she twists their memories, words, and everything in between so much so that her children turn against one another in hopes that one of them will become or remain “mama’s favorite”. And if you need one more reason to eat it, 1 cup of diced watermelon offers a half-cup of water, per the USDA. I don't want to reveal too much about my family life—I mean I'm wearing a ski mask in my profile pic so that should give you an idea of my desire to be incognito—but this particular story was difficile to get through. Things take a turn towards the supernatural when she gains access to intergenerational memories and begins to finally understand her family's strange behavior.

This is a potent uncovering of a toxic mother/daughter relationship, generational trauma, and a daughter's attempts to break free - I'm sure many readers will love it but me, I just feel like I've read this story so many times before in contemporary fiction.The idea of a child being abused by anyone much less their own parents that should love them unconditionally is heartbreaking. The characterisation is excellent especially of Lily and the introduction of Lewis into the storytelling gives the reader hope of salvation for Lily. Until then, she must continue to single-handedly manage her mother’s erratic moods since her father and siblings are incapable of doing so. As disturbing as the content of this novel was, Kings writing is an aesthetic masterpiece - a sensory feast!

King had me hooked, but there were also times I had to put the book down and breathe before picking it up again. She is represented by Hellie Ogden at Janklow and Nesbitt, and BAD FRUIT will be published by HarperFiction on 18th August 2022. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. There are some heart-wrenching, awkward and downright weird moments between Lily and her mother that mean you are obsessed with knowing what will happen next. When May suspects that Charlie is having an affair, there’s only one thing that calms May down: a glass of perfectly spoiled orange juice served by Lily, who must always taste it first to make sure it’s just right.King delves into toxic family ties and intergenerational trauma in her hypnotic debut … [A] perfect blend of psychological thriller and coming-of-age. And since this book got deep with it and the way culture influences family dynamics, understanding that on a genetic level is necessary. A graduate of Faber Academy’s novel-writing programme, she won the Blue Pencil Pitch Prize 2019 and came third in the Aurora Prize for Short Fiction 2019. Bad Fruit is a dark thriller about a family hiding what is rotten within, set in the leafy streets of Greenwich. It’s excellent on the exhausting psychological and emotional toll within the household and there are some original metaphors to describe it.

Và trong cuốn sách này đề cập đến một bệnh tâm lý của Lily, mà về sau khiến mọi thứ càng hỗn loạn và chẳng hề được giải thích. The author captured the essence of a toxic person so vividly in her that I would shiver every time she came onto the page and felt every bit of Lily’s apprehension and fear. As a parallel to exploring her own roots, Lily’s love of the origin of language is woven throughout by giving us lovely descriptions like this: 'The Latin root for ‘hallucinate’ is irresistibly beautiful, alucinari, something you would name a Victorian child. I am blown away by Ella's talent for writing not only wonderful prose but complex and intriguing characters. It’s a very dark story, but the characters and their relationships with one another are so perfectly written that I fell head and soul into this book and read it in one sitting.It was snapped up by HarperFiction in a five-way auction – you can read more about it in the Bookseller here. Sau đó, mình được biết về thói quen kỳ lạ của bà May, rằng bà ta muốn Lily chăm sóc, pha nước trái cây hỏng (trái cây sắp thối), thích chơi cùng gấu bông. Debut author King skillfully brings to light the layered, deeply complex machinations that lurk below the surface in families and confer the fragile impression of normalcy; this family’s crosshairs of obligation, love, and resentment, too, are never oversimplified. Mesmerizing, dream-like and darkly suspenseful, Bad Fruit captures the damaging love and loyalty that children can bear towards abusive parents who are suffering from and passing on their complex trauma.