Read this aloud to my year 8 reading group and they loved it. Prompted a fantastic debate about nature versus nurture and the definition of evil. The whole group engaged with it and I loved it too. ( )

I read this a long time ago and decided to revisit. Tulip is intriguing as a character - a psychopath in the making. Her extreme behaviour is believable, but horrifying, and I felt compelled to finish the novel. In the end I was unsettled, wondering what the future would hold for Tulip. Is a psychopath born or nurtured? ( )

This is quite a gripping story for younger teens. Tulip is a complex character. On the one hand she is cold, cruel and calculating, but on the other, thanks to her abusive home life, she is extremely vulnerable. At times I felt really sorry for Tulip, but I also sympathised with Natalie, Tulip's only friend. She is mesmerised by the excitement Tulip brings to her life, yet senses that there is something dark and dangerous about Tulip and the games she invents, but breaking away from Tulip comes at a cost. Overall, this book is a compelling little read and raises the issue, are people born evil or do their circumstances make them so? Three and a half stars. ( )

This novel is a good example of realistic fiction because the actions that Tulip takes, even though they are not very wise, some people do, mainly because they have a hard home life, just like Tulip does in the book. ( )

Anne Fine's best children's book. Thought provoking, asks the question, "Are we born evil or are we victims of circumstance?" ( )