Bad Little Girl

Publication Date: 22 February 2017

Goodreads Description

‘I’m not safe – you have to help me…’ Little Lorna Bell is from a notorious family on a rundown estate. Everyone thinks she’s a nasty piece of work. The schoolchildren call her a thief. But Lorna’s hair is matted, her shoes pinch her feet and school teacher Claire Penny can’t help herself; some kids just need a bit more support, a bit more love, than the rest. As the bond between teacher and pupil grows stronger, Claire sees Lorna’s bruises, and digs to uncover the disturbing tale behind them. Heartbroken, Claire knows she has to act. She must make Lorna safe. Just when Claire thinks she has protected Lorna, a chance encounter brings enigmatic stranger Marianne Cairns into their lives. Marianne seems generous and kind but there is something about her story that doesn’t quite add up. Why does she feel so at home, and why is Lorna suddenly so unsettled?

My Review

I have slightly mixed feelings about this one. I felt that the plot had a lot of potential but failed to deliver fully. The book is on the long side and I felt that it dragged at times. The first half seemed overly descriptive, going into detail about Claire's home life, her teaching and her relationship with her mother, none of which really contributed to the story in any meaningful way. From there the story jumps forward by a year and starts to become slightly implausible. Without giving anything away, the decision to rescue Lorna and the introduction of the character Marrianne, who suddenly becomes such an integral part of Claire's life, seemed to me to be a tad far fetched. The story also seems a little rushed towards the end. At the end of the day, I did like the concept of this book. And it did entertain me somewhat, even though I found it longer than perhaps it needed to be. Ideally, I would have liked the story to move a little faster and for Marrianne to have had a more believable relationship with Claire and Lorna. For these reasons I'm finding it difficult to award more than 2 stars. I really wanted to love this book but it didn't deliver for me. But you should note that this book gets some great reviews and my opinion is in the minority.

My rating: * *

My thanks to author Frances Vick, Bookouture publishers and Netgalley for my review copy. It was my pleasure to write an honest review.