Holy cow was I not prepared for this novel. I was slow to be really gripped by it and picking it up and putting it down a lot made the first 30% or so pretty confusing, especially because it’s a very literary and complicated novel with more than one layer of unreliable narrator. Once I finally really got going though I couldn’t put it down. I think this is the most disturbingly messed up family I’ve ever read about; this book was dark and once the secrets and lies start unraveling and you begin learning the truth, it hits you like an 18-wheeler and then keeps running you over until the final scene.

4 stars since the beginning was confusing and didn’t hook me, but this was a good one if you have the stomach for it.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for this honest review.

This novel feels like walking on eggshells. Going to be up front - this is about parental abuse, both emotional and physical, trauma, gaslighting, and the ways we survive and get through. Lily is about to go to Oxford, and is dealing with what she thinks if the last of her volatile mother and passive, unrelatable father. As her mom gets increasingly unhinged, Lily starts to have flashbacks that she knows aren't her own, and starts to lose her sense of self as she tries to find the truth behind them. This book is fucking wild, in the depths of what's uncovered and the level of trauma Lily and her siblings have dealt with, and how they deal with it. It's like watching a trainwreck, and you're genuinely not sure who is going to come out the other side of it. If you've got abuse in your past, you're going to want to go into this with both eyes open, but it's still an incredibly good read.

I really loved this debut novel by Singaporean author Ella King. I think if you loved The Push by Ashley Audrain and a hint of Girl A by Abigail Dean you would love this book as well.

I thought the writing for this book was rather unique and I have to admit it was a bit tricky to get into at the start. But once I got the hang of the writing I flew through the book and I was completely absorbed in the harrowing story.

I found the book disturbing, especially the whole drinking sour orange juice and the weird coercions the mother put Lily through. It was truly some bizarre stuff. It just makes you wonder how trauma can affect someone so much that it’s passed on through the generations.

I love the flashbacks that Lily has, as Lily pieces together she uncovers her mothers secret past. I found it interesting how and why Lily had these flashbacks - memories she forgot about. But is it enough to end this devastating cycle of “bad fruit” in the family?

Thank you Ella King , Netgalley and Astra Publishing for providing a digital copy of Bad Fruit for reviewing purposes.

Whewwww what a wholly unique and twisty book BAD FRUIT is. Mommy Dearest vibes with a modern thriller take makes this debut compulsive and strange. I didn't know what to expect, so going along for the ride was fun. It is an insanely rough book to read, with tough depictions of child abuse and neglect. There is a mystery at the core, but it is much more about mental health, Stockholm Syndrome, and disturbing family dynamics.

Lily recently finished high school and is preparing to begin college at Oxford. She is half British, half Singaporian with two older siblings who have seemingly given up on their erratic, demanding mother and barely-home father. In a lot of ways, Lily is her mother's caretaker, an infuriating woman who is nuanced and childlike, but treats Lily horribly. The driving force of the book is wanting Lily to be ok, and the mystery is what on earth is wrong with her family. The story is emotional and the climax is fantastic, a really good literary fiction debut from Ella King.

really enjoyed this one - more of a literary style psychological “thriller” and some really interesting commentary on Asian culture and how families function. the ending definitely surprised me

3.5
Lily Clark is 18, Oxford bound, and has always been her mother’s favourite child. She has also been moulded into a replica of her mother, with contacts, hair dye and makeup to make her look more Chinese like her mother and less English like her father.

Bad Fruit is a novel of toxic family relationships, abuse and trauma. The central thread of this story is that Lily suddenly starts experiencing flashbacks, leading to a realisation/confrontation of the family dynamic and history.

There is not a lot of subtlety here; it’s clear from the beginning that the mother is not well. Lily has to care for her as if she were a child, bringing her her favourite spoilt fruit juice and teddy bears. This toxic mother-daughter relationship is laid out from the beginning, I think perhaps a more gradual reveal of the extent of their behaviour may have been more effective. The father is complicit in silence, at least in the beginning – I found him to be an odd character as he seemed to change and become as abusive and gaslighting as the mother. It wasn’t a very convincing arc. The older siblings are both haunted by how they were treated as children also.

It was a dark story that progressed quite slowly – I think it was in a rush to give too many details upfront so it didn’t keep my interest level as high as it would have had I had to piece the information together. I hope this is not autobiographical, though Ella King/Lily Clark did make me think. I don’t know if this book was supposed to have an element of mystery – I can see how it might, but I don’t think it was successful.
A decent read but not a new favourite, and not particularly unique.

Thanks for the ARC!

Bad fruit? More like a whole bad orchard!

This story is about one of the most dysfunctional and toxic families it would ever be your misfortune to meet. Let’s meet the family:

May (Mai), mama - the mother, Singaporean, crazy as a loon, financial
adviser, how she maintains a professional job is beyond me
Charlie (papa) - presumably English, pathologist, spineless, or is he?
Jacob - their oldest child, married to Francine, separated 2 young boys
Julie - middle child, away at college
Lily - 17, finished school, heading to Oxford, mama’s favourite.

Lily is her mother’s current favourite child - her “little doll”, not a moniker to aspire to. Lily appears to be somewhat brainwashed to pander to her mother’s increasingly insane demands. She goes out of her way to please mama, including wearing yellow foundation to make her look more Asian and dying her hair black and preparing mama’s spoiled orange juice (yuk) although Lily has to taste it first (double yuk).

Mama’s gets increasingly demented when she suspects her husband of having having an affair with his daughter in law, Francine, Jacob’s estranged wife. Lily’s mind starts to fracture and she starts having flashbacks of her mother’s early life. How is this possible? This part reminded me a lot about Mirrorland a book in which every revelation only raised more questions. If you think of it like peeling away the layers of an onion, you need to picture a humongous onion as there are many, many layers.

As the story progresses you also start to wonder if Lily’s flashbacks are really of her mother’s early life or are they Lily’s own. It becomes increasing apparent that Charlie will be no help and may even be complicit in his children’s terrible abuse. Can Lily break away from her toxic family’s influence and make her own way in life? You will have read this to find out!

This was no thriller, it was a very, very dark story of inter generational abuse. I’m not even sure I fully understood it but I can say the author did a tremendous job in setting out a totally menacing storyline. There are many triggers littering this story like land mines. Enter at your own risk. Again, I’m not sure I can say that I enjoyed this book but I am in awe of the author’s unflinching spotlight on the darker aspects of Asian society and family dysfunction. Many thanks to Netgalley and Astra Publishing House for the much appreciated arc which I reviewed voluntarily and honestly.

I was so intrigued by this cover and the premise if this novel, but unfortunately I didn't enjoy the writing at all.

Trigger warning for everything under the sun. Please do not read this unless you're ready to be uncomfortable or are emotionally ready for such a dark story.

Holy crap. This was such a disturbing and heartbreaking read. But absolutely amazing. I couldn't put it down.

Ella is clearly an expert in her field. The knowledge and perspective she brings to this story is truly amazing. She approaches a sensitive topic so well and I was completely invested in the story.

I only give it four stars because I was so frustrated with all the characters at times, but I know that's exactly what Ella wanted us to feel. They're all complex, incredibly flawed, and all dealing with an unhealthy family dynamic in their own ways.

However, this is less of a thriller, as others have noted, and more of a very dark story about generational abuse, toxicity, and trauma. I got more psychological horror vibes from this read but it was largely contemporary fiction. I enjoyed Lily's hallucinations because they helped us uncover more of what she herself was tying to understand.

This will stick with me for a long time. I need to pick up a physical copy now to have on my shelf.

DNF - I tried to engage with this story but the writing style was chunky & disconnected, leaving me to feel like someone trying to eavesdrop on a conversation which I wasn't very interested in, to begin with. This story certainly has its audience but, it's not me.

Lily lives to appease her ruthless, abusive mother. She doesn't try to understand her mother's behavior, just survive it, but when she starts having flashbacks about her mother's past, she is forced to peel back layers of generational abuse.
I tried, I really did- this took me a long time to get through which is quite unlike me. I got about 70% through this book and it was just super slow clunky. All of the family dynamics were a little too deep for me. I would be open to read this author’s next book, but unfortunately Bad Fruit wasn’t for me. This was no thriller, it was a very, very dark story of abuse. I’m not even sure I fully understood it all. Also- tons of triggers in this one- loaded. They will pop up and nab you do make sure to educate yourself on those!
Thank you Astra Publishing House via Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this debut novel. All opinions expressed are my own.

Bad Fruit is a disturbing read. It’s about an unhinged family that is very dysfunctional. The mother is going off the deep end and Lily isn’t too far behind,
I found the story very difficult to connect with and I didn’t like it. It wasn’t for me.

This book is disturbing, dark and impossible to put down. I had no idea what was going on. Lily is going to Oxford, but she still lives at home. She dyes her hair and wears makeup to look “more Chinese” and drinks the spoiled juice her mother favors. Why? Who knows. Her relationship with her whole family is bizarre and unhealthy, but the way she’s her mother’s girl is insane. The characters are so flawed that you’d think it would be impossible to relate to them, but you’d be wrong. Lily, being a very, very unreliable narrator, is trying to figure out why she’s hallucinating what seems to be her mother’s flashbacks. The reader can’t help but try to figure out what’s happening, along with her. The text is impeccably written, and the plot just perfect. Not everyone will like it because it’s not a pleasant novel. Me? I couldn’t stop reading, even as I feared to learn what was going to happen next. This is a great book, good literature disguised as a… thriller? domestic suspense? I don’t even know how to describe it. Excellent!
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#Astra Publishing House!

I got about 40% through this book and it was just a little slow and the family dynamics were a little too much for me. I would be intrigued to read this author’s next book, but unfortunately Bad Fruit just wasn’t quite up my alley.

Thank you NetGalley and Astra Publishing House for the chance to read this ARC!

This entire book is a trigger warning on so many things and I loved it all. It's Mommy Dearest on speed with a dash of black tar heroin.

Some will tell you this is about "toxic mother-daughter relationship'.....if that's what you want to call this....sure. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. This is something else, something deeper, darker, more sinister.

Ella King is going to blow everyone out of the water with this.

Bad Fruit has a couple of bad apples and one girl just trying to survive them.

It’s the summer holidays, and Lily is waiting for the fall when she’ll commence her first year of university at Oxford. Until then, she has to continue single-handedly managing her mother’s erratic moods since her father and siblings are incapable of doing so. From preparing her mother’s favourite Singaporean meals and spoiled juice to altering her appearance to look more like her, Lily will do just about anything to avoid her mother’s wrath.

As the summer progresses, Lily begins having disturbing flashbacks in addition to dealing with her mother’s increasingly unstable behaviour.

This novel examines weighty topics such as inter-generational trauma and abusive cycles.

Despite the heavy subject matter, the novel, at least initially, is prevented from feeling truly gloomy by Lily’s narration and her small support network.

However, at its peak, I felt that the author came just shy of emotionally manipulating the reader. Any more abuse and it would have felt gratuitous, in my opinion.

That said, this domestic drama is impressive. It’s been a few weeks since I finished reading this, and I still find myself going back and thinking about it.

It’s a short and quick read with a strong female character.

I’ll definitely keep an eye out for future books by the author!

Thank you to Astra House for providing an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

https://booksandwheels.com

I really, really enjoyed this book. I haven’t heard of Ella King but the description and cover pulled me in, and I’m glad it did. It kept me hooked and engaged the entire time, and I am excited to be able to recommend this to certain students who I know would enjoy a read like this.

Thought provoking and explosive, this is a solid debut that will appeal to fans of My Dark Vanessa and the works of author Celeste Ng, according to the blurb. In my opinion, this was more a literary novel exploring generational abuse and the search for truth and freedom than a thriller. Our main character, Lily, is trying to survive her mother’s increasingly erratic behavior and the toxic relationship they share until she can escape to her first year of college life at Oxford in the Fall. The exhausting, psychological and emotional toll within the household increasingly builds over that summer and it is shocking and weirdly fascinating. Ella King is definitely an author to watch, her prolific writing skills along with her ability to tell a compulsive story makes me excited to see what she comes up with next! Thank you Netgalley, Astra Publishing House and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. This book is available for purchase on August 23, 2022.




Unfortunately, those types of books do not appeal to me so this one was not for me

Lily is the youngest of the three children of May who is Singaporean and Charlie who is British. The story is told from the viewpoint of Lily, 18, who has been offered a place at Oxford and just wants to survive the summer at home. She feels it's her duty to play the family peacekeeper between her volatile mother and the rest of the family.

This is an exceptional novel about a toxic mother-daughter relationship and I found it extremely difficult to put down. It's definitely psychological in nature but I don't know if I'd call it a thriller. More like fiction or literary fiction as another reviewer noted. I'm not going to say much more because I don't want to give anything away. I'll just say that I was emotionally wrung out by the ending which I really liked by the way.

TW: Yes, lots of them! Proceed with caution.

I wish to express my gratitude to Astra Publishing House via Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this debut novel. All opinions expressed are my own.
Date of Publication: August 23, 2022

First of all, the writing of this book is really beautiful! I became one with Lily and spiraled together with her. Plus, the food and tradition descriptions really made me miss home.

Right from the start it's apparent how intense the whole family's dynamic is, especially Lily's relationship with her abusive, manipulative, controlling mother. As past family secrets begin to unravel, the more stifling the atmosphere of the book gets. I really love how Ella King managed to show how a multicultural family experiences intergenerational trauma.

However I had a difficult time distinguishing which character is who and I felt the plot only really picked up around 60% into the book. Nonetheless, Ella King's Bad Fruit is a such a solid debut!

(3.5 stars rounded up)