It’s for your Own Good

At a glance

Being kidnapped from your bed in the middle of the night with your parents standing by watching is a brutal way to be taught a lesson but such is what happens to Liv at the start of this tense and unsettling thriller. Liv discovers that she has been taken to a camp for troubled teens where she will stay until she is rehabilitated but before that happens people around her start to die.

I enjoyed this. Being taken from home and left to survive in an isolated camp reminded me of the brilliant Happy Head by Josh Silver but whereas in his book the teens are troubled, Liv is angry and it works. She is a relatable character, whose misdemeanours we later discover are underpinned by grief. I was surprised by the ending which was much bolder than I expected it to be, and which could prompt further discussion and thought. Overall, this is fast-paced gripping thriller with a level of complexity to keep the reader engaged.

Published by Usborne, 2026 (346 pages)