Anna is a young woman, coming of age, who has been raised in a very religious household with very strict rules. She knows she is not allowed to visit a nearby town/Amusement Park but doesn't know why- until she breaks the rules and goes with her boyfriend and feels an urgent sense of de ja vu. She knows she's been here before. But when??
What unravels is the mystery of who she is, where she came from and why she remembers that park.
I found the characters engaging and interesting- although slightly frustrating.
It was well written and a good page turner but the ending was too abrupt and needed an epilogue to tie everything together.

From the winner of the Daily Mail crime writing competition comes a suspenseful debut psychological thriller about a young woman’s quest to uncover her real identity. Gripping and fast-paced, you’ll race through this emotional, compelling read, desperate to find out the truth.

Two women – desperate to unlock the truth.
How far will they go to lay the past to rest?

ANNA has been taught that virtue is the path to God. But on her eighteenth birthday she defies her Mamma’s rules and visits Florida’s biggest theme park.

She has never been allowed to go – so why, when she arrives, does everything seem so familiar? And is there a connection to the mysterious letter she receives on the same day?

ROSIE has grown up in the shadow of the missing sister she barely remembers, her family fractured by years of searching without leads. Now, on the fifteenth anniversary of her sister’s disappearance, the media circus resumes in full flow, and Rosie vows to uncover the truth.

But will she find the answer before it tears her family apart....

Not a bad book by Lizzy Barber, well written and suspenseful but with a bit of a slow, plodding pace.
Skipping back and forth between Anna and Rosie was a good way to keep me interested, however I would’ve like to have seen More of Rosie’s life fleshed out as the concentration was mainly on Anna.
The plot was every parents worse nightmare and the emotional rollercoaster felt by each character was described well, the setting of a happy fun place in the Theme Park was eerily contrasted by the events that took place, however I felt that the story needed to kick up the pace a bit to fully keep my attention.
Worth a read though.

Thank you to the author and publisher for the advanced copy of My Name is Anna.
Unfortunately I didn't finish the book, I just couldn't get into it. Nothing to do with how it was written just not to my taste

This is a very impressive debut novel. This book is told from two sisters points of view as they struggle to discover what happened 15 years earlier and who they really are.
Rose is living in London and her and her family have never recovered from her sister Emily’s abduction 15 years earlier from an American theme park. They hold a party for what would have been Emily’s 18th birthday. The funds that they receive to keep the campaign going to find Emily are nearly running out so Rosie decides to try and find out herself what happened to her.
Anna, who we soon realise is Emily, is living in America with a very strict, very dominating and religious mother. Anna and her boyfriend sneak off to Astroland, a theme park which her mother has banned her from going to. Anna has a strange experience whilst there as she is convinced that she has been there before and decides to investigate what she remembers and this starts her on a journey of discovery. The story then builds with both girls revealing secrets that have been hidden and discovering the truth. I thought the ending was a bit quick and would have liked the story to have carried on a little more but I still recommend reading this book. I am sure you will not be disappointed.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book
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I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Having read some reviews that mentioned a cult story line, I was a little wary but it was actually very well written and not overwhelming to the overall tale. I enjoyed the alternate chapters for the two girls and the way they came together towards the end as the reasons for Emily's disappearance were revealed. Very good read - recommended.

Her name was Anna, or that was what she thought and indeed we thought she was, author Lizzie Barber however had other plans. as she took us on a journey. That journey involved two young girls, Anna and Rosie, two girls with widely different backgrounds , that Barber used to brilliant effect,

Anna, did not have the advantage of the internet, TV or  mobile phone, her methods of discovery were the old fashioned kind, that of instinct, gut feeling and making good use of opportunities that presented themselves. In some ways it allowed Barber to explore her emotions, her confusion as to who she was that little bit more. For me, what made her story all the more interesting and poignant was her feelings towards her mother, at times anger and at other an overriding sense of loyalty and love for the woman who had raised her.

Rosie, was the child that had to live up to the older sister that went missing and never came back. Barber made me feel quite sorry for her, always having to check in, to ride the waves of the emotional rollercoaster that enveloped her parents, to live the life of the perfect teenager. Yet, Rosie had a tenacious, feisty side to her that I loved, and her quest to discover the mystery of her sisters disappearance made for pretty gripping reading.

Barbers use of alternating chapters showing Anna and Rosie's points of view was seamlessly done, it allowed Barber to show two differing sides and for me it was utterly thought provoking. Its similarities with Madeline McCann really made me think what it must have been and still is like for the parents, remaining children and the wider family. It so clearly highlighted what really happens when the media disappears and moves on to the next story.  You just wanted Rosie and Anna to be normal, to be doing all the things that normal teenagers do, but it was their drive to discover the truth that stayed firmly at the heart of the novel, the pace unrelenting as they each unearthed revelation after revelation.

I had to think really hard about my feelings towards Anna's mother. Did I feel sorry for her, did I despise her and her unorthodox child rearing methods or was she too a victim? This was an aspect of the novel that I found challenged my thinking and I for one love any novel that can do that, and do it so well.

I desperately wanted a happy ending, and although it is not for me to say, My Name is Anna will leave you with more questions than answers.

It will pull you into a whirlwind of emotions and drama and a world you would never wish to enter. It would make a great TV drama or film and I really do hope that someone will take a chance on My Name Is Anna and bring it to life.

Anna and her mother live a strict and penitent life together and Anna is taught that virtue is the path to God. But on a clandestine visit to Florida’s biggest theme park everything seems familiar. Rosie has grown up in the shadow of the missing sister she barely remembers, but now Rosie vows to uncover the truth.

Two girls who are joined by an invisible thread which works its way throughout the story. The tale is familiar but well crafted and keeps the pages turning. The dual narration of the book keeps it interesting even though the outcome is obvious very early. The details are interesting enough to want to find out how the story leads to conclusion.

A fantastic read about ayoung girl brought up in rural America to a single mother with a very obssessive and devout Christian belief . Anna is 18 years old and has lived a very sheltered up bringing, her mother is fastidious about being clean to the point of scrubbing hands till they’re raw. But Anna is rebelling and in small ways one of which is visiting a forbidden amusement park called Astroland. At the same time we meet Rosie who’s 16 and living in London, all her life she’s had to grow up in the shadow of her older sister who disappeared on a trip to America whilst visiting an amusement park. Now it’s the fifteenth annivesary of her sister’s disappearance , R osie decides she’s going to find out the truth about her sister herself.
This is a fabulous psychological drama that kept me enthralled till the very end. I loved how every chapter was told in alternating voices of the two girls , each one revealing just a little more of the tale, each one keeping you wondering what could possibly happen next. An amazing debut novel by Lizzy Barber, can’t wait for her next .

This book had all the makings of a thriller which caused the heart to beat at a strange rhythm especially when I knew that things were reaching a point where secrets had to be revealed.

A child Emily kidnapped from a ride in a theme park on a vacation to Florida, 15 years ahead, the family in London was still ravaged by the loss when Rosie the sister decided to get to the truth. Across the river in Florida, Anna lead a biblical life with a fanatic mother who was obsessed with cleanliness and dirt and germs to the point of cruelty. A routine life that was soon broken by memories....

The story was told in Anna and Rosie's POV by author Lizzy Barber. It was obvious from the very beginning where the story would go, but the reasons for the decisions were still unknown, and that captured my interest along with Lizzy's crisp and fast writing.

My niggles had to be remarked on. There were a few subplots linked to a cult-like church which I skimmed over. And the story gave me a sense of deja vu. I have read similar stories before.

Even with a predictable formulaic storyline, the fast pace kept me hooked to the book. Enjoyable.

What a gripping read! Told from both sister’s point of view, My Name is Anna tells the story of 2 girls growing up separate from each other.

On her 18th birthday Anna defies mama, a very strict and religious woman, and spends her birthday at Astroland, a local theme park. During the day Anna senses some déjà vu and is sure she has been there before…
Rosie lives in London, with her parents and her younger brother. Rosie grows up under the burden of her missing sister. Every year, on the anniversary of her sister’s missing, Rosie and her family appear on television for an interview in hopes of new clues as to her sister’s whereabouts.

Switching between the sisters in each chapter, the story unfolds. Anna’s living situation is well described, I could feel the claustrophobic tension within mama’s household. And I felt for Rosie, trying to do normal, typical teenager stuff, but who is always seen as ‘the sister of missing Emily’.

A well written book with a nice pace and build-up!

If you’re going to write a debut novel then this is how to do it! Lizzy Barber has created a real page turner which leaves you thinking on for a long time afterwards how it would feel to be Anna and find out your life was a lie. Told from both sides of the pond, Rosie in England and Anna in America, the girls were both likeable characters and you couldn’t help getting behind them. Anna was snatched from a Florida theme park aged 3 years and when Rosie was a baby. Rosie’s family went through anguish and pain every day while Anna thought her mum was her mum, until on her 18th birthday she visits the theme park her mum has always banned her from and bells start to ring. I will certainly be looking out for any future books from Lizzy and will be recommending this one to my book club members. Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Random House UK for my copy in return for my honest review..

Where is Emily?

The story centres around two sisters who really don't know each other; Rosie was just a toddler when her three year old sister disappeared from a Florida theme park. Rosie's family has been searching for her ever since and Rosie has lived constantly under the shadow of her perfect older sister. When the funding for the search dries up after 15 years, Rosie decides to see if she can unearth anything that others have missed, before she has to stand by and watch her mother disintegrate.

Meanwhile, Anna is living under the watchful eye of her overbearing, fanatical mother. 'Mamma' is obsessed with cleanliness and insists that Anna scrub her hands and arms in hot bleach to ward off the awful germs found outside the home. Anna is dating the vicar's son, hard for Mamma to object to that. When her date takes her behind her mother's back, to a large Florida theme park, Anna starts to have flashbacks of a place she's sure she's never been.

Anna and Rosie both go behind their parents' backs to try and get to the bottom of an unsolved mystery that has haunted the State for over a decade. Gradually we manage to piece together what happened on that fateful day, and why. It's a dark, disturbing tale.

This was an enjoyable read, a good start for 2019. It was fast paced and kept my attention to the end. It made me think about how an older sibling who is missing from a family, for whatever reason, affects the children under them and how it would never be possible to fully live up to these lofty expectations.

4.5 stars - but it would be churlish to round it down.

My Name is Anna is a novel that will grip you from its first pages; where you meet Anna, quietly frightened of her own Mother, known as Mamma, a fanatically clean, overly religious and quietly controlling woman.

On her Eighteenth birthday, Anna defies her Mother and visits Florida’s biggest and most popular theme park, Astroland with her boyfriend William. She knows that she has never been there before, for her Mother has forbidden it.

But Anna feels like everything there is familiar to her. Like she has somehow been there before ...

In the U.K., Rosie has grown up in the shadow of her missing older sister, Emily. The sister she can barely remember, but is forced to celebrate every anniversary in the media spotlight with her family in the hope that it will unearth a new piece of evidence that will bring her missing sister home.

Her sister, Emily has now been missing for fifteen years. And the money in the Emily Archer trust, funding the investigation into her disappearance is about to run out...

Rosie more than ever wishes that she could help to find her sister, as she knows that it is the only thing that will keep her fragile family from falling apart at the seams.

My Name is Anna deals with some difficult subjects brilliantly, and really makes you care about its characters. I know it's only January, but I truly think that this will be one of my favourites for 2019!

What’s in a name?

For the main characters in Lizzy Barber’s novel, a name is everything. It defines you, your surroundings, your feelings, and your family.

Anna and Rosie couldn’t be more different.

Anna has been raised in a very religious setting, obeying her mother and her rules. Frail, with a kind heart torn between doing what’s right in her mother’s eyes and what any girl of eighteen would like to live, she feels stuck and guilty of it. The author did a perfect job at showing just how complicated feelings can be when you’ve only known so much, when doors appear, and when your world feels too close to the edge.

Rosie. Forever in the shadow of her bigger sister, “the one who disappeared”. What does it feel to be left behind? To keep on living in the same place, with the same people, when something is missing? When someone is missing? I found Rosie very resilient. It takes a lot to go on a chase adults haven’t managed to finish, to take up where leads have dried, for the sake of your family. The ‘not-knowing’ is an underestimated torture. My heart beat for this family, for a happy ending I knew would never happen because we can’t rewind time, we can’t get lost days back. I was fully aware that Rosie’s plan to get her sister back came right from her heart but would not be an ending in itself. Indeed, what happens when you manage to find the missing person you’ve been dreaming of? Aren’t they just a stranger? The shadow of the person you expected? The fight doesn’t end when you get reunited… if you ever get the chance to be.

Two faces of the same coin. Two nightmares. Different but linked by an invisible hand. This beautiful and heart-wrenching novel manages to keep both storylines engaging and gripping with alternate chapters taking you on roads you wish no one would have to walk on. My feelings were all over the place. What would I do if my sibling was gone? What would I say if I found out my life had been a lie? What, what, what. So many whats, no real answer! Because there can’t be a good answer. A single event triggered a series of explosions that left scars and not even time can repair those. How do you build your world when the foundations are shaky?

Worse, what can you do when some people don’t want the truth to come out? Would you be ready to jeopardize the semblance of a normal life that you know?

My Name Is Anna is a stunning piece about finding yourself, digging old truths, and religion. I was born and raised Catholic, now I believe in books. But do not worry about the R word. No preaching here. Just faith, and an amazingly chilling backdrop of religion gone bad. I can’t say more than this without spoiling the fun but bloggers like my friend Annie @TheMisstery91 would ADORE this book! Lizzy Barber takes a touchy subject and wraps her plot around it, framing her characters’ lives with a white veil that hold all the answers. It is brilliant, it is thought-provoking, it is awfully relevant.

Anna… Oh Anna! I felt for her, I wanted to shake her, I wish I could have held her. Sweet Anna who tries not to drown in the blurry world that is hers. Choked by mixed feelings, hoping to see the light without making too many waves, she opens the Pandora box and there is no way back. Her journey is painful and bloody, messy and muddy. Her heart and soul have been marked forever.

And bad people want to make sure things stay as they are.

You get more than a character-driven book. My Name Is Anna is a steady-paced maze in which each action has consequences. The more you run for the escape, the darker the place becomes. Truly addictive and stunningly written, you can’t refuse this invitation to meet Anna…

I found myself enjoying this storyline. Very gruesome in a few places. I've not come across any books about religious cults before so was an interesting theme. I really couldn't put this down. Sleep? Can't go to sleep until I find out how it ends. Very good and I would recommend.

I enjoyed this book. Enjoyed the characters in the story although got a bit frustrated with them at times, In my head im going No don't go in there and they go in there towards danger.
A good story, loved reading and finding out about what happened in the past to make Anna the way she was.

An intriguing thriller about two teenage girls, separated by an ocean, leading vastly different lives. Anna is an 18 year old growing up in Florida, being raised by her deeply religious single mother, whereas Rosie is in London, living with her parents and younger brother, but this existence is overshadowed by the disappearance of her older sister Emily at a theme park in Florida 15 years before. Both young women are searching for the truth, what happened that day 15 years ago. Who is behind Emily's disappearance? Who is the mysterious Father Paul? The story slowly unfolds to reveal it's secrets, and the answer, though not a great surprise, still leads us to a satisfying conclusion.
3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My name is Anna was my first book by this author and If I'm being honest I enjoyed the first half much more than the second.
Telling the story of the aftermath of a young girls abduction and the effect this has on the people impacted by these tragic events we pick up the story fifteen years after the fact.
Told from two sisters POV Anna/Emily currently residing with her Mama in the USA and Rosie younger sister of abducted Emily living with her mum dad and brother in the UK.
This is mainly the sister's story and as we switch seamlessly from girl to girl we start to get a sense of the differences that from the same instant in time have impacted both there lives so dramatically and while for the most part, I did enjoy this: It started to get slightly monotonous the further I progressed.
I just wasn't fully on board here and I'm not sure quite why that was.
It almost had a slightly anti-climactic feel to it especially the finale which for me felt a bit flat.
On a sidenote, I did enjoy the Carrie references included with Anna and noticed the parallels included here almost instantly.
This, in conclusion, was for me an OK read that never really took flight: hoping its a better fit for you.
I voluntary reviewed an Arc of My name is Anna.
All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

A fabulous read not my normal type of novel but was greatly surprised as I enjoyed it emensley from the first page to the last this book holds your interest and telling the story of a missing girl told supurbly by Emily (anna) and her sibling Rosie it is played out brilliantly a thoroughly enjoyable novel