I loved this book. It was not what I was expecting at all but I was quickly hooked and read it in one sitting.

I liked Ella and having adopted, could understand her feelings of anger and betrayal. I could also understand the idea of separating your character as I have experienced that at first hand. The book felt real and the story - if far fetched at times - was carried off well.

I liked the fact that the story ended on a hopeful note - not all beautifully tied together but a workmanlike solution - like read life.

I will be recommending this book to my more mature readers.

I was looking forward to reading this book as I had enjoyed a previous novel by this author. The blurb had me intrigued and I was expecting an exciting and emotional read.
If I were to recount the events of the book, then you might say it delivers on drama but whilst an interesting read, it did not have me completely hooked. I never got a real sense tension and didn't really invest in the characters. Ella was full of teenage angst even without the issues that unfold through the book but I didn't really feel the sympathy to her that I felt I should and consequently read it in a slightly detached way. The love interest didn't quite work for me and took away from the more pertinent parts of the plot whilst the mental health issues felt like they needed to be more connected to events in the story. There was lots of themes running through the book, all interesting but perhaps 'less is more' and less themes may have allowed for more focus on a connection for the reader.
It was an ok read but not one that will live long in the memory; I would like more depth to the character build up and a little more build up of tension to engage with what has the potential to be a compelling plot. However, since I have enjoyed work by this author in the past, I would read her work again in the future.

Both the premise and cover of this book made me curious; Ella Black has 40 days to live, but she is not aware of this. And the cover shows a strike through of the name “Ella Black”. These two things alone pulled me in and I wanted to know more.

This story begins with a 17 year-old girl living in Kent, studying for her A-Levels, and considering subject choices for university. Straight away, our protagonist – Ella – introduces us to her other self – Bella. Bella is Bad Ella and is taking over the controls with increasing frequency as Ella gets older, forcing her to do violent and out of character things. Ella has two important people in her life (other than her parents), her pretend boyfriend Jack, and her best friend Lily.

Ella attends an all-girls school, but is often the target of mean jokes and low-key bullying. After dying her hair from striking blonde to purple – a compromise with Bella to prevent something worse from happening – this issue only gets worse. However this is not what the story concentrates on, as Ella is soon whisked off to Rio by her parents taken in the middle of the school day with no warning. She has always wanted to go to Rio, but turning up in her school uniform is not the entrance she had in mind. This out-of-character behaviour from her parents leads Ella to think that she may have some kind of illness, and that this is some kind of bucket list holiday. After digging o try to find the truth, she uncovers something much more shocking.

The beginning of the plot moves along at a fast pace and provides a real twist when the action begins – it is far from what I expected but then I didn’t read the blurb prior to reading…! I also felt that soon after the beginning the book I knew our protagonist well; the narration providing a clear and rich insight into Ella and her split personality. Despite first-person narration, Barr is still able to paint a good picture of Ella’s parents, Fiona and Graham. In my opinion, they are the two most loving parents possible, providing Ella with a beautiful home, wonderful life opportunities and support, and endless love and care. Fiona is the most self-less person in the novel; she would clearly give or do anything for her family.

Ella can sometimes come across a little selfish and bratty – increasingly so towards the end of the book. But given she is a 17 year-old girl, eager to maker her own life, this could be seen as an accurate representation of an adolescent girl. Though I known that much of this behaviour is due to Bella outbursts, and there are some outpourings which result in much more horrific consequence. Ella does not share Bella with anyone, not ever her parents, which means Bella’s increasing appearances are becoming more and more difficult to conceal or explain.

The middle of the book trundled along at a good pace, though I found myself getting really frustrated with Ella at times for being – in my opinion – narrow-minded and childish. Whilst I realise the impacts of the real reason her parents took her to Rio is likely to shake anyone, she sometimes wildly overreacted even without the presence of Bella. Upon reflection, there was a lot of going back and forth without a huge amount happening, but it did provide a good insight into other characters in the story, as well as making a nice point about the reality of favelas.

The finale I felt was a bit rushed – when I realised I was coming to the end of the book, I couldn’t quite believe it since I did not think is was near complete nor tied up. There was a bit of a cliff-hanger ending (annoying for stand alone books), though it did skip ahead a year at the end to tie up som loose ends, but in general I felt the ending had potential to be stronger. It was a good ending, just kind of appeared out of nowhere and I thought it could’ve been built up more.

I do feel that this book gets some unnecessary hate online – from previous reviews I have seen, it hasn’t been hugely popular. But I felt the story moved along at a decent pace, it kept the reader engaged, and provided some really unexpected twists. It related back to itself well – small, seemingly insignificant, parts playing a much more major role later on in the book. Upon reflection there was no strong message (IMO) surrounding mental health, it was just a recurring theme throughout the story. Clearly one which has huge impacts on the direction of the novel, but still not forefront enough to develop Ella until the very end.

Personally I was unable to truly relate to any of the characters, not did I find many (other than Ella) very in-depth. Of course this is often the case from single-POV, first-person narration. A good job was done in creating a 3-dimensional Fiona, and conversations between Ella and Christian provided a fairly decent insight into him – though it was more his actions which spoke, indicating his selfless and caring nature. In terms of persona, I felt some of the characters were a bit too brief.

Barr’s writing style is super easy to read, it does not overcomplicate matters, and is a style suiting the target audience. The plot is not hugely complex making it more accessible to younger readers (though I am unsure some of the themes are entirely suitable for younger ages), and it provides a simple entertainment to older readers of the genre.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys an easy to read YA, contemporary fiction novel. And I think based on the clever and concise writing style and overall feel from the book, I will be reading her previous novel: The One Memory of Flora Banks. I am awarding this book a 3.5*/5 for an entertaining read and good global insight. I was not a huge fan of the simplicity of the pot, nor lack of point to some parts of the story but I did enjoy it overall.

An artistic teenager with dreams struggles to keep her inner demons hidden. A charmed life she wants for nothing.
Until one day her parents whisk her off to Rio somewhere she has dreamt of but does not understand this sudden departure. She has to find out what their big secret is and when she does her life as she knows it has been nothing but a lie.
She runs away determined to make it on her own and finally understand what the truth about her real parentage is. Life in Rio is far tougher than she realises but with many ups and downs she is determined to make it on her own.
Thank you to netgalley and the author and publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

A quick, entertaining read but quite repetitive and more for a teenage market. I liked the plot but not the chapter headings which spoiled it. Quite an anticlimax in the end - when they got onto the plane the suspense was conveyed well - were they fleeing a plague maybe .... but in the end it was much more dull than that. Reading about life in Rio away from the tourists was interesting but overall not convincing.

Ella is confronted with an awful truth about her identity. It turns out she has been living a lie, a lie her parents have taken great lengths to keep going. One could argue that on a base level Ella is aware of the secret, which is why she struggles with a strong inner voice. A voice so strong it has become its own persona. A persona, who makes bad choices and likes to harm others and cause havoc.

Personally I think the question about Bella or rather the truth and explanation about Bella should have remained an element of the book the reader ponders on and decides for themselves. Instead Ella explains that aspect of her personality towards the end of the book.

I would rather wonder about the nurture vs nature argument or whether there is a genetic component to Bella and in particular Bella’s behaviour. Does Bella like to cause harm because of who she really is?

Adoption can be a controversial topic for those involved in it, especially when it comes to the truth about parentage. Quite often the adoptive parents think it is better to lie and/or keep the adopted child in the dark about their parentage. For the majority of adoptees the truth is the quintessential factor in the development of a healthy mind-set and personality. Regardless of whether they make contact with their bio family, it is important for them to know who they are biologically and genetically. A lot of people find this natural pull towards the truth quite difficult to understand. They don’t understand that it has nothing to do with how much they love their adopted parents and the family attachments they have made. It is merely about finding their tribe, and being able to get closure.

In a way Ella has to go through this process, albeit in a very dramatic and dangerous way. She has to work through the trauma of the truth in her own time and way.

Barr approaches a sensitive topic and gives the reader a ringside view of the emotional turmoil a young person might go through in this situation. For teens everything is highly emotional and over-dramatised. The Truth and Lies of Ella Black is a story about a young woman finding her truth and her path in life.

Very engaging vivid. voice recounts her own story .. although there is perhaps a degree of incredulity to narrative .. a 17 year old surviving in favela of Rio, a clearly deranged one too! It's sincere . She keeps finding good should who listen to her but too pay explanation only works in feel good USe titles like this one is eventually .. it tackles serious issues despite some fantasy, but it's ending and a young woman will liked it ...

This is the first book I have read from this author and if this is anything to go by I won’t be reading another I’m sorry to say. I think it is in the wrong category as I think it would be better aimed at teens or the young adult section. I understand mental illness can affect people in different ways but some of the things that happen in this book I don’t like. Sorry for the negative review which I don’t like giving but I have to be honest.

I am on page 12 and can't continue, Ella/Bella is already a terrible representation of mental illness. Using said mental illness to justify smashing a baby bird to death is totally unacceptable and not something I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt to or support.

This was a difficult book. I felt like the entire thing suffered from over exaggeration. Ella, the main character, is a normal teenager with a normal life. Only she has an alternative “bad” side that she never tells anybody about. Just before her eighteenth birthday, her parents whisk her away to Rio de Janeiro.

The plot just slides the moment they set down in Rio. It’s confusing, there’s insta-love which isn’t written brilliantly, and there is so much overreaction. Learning one secret and overreacting is the entire plot, and Ella is such an insufferable character. It would have been much more interesting if it had actually looked into the mental health of Ella, but instead, it just follows Ella as she runs away and gets into increasingly more incredulous situations. Literally the only thing ramping up the tension in this book was the chapter titles, leading up to a death.

The ending itself felt unfinished. It could have explained much more or actually looked at the aftermath of the novel. The entire book felt rushed and unfinished.

I was a really big fan of the author's previous book The One Memory of Flora Banks so I was beyond excited to receive a copy of this from NetGalley. Unfortunately though while this has a lot of similarities in terms of writing style and story this just didn't do it for me. There was a scene pretty near the beginning that I found really disturbing and unnecessary and I think it just put me into the wrong frame of mind and I started finding problems everywhere. Ella wasn't a particularly likable character, there was the most instant of insta love I think I've ever come across and there were more than a few scenes that just made me feel really uncomfortable (and not in a good way).

The storyline is unusual and it really picks up in the second half of the book where there are a lot less of the problems I had with the first half. It is a pretty quick and easy read and I would definitely describe it as unpredictable which is something I do like.

I will look out for more books by this author but I'm afraid this one wasn't for me.

The Truth and lies of Ella Black a powerful five-star read. This is a book that I loved and I know my teenage god daughter will love as well, it’s a story that people off all ages will get. I hope when I give a copy to my god daughter it sparks a passion for reading that a similar book my aunt gave me when I was a similar age to her had on me, that book altered the course of my life and I think this book has a similar power. There is a certain 40 days and 40 nights parallel to this story as its told over 40 days and Ella was a character I couldn’t get enough of. Ella is almost to intelligent for her own good, she has a bratty side to her but also a good side hidden underneath. The plot can be a little fanciful, but I read to escape and be taken to a different life, I don’t want reality so I enjoyed that.
I have loved Emily Barr’s adult books and now I’m a huge fan of her YA books as well. Well done on a job well done. Can’t wait to read more from a talented and thrilling writer.

I was given a Netgalley copy of this book by the publishers in an exchange for an honest review:

So our main character Ella has been plagued with issues since she can remember, caused by an internal additional personality ('bad Ella') whom she has nicknamed Bella. Bella makes her do extremely horrible things and lash out, sometimes violently.

I do not want to give any spoilers away, but quite near the start events takes an unexpected turn bringing the setting to a much more exotic location...(I quite enjoyed this as I was on holiday abroad ha!) Here you find out a few big secrets (of which the options there were many, so the one the author went with was a little disappointing as I had expected more. However there is a twist to this as well...) Once you find out what the big secret is, Ella's life changes forever and again went in such a way I wasn't expecting and I didn't particularly enjoy. There is also a bit of a romance thrown in, a somewhat unrealistic one, but I'm sure some teens will love it!

I still think this is worth a read, but that there was so much potential for this book in my mind.

The Truth and Lies of Ella Black was a great book. It was quite difficult to get into at first but as I read on it kept me on edge. This book really makes you think about what might happen next, which made it a very interesting read indeed.
My favourite character was Ella as she was a very strong person and had so much to her. Ella was extremely intelligent yet troubled, she stopped at nothing to achieve what she needed to, even if her path was unclear. I loved the contrasts and similarities between the characters. They were all very interesting and made the story even better.
I would rate the book 4.5 stars out of 5. This is because I found some bits were a little confusing and didn’t really make sense, yet the storyline was brilliant. I would definitely recommend this book!

Review by Joanna age 12

The only thing I can say I liked about this was that it was a quick read.
It seemed to be full of the things that are over done in YA or things I just hate.

The topics covered in The Truth and Lies of Ella Black are commendable. Unfortunately, the plot and characterisation don't live up to the hype. A thriller this is not. Am I surprised an editor/publisher hasn't felt the need to re-edit? Yes. Barr's previous book The one Memory of Flora Banks was far better. Sorry.

I read some of the reviews of this book that were not at all good. I thought about not bothering to read it, but I remembered that I love haggis and blackpudding and many people hate both.
I feel I must have read a different book. I loved it (well, maybe not so much Humphrey and the hammer).
I can't give the review I want to without spoiling the read for others. I can say that it rattles on at a pace...and that I read it in one sitting because I enjoyed it so much. It all made sense to me.
I found it to be a truly good read and would recommend it to anyone.

I enjoyed this book and it kept me wondering how it was going to end.
Ella has a split personality which is made progressively worse when she is taken from her everyday life by her parents and finds out that she is adopted.
This book is the discovery of herself as well as where she came from.
She is a bit annoying at times but you learn to understand her character more as her story unfolds.

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.