Ella lives in London with her parents Graham and Fiona and their cat. It feels like an unremarkable life. She loves art and literature and these are the subjects she is studying for her A Levels. Ella has a secret that she hasn’t even shared with her best friend Lily or her “boy” friend Jack. There is a darkness inside her that drives her to do mean and terrible things. This darkness feels like a separate entity inside her and she has given it a name – Bella. Bad Ella.

After a class where Bella came to fore and abused a teacher because she was protecting Lily, Ella is asked to go to the head teachers office. Convinced that she has been “found out” and that she will have to pay for Bella’s crimes Ella is expecting to be reprimanded. Instead her mother is waiting there for her to take her out of school. Pretty soon she is being whisked to Heathrow by her parents where she is about to undertake the journey of a lifetime.

The Truth and Lies of Ella Black is a great coming of age story. If you are looking for an engaging YA story that will keep you entertained you have come to the right place. This is a tale of Ella realising the life she had been leading and the previous 18 years had all been a form of deceit. Discovering the truth sets her on a dangerous and rocky path that could be self-destructive.

Supplied by Net Galley and Penguin Random House in exchange for an honest review.

UK Publication date: Oct 12 2017. 349 pages.

Categories: 4 Stars Book Review

Tagged as: Brazil Family London Mental Health Murder Rio Young Adult

angelnet69

Prolific reader, enthusiastic theatre and movie-goer and ex-Olivier Awards judge who spent twenty years working in the music industry in London. Sharing my house with a gorgeous cockapoo called Harry who has taken over completely.
I love sharing my favourite books with friends - nearly always spoiler-free as I hate reading a synopsis of the whole book in other reviews.

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