Bad Fruit by Ella King

LILY IS A GOOD DAUGHTER

Every evening she pours Mama a glass of perfectly spoilt orange juice. She arranges the teddy bears on Mama's quilt, she puts on her matching pink clothes. Anything to help put out the fire of Mama's rage.

MAMA IS A GOOD LIAR

But Mama is becoming unpredictable, dangerous. And as she starts to unravel, so do the memories that Lily has kept locked away for so long.

She only wanted to be good, to help piece Mama back together. But as home truths creep out of the shadows, Lily must recast everything: what if her house isn't a home - but a prison? What if Mama isn't a protector - but a monster . . .

---

This is a tough book to read. Not in terms of the writing, which flows beautifully and easily from one part to another (leaving aside the parts where Lily is too disoriented to make sense.) It's the subject matter here that makes it difficult. The knowledge that this book is true to life for so many people is really upsetting.

Ella writes superbly, and even the parts that seem far fetched have an explanation by the end. I didn't notice the pages turning as I read - I did sometimes have to put it down to recover, but I never really wanted to! The family dynamics are amazing, and I couldn't believe some of the characters I felt sympathy for.

This is a complex story, and the ending is hard to define - it's happy in one way, sad and upsetting in another, numbing in a third. Definitely an ending that will stick with me for a while to come.

A fantastic read. I highly recommend it, but be aware that it may be triggering for some readers.

Bad Fruit publishes on the 18th of August, 2022 in the UK (top image) and on the 23rd of August, 2022 in the US (lower image). I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.