Member Reviews

I really enjoyed this book, it started a little slow but gradually built up the story. I don't want to give anything away so it is difficult to say much about the story without spoilers. I will be recommending this book. A great read.

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Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. The story starts from Anna's point of view. She has just turned 18, but her mother still treats her like a child. She's had a strict, very religious upbringing without her father who died when she was young. I read this really quickly as it had me gripped. Well done

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I read this book in almost one sitting as it totally absorbed me. I liked the dual narrative and the characterisation was spot on. It’s every mother’s worst nightmare to lose a child in a public space, let alone have that child taken and never know what happened to them. I though this particular aspect of the story was dealt with superbly. I also appreciated the subtlety with which the character of Mary was drawn. It would have been too simple to portray her as purely bad and I applaud the careful writing so as to show a three dimensional person.

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When I read the details of this book I knew that I just had to request it. However, to my disappointment, it did not grab me nor did I feel engaged in it at all. I really did struggle so much so that I was just unable to finish it.
Thank you to both netgalley and Random House UK for the opportunity to read My name Anna for my honest, unbiased opinion.

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A really great story with lots going on, some nice twists to try and help you understand what is happening and why and things you don't quite see coming too.

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The story starts from Anna's point of view. She has just turned 18, but her mother still treats her like a child. She's had a strict, very religious upbringing without her father who died when she was young. She has her boyfriend William who she has been dating for nearly a year. This is only permitted because he is the local Pastor's son. Everything changes when for her 18th birthday Anna and William sneak off to Astroland for the day, somewhere her mamma definitely classed as off limits. They weren't there very long at all when Anna has a deja vue experience and has to leave. There is no reasonable explanation for this and William dismisses it as nothing.

A few things have happened recently that make Anna feel uneasy, and this experience just tops it off. As William doesn't believe her she tells him she wants to take a break.

In the meantime, there is another half to the story. A family in the UK have been searching for their daughter who was snatched from Astroland 15 years earlier. Their younger daughter Rosie has lived in the shadow of missing Emily. Their son hadn't even been born at that time, but the family never stopped searching. The fund that had been set up was quickly dwindling and Rosie felt that it was time she did some digging.

A well written book that keeps you want to find out the truth of what happened, then you feel conflicted about Mary's (Anna's momma) story. All the time you are wondering what happens if it comes to a head. Felt the story could have continued a little further, but that could be the lead in for a follow up book. Overall, enjoyable and quite gripping.

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A family torn apArt by the disappearance their daughter at a fair ground aged three, and missing for eighteen years.A sister who was a baby when she went missing is determined to find out what happened to her sister, and starts looking on the internet at any clues that could help her.
An eighteen year old girl living with her mamma experiences flashbacks and starts questioning who she is.
Her momma who is obsessed with peculiar leaning towards a cult church will not give her anything except to say she is her daughter.
I enjoyed the book though I did guess what would hapoens.

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Beautifully told from the different teenage girls' perspectives.

The narrative to this story is told in two voices - Anna and Rosie.
Anna lives with her mother in small town Florida. Her mother is a cleanliness fanatic - cleanliness of the heart, mind and body, also very frugal and constantly praying.
Rosie lives in the UK and lost her elder sister in a Florida amusement park when she was a baby. Her sister was stolen in some manner and may have been killed but no-one knows the real circumstances behind her abduction.
The 15th anniversary of the abduction rolls around and Rosie finds herself increasingly frustrated at not knowing the truth, whilst Anna wants to find her father and to discover who is sending her messages.
Slowly the story explores the lives of these two girls, holding the reader in suspense. The power of cults is also explored through the story.

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This was a very different book, telling two different stories about two different and determined young women. The life of one of the girls is bizarre and stifling, the life of the other girl is sad as her sister disappeared when she was a toddler, and the whole family is naturally still very affected by this. Both young women are searching for their own truths and I enjoyed getting to know them both and following their paths with them. I enjoyed it very much

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A very interesting book. The outcome was fairly obvious from the beginning, the plot cleverly revolves around the main character working it out and discovering the reasons for the event that took place. The sections of the book that reveal Anna's story are set in America, the rest takes place in England, giving the book an added dimension.
The characters have been portrayed really well, they have great depth and are engaging without appearing too perfect, showing a range of emotions that are easy to understand given the context of the story. There were some parts of the plot which I thought were a little far fetched, but certainly not outside the realms of possibility and they did add to the story.
Although the book seemed to begin at the end it still managed to maintain an air of mystery. The book was very different to the usual format I generally expect from a thriller/mystery, which was a refreshing change and added a unique feel to a good, well told tale. I'd definitely read it again.

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My Name is Anna was a book I decided I just had to request. It was the cover and synopsis that got me hooked, as well as the story of 2 sisters and a mystery to solve. I was hooked all the way through. Told in alternate viewpoints, it is the story of Anna, just turned 18 with a humble home in which she lives with her extremely religious mother. Tired of the routine, she rebels and, on her 18th birthday, takes a trip to a theme park called Astroland. Supposedly, it's her first trip but she has the feeling she has been there before....Has she, or is she just imagining things?

Rosie and her family live their lives but they grieve the loss of Emily, Rosie's sister, who went missing at Astroland. What really happened to her sister? Rosie is determined to find out!

My Name is Anna is not to be missed. Twists, turns and suspense. It is a masterfully crafted thriller you will never forget. Thanks to Lizzy Barber and Random House UK Cornerstone Digital Century for my ARC in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. 5 stars.

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Two girls in two different parts of the world search for the truth behind a young missing girl. One of them begins to question everything she has been told about her sheltered life and the other searches to fill in the gaps about her missing sister. An intriguing story told from two sides of the tale. I enjoyed the story but felt the ending didn’t really explore the feelings of suddenly finding yourself with a new family

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Anna has been brought up by her God fearing mother in Florida, over protected and rarely allowed to socialise. On her 18th birthday she is taken by Will, the pastors son, to Astroland a local theme park without her mother’s knowledge. It triggers some strange memories that she becomes determined to establish the truth behind.
Rosie lives in the Uk with her parents and brother. Fifteen years ago her sister vanished whilst they were all on holiday in America. She has never been found and the tragedy has dominated her childhood. Now growing up quickly Rosie starts investigating herself and events quickly spiral almost out of control.
I found this book quite difficult to get into. It kept jumping between seemingly disconnected events in the USA and UK. It’s worth persevering because events are all soon drawn together into a cracking story. I’d highly recommend this.

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I went into reading My name is Anna with an open mind.

However, I very early one was able to guess what the plottwist would be and this kind of dampened my excitement.
Apart from that, the story is written very well, it flows wonderfully and the characters are interesting.

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I loved this book. It was beautifully written and the characters where well rounded. It is an interesting premise which asks what would you do if everything you thought you knew was a lie. I found a deep profound empathy for the characters and was most upset when I reached the end of the book. Thank you for a truly unforgettable story.

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This is a story about abduction but written from the point of view of the abducted child - now a teenager - and her sister who is looking for her. I enjoyed the read but I did feel that it was a little difficult to believe that a couple of teenagers could solve a mystery in a few days when the police have failed to solve it over 15 years!
After years of separation, suddenly, all is fine with just a nod to the difficulties to be overcome as the family reunites.
I felt that it was all a bit too easy.

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Too dark for me. I knew it would be dark given the missing child plot but with the whole thing centered around a theme park just seemed to make it a bit too uncomfortable. As the story developed and we find out the story behind Lillian and her husband...I stopped reading. Not for me, but others with dark mysteries involving children and strict religious upbringing will say otherwise.

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What a great read, dragged me in at the beginning, read it with every spare moment, a really intriguing subject too

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The blurb made me eager to read it instantly and I was not disappointed.

This is a fast paced, exciting novel about the discovery of self told in two points of view; naive, sweet Anna with a  religious mother haunted by dreams she does not understand and Rosie whose family is haunted by the disappearance of sister.

There are satisfying twists, I thought I knew where it was going but it turned on a hat pin in unimaginable directions. It kept me guessing throughout.

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I really enjoyed this book, it started slowly and gradually built up the story. I don't want to give anything away so it is difficult to say much about the story without spoilers. I will be recommending this book.

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