Good Me Bad Me by Ali Land

What do you do when your life is a dilemma?  That's Annie's life.  She can either stay with her mother through the abuse or turn her in.  Many children face that problem but Annie's problem is compounded.  For her mother doesn't just abuse her.  She abuses and then kills small children and has killed nine so far.  When things get so bad that Annie just can't stand it anymore, she goes to the police and the country is shocked to find out about the cold-hearted murderer who has lived among them.

Now Annie has a new life, or at least that's what they tell her.  She is in the foster system and staying with a social worker, his wife and daughter.  Her name is now Millie and she goes to a new school with new kids and no one except her foster parents and the school head know her story.  She is getting ready to testify against her mother and then it will all be over.  Or will it? 

Can Millie actually say the words that will send her mother to prison forever?  Can she ever fit in anywhere with her warped background?  Her foster sister is one of the most popular girls at the new school and she takes an instant dislike to Millie.  As everyone turns against her and the pressure of the impending trial mounts, will Millie survive?

Ali Land has written a tense narrative of how those around evil are tainted by it.  Millie tries to overcome her background but it seems everything is against her and it would be very easy to fall into the coping mechanisms her mother taught her.  Land has the background necessary to write about Millie.  She worked for over a decade in children's mental health jobs in England and Australia.  This is her debut novel and it has won multiple prizes.  This book is recommended for thriller readers.