The Truth and Lies of Ella Black

December 15, 2018
Ella Black is a 17-year-old English girl with a dark side she hides from everyone.Lately Ella finds it harder and harder to hide Bella--Bad Ella--or the Monster, as she dubs her alter ego. Her parents show up one day at school saying that they all have to go away at once, to Rio de Janeiro, with no explanation. Ella fears that they have found out her secret or that she is terminally ill. But the truth, which she finds out after doing some snooping, is something she had never imagined. Heartbroken and tormented by the secret she discovers, Ella runs away from her parents and ends up in the favelas of Brazil, where she confronts her previous assumptions about the residents. Questioning all she thought she knew about her life, her family, and herself, she learns how to survive while living on the streets. Ella changes her appearance--purple hair makes her noticeable--but how long can she keep herself hidden from those determined to find her? Barr (The One Memory of Flora Banks, 2017, etc.) employs devices such as repetition and sentences broken down into a single word per line that quickly become stale, and the novel drags on for too long. A predictable storyline with lackluster tension, insufficient character growth, and an insta-love romance make this story fall short of being an engaging psychological thriller.An interesting premise with an anticlimactic and disappointing ending. (Thriller. 14-18)

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February 1, 2019

Gr 9 Up-As far as adolescents go, Ella Black is relatively stable. She maintains an above average GPA, has lots of friends (including a best friend that has been by her side most of her childhood), and a boyfriend she loves. There is one little secret Ella hides from everyone-including her family. When she loses touch with reality she becomes someone unstable and dangerous. When her parents suddenly take her away from foggy London and settle her in tropical Rio de Janeiro, she uncovers a history about herself that explains her dark side and leaves her no other choice than to run from everyone and everything she's ever known. Barr takes her readers inside the mind of a very troubled young woman. Failing to effectively build on Ella's inner monologue, this first-person narrative is repetitive and confusing. The character development falls short with every other person in the story save Ella, who comes across as annoying and selfish. Barr weaves in a love story midway through the book that is unrealistic and a distraction from the problems Ella is already dealing with. The story's salvation is through its clever references to classic literature as well as pop culture. Unfortunately, it is not enough to keep Ella's story interesting. VERDICT A novel with a complex idea that doesn't live up to its premise. Limited purchase.-Davia Schmidt, Queens Public Library, NY

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