life person

To be honest at first I thought this book was a follow up to Caged Bird by Katy Morgan-Davies but it soon became apparent this was a fictionalised version of part of that book. This book concentrates on the period of time in Nina X’s life when she has gained her freedom and is the beginning of a lot of changes for her. This book covers how Nina meets her social worker Sonia and how Nina is sent to various professionals. The book illustrates how someone with complex needs like Nina X could so easily slip through the cracks between different government agencies.

I enjoyed reading the parts in the book around the character called Cas. Cas works for social care and drops in and helps or should I say attempts to help Nina learn how to be “free”. The things Cas needs to help teach Nina X are things we all do every day and probably take for granted or never give a second thought to, like walking to the local store to buy something for tea, making a snack, catching a bus. Nina struggles with the most simplistic tasks and the time Cas has with her is limited as of course she has other people to see/care for too. One of the larger problems Nina X has is attempting to learn how to interact with people as Nina has no idea of personal body space and boundaries. Nina X is still very child-like and had been deprived of physical contact. Meaning when she is feeling happy and wants to convey her gratitude, she may fling her arms around someone and kiss them. Nina X also reads lots of magazines with articles such as "how to make yourself more desirable for men" which she becomes engrossed in and tries to remember the whole article and what it said she needs to do.

Nina X struggles with not writing everything down a daily detailed diary like she had to do when living with her comrades in the cult. Nina X also finds it difficult to refer to herself as I, rather than “Nina X” or “the project”. Being in “Freedom” as Nina X calls it is a big scary place for her. I thought that “Charity Sonia” was depicted in a poor light in comparison to how the real Nina X refers to her in her own biography.

My immediate thoughts upon finishing reading this book were that it was an interesting, eye opening book. It certainly makes you think of the saying "You never know what is going on behind closed doors". This one specifically says it is fiction based on true events, and having read the biography Nina X/Katy wrote I will say some names and circumstance have been adjusted.

My final thoughts were that I enjoyed reading it, but it had a lot of sections either the same as or similar to Caged Bird which I understand that it would have as its based on Katy's story but I also noticed that some of the names of key people were different and some of the things that happened in Katy's book have been tweaked which made it feel quite different. This book covers the period of life when Nina X/Katy first left/escaped the house and the comrades. It concentrates on Nina X/Katy's experiences with social services and the mental health interaction. This one does flash back to different episodes that occurred whilst Nina X/Katy were still in "captivity" and under the influence of the cult leader Comrade Chen.

There were some really interesting bits in this book... the voice of a bewildered Nina and the writings of The Project especially.
Crazy stuff... but stuff that does happen.
Being moved around from Dr to Dr and house to house sounded reasonable... how did you deal with someone like Sonia,or indeed figure out exactly what was wrong with her.
I found the character of Cas not really fitting with rest of book... I'm guessing she was light relief from the child abuse,but it went a bit far I thought.
Definitely a book to talk about