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Minä itse, Milly
What happened to Milly last summer? She can't talk about it. Instead, she's writing in her journal. About growing up in the shadow of her twin sister, Lily. About the American boy who's moved in upstairs. (There's something he's not telling either.)
Milly can't keep her secret forever . . . can she?
Milly can't keep her secret forever . . . can she?
- GenresFiction
Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 2013
6 people are currently reading
126 people want to read
About the author
Penelope Bush
5 books9 followersPenelope Bush trained and worked as a tapestry weaver, but always knew that one day she would write.
She lives in West Sussex with her husband and son and elderly cat. She hides away in an old caravan to do her writing, where the only distraction is the occasional pheasant wandering past. Now and again, the family reclaim the caravan and it is towed down the coast to Dorset, where many happy hours are spent looking for fossils.
She lives in West Sussex with her husband and son and elderly cat. She hides away in an old caravan to do her writing, where the only distraction is the occasional pheasant wandering past. Now and again, the family reclaim the caravan and it is towed down the coast to Dorset, where many happy hours are spent looking for fossils.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
September 10, 2013
This tale of one sister struggling to separate herself from her twin is one of the most cleverly written books that I have ever had the pleasure of reading. It is filled with cunning misdirection and the plot revolves around an 'incident' which is revealed gradually. Me, Myself, Milly is at times heartrending, often laugh out loud funny, and written around an all too plausible set of scenarios.
October 8, 2013
I liked this. I didn't want to, at first, but I did. It's a slim, articulate book that is the story of Milly. And, very simply, it's the story of Milly trying to find out who she is. She's spent her life as the afterthought in a way, the child lost in the shadow of her bright and eye-catching twin sister Lily.
It's a very clever, very sympathetic book that wrong-footed me wholly at first. Milly refers to things not having been the same since The Incident. And they haven't. Her relationship with everything and everyone has changed.
But that's because The Incident changed everything.
Bush writes in an almost heightened, poetic style throughout this. It's easy to read the book on one level and ignore the complex and clever structure beneath. But once you finish it, you realise it. You realise the sharp subtleties that run throughout the book and the very, very clever way it's written.
As I said before, I didn't want to like this. Referring to The Incident as The Incident all the way through (capital letters) felt a little too artful and, to be frank, repetitive. But I persevered and I'm pleased I did because it's only once finishing that you realise quite how special - and how smart - this book is.
It's a very clever, very sympathetic book that wrong-footed me wholly at first. Milly refers to things not having been the same since The Incident. And they haven't. Her relationship with everything and everyone has changed.
But that's because The Incident changed everything.
Bush writes in an almost heightened, poetic style throughout this. It's easy to read the book on one level and ignore the complex and clever structure beneath. But once you finish it, you realise it. You realise the sharp subtleties that run throughout the book and the very, very clever way it's written.
As I said before, I didn't want to like this. Referring to The Incident as The Incident all the way through (capital letters) felt a little too artful and, to be frank, repetitive. But I persevered and I'm pleased I did because it's only once finishing that you realise quite how special - and how smart - this book is.
January 19, 2022
Having been a huge fan of this author when I was growing up (enjoying such predecessors as Alice in Time and Diary of a Lottery Winner’s Daughter) I decided to buy her third novel on Kindle and read it as an adult. I had never found it in-store when it was released 9 years ago(!) and have always been wondering what “The Incident” is.
The book is aimed more towards teenage readers and seemed to have a slightly less “mature” written theme as compared to Alice in Time, despite the protagonists being the same age. Milly is a likeable character, however; and it was easy to get stuck into the story. “The Incident”, as it is referred to frequently, was not something I was expecting due to the way the book was written. If you go back to the start of the story once you have finished, you will realise that it was written in such a way that the undercurrent is obvious when you know, but not something that I would have ever guessed, even with me being out of the target audience. Kudos to Bush; it is very difficult to get foreshadowing right as a recurrent theme throughout the story.
The only criticism I have is that the story leading up to the reveal (before you have any idea what “The Incident” is) is slightly repetitive at times with a lot of filler, and the ending seemed a bit… rushed and sudden—without revealing too much, it seemed like there wasn’t much build up to that part happening and was sort of plonked in there without much development between Milly and the character/scenario that the ending concerns.
Having said that, it is a shame that this is Bush’s last published work since 2013, as she is a very talented author and it would be nice to read more novels of hers, even if I am no longer part of the target audience. She is very creative, and her writing definitely keeps you hooked and makes you think about things from a different point of view.
3.5/5 stars as I can’t give halves here lol.
The book is aimed more towards teenage readers and seemed to have a slightly less “mature” written theme as compared to Alice in Time, despite the protagonists being the same age. Milly is a likeable character, however; and it was easy to get stuck into the story. “The Incident”, as it is referred to frequently, was not something I was expecting due to the way the book was written. If you go back to the start of the story once you have finished, you will realise that it was written in such a way that the undercurrent is obvious when you know, but not something that I would have ever guessed, even with me being out of the target audience. Kudos to Bush; it is very difficult to get foreshadowing right as a recurrent theme throughout the story.
The only criticism I have is that the story leading up to the reveal (before you have any idea what “The Incident” is) is slightly repetitive at times with a lot of filler, and the ending seemed a bit… rushed and sudden—without revealing too much, it seemed like there wasn’t much build up to that part happening and was sort of plonked in there without much development between Milly and the character/scenario that the ending concerns.
Having said that, it is a shame that this is Bush’s last published work since 2013, as she is a very talented author and it would be nice to read more novels of hers, even if I am no longer part of the target audience. She is very creative, and her writing definitely keeps you hooked and makes you think about things from a different point of view.
3.5/5 stars as I can’t give halves here lol.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 4, 2018
Milly is a lovely, relatable teenager who is trying to find out who she is in relation to a host of big personalities including her identical twin. A very well told story of love, family and how a moment can change everything.
I was so caught up in this tale that the "incident" took me by surprise. Looking back I can see the trail of clues but at the time time, I was so enjoying the slow reveal that I didn't think to try to work out what had happened.
I was so caught up in this tale that the "incident" took me by surprise. Looking back I can see the trail of clues but at the time time, I was so enjoying the slow reveal that I didn't think to try to work out what had happened.
May 13, 2020
Wow, I really didn't expect much from this book, got it from poundland and expected it to be a quick read before giving to charity. It exceeded my expectations by far. There's even a plot twist which I genuinely couldn't see coming. Felt like the whole book was wrapped up nicely, and how it was so nice seeing the characters grow
September 23, 2024
Started and finished date - 22.09.24 to 23.09.24.
My rating - Two star.
I found this book was okay, Both the atmosphere and writing was fine but the paced of plot felt rush. The characters was okay but I feel like they needed to be flash out bit more. The ending of the book was fine and the cover of book was fine.
My rating - Two star.
I found this book was okay, Both the atmosphere and writing was fine but the paced of plot felt rush. The characters was okay but I feel like they needed to be flash out bit more. The ending of the book was fine and the cover of book was fine.
November 17, 2021
Quite possibly the worst book I've ever read.
The writing was subpar, even for a YA book.
Read it, don't read it. All I know is I will never get the time I spent reading this... ridiculously amateur written book.
The writing was subpar, even for a YA book.
Read it, don't read it. All I know is I will never get the time I spent reading this... ridiculously amateur written book.
November 17, 2025
What a bittersweet story ever....and another book which deals with one twin living under another twin's shadow and how one incident changes the perspective and life of the titular protagonist, Milly and her connection with her twin sister, Lilly.....
October 15, 2019
Omg the best book I've read in a while. Very heart warming, love of siblings. In some ways might be relatable for some people
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 1, 2021
Just fabulous and emotional, so emotional!
June 27, 2023
Amazing storytelling. I cried after reading this book.
October 14, 2024
As a twin myself this will probably always be the most heart breaking book i ever read, it is just so relatable. This is my fourth time reading this book and it still always makes me cry.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 25, 2025
One of the first “heavy” reads of my life, and the best one I’ve read so far. I must have read this book sooo many times as a young teen, absolutely loved it.
October 31, 2021
This came out of my Box of Stories general fiction box, so I didn’t choose it.
Not sure about this, it’s not even YA, it’s more young teenager and not at all what I expected from my subscription. Read it in a morning and the twist was far too obvious. Probably fine for its intended audience.
Two and a Half Stars, rounded up to Three to be kind.
Not sure about this, it’s not even YA, it’s more young teenager and not at all what I expected from my subscription. Read it in a morning and the twist was far too obvious. Probably fine for its intended audience.
Two and a Half Stars, rounded up to Three to be kind.
May 18, 2020
Olen lukenut kirjan aiemmin, ollessani itse 13-vuotias. Tuolloin kirja oli hyvin tunteitaherättävä, sillä en voinut kuvitella itseäni vain vähän vanhemman kokevan sellaista. Nyt se kuitenkin oli hieman liian lapsellisesti kirjoitettu, jotta olisin nauttinut siitä. Kirja on kuitenkin hyvä.
August 10, 2014
So, this one really cute. My youngest daughter is a typical 15yo in a lot of ways, but she is not a huge fan of YA books, and most of them don't really speak to her, so her finding something that did was a treat.
I found it a little predictable (I realised what "The Incident" as it is mostly referred to, must have been, pretty much immediately), but that didn't hurt it. In fact I really liked the last few chapters, after the big reveal.
The heroine here is very close in age to my daughter, she turns 15 at the end of the book. There's a budding romance, but it's very sweet and gentle, and "the boy" doesn't immediately become the center of Milly's world. And there's a best friend who really is a best friend: Effy is a fabulous character, supportive and kind and practical, any girl would love someone like her on their side. All the characters are well drawn in fact, even the mean girl at school is realistically nasty, rather than totally over the top.
I'd personally rate this a 3 but then I'm not really the target audience. Daughter gave it a solid 4, so I'm splitting the difference. If you have kids in the right age range (I'm going to guess, 13-15 would be the sweet spot), this might be worth a look.
I found it a little predictable (I realised what "The Incident" as it is mostly referred to, must have been, pretty much immediately), but that didn't hurt it. In fact I really liked the last few chapters, after the big reveal.
The heroine here is very close in age to my daughter, she turns 15 at the end of the book. There's a budding romance, but it's very sweet and gentle, and "the boy" doesn't immediately become the center of Milly's world. And there's a best friend who really is a best friend: Effy is a fabulous character, supportive and kind and practical, any girl would love someone like her on their side. All the characters are well drawn in fact, even the mean girl at school is realistically nasty, rather than totally over the top.
I'd personally rate this a 3 but then I'm not really the target audience. Daughter gave it a solid 4, so I'm splitting the difference. If you have kids in the right age range (I'm going to guess, 13-15 would be the sweet spot), this might be worth a look.
September 24, 2014
Definitely not what I was expecting. Cleverly written and very original. Stumbled across this book via eBay as a quick 'journey read' durning my commute to work. It was so hard to put it down! Very glad to have found it.
August 2, 2014
So when I started reading this I didn't like it all that much, but I kept going because I didn't want to give up (I'm no quitter) and I'm so glad I persevered, DO NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN! It had me nearly crying.
December 16, 2013
not what I expected at all; perfectly written (but sad).
May 5, 2014
I really enjoyed this, it kept you wondering till the end of the book, i felt her pain and her anguish. so glad i took the time to read this.
August 25, 2014
This Incident was not what I was expecting!!!
January 24, 2015
An interesting and cleverly written, albeit quite predictable, book that realistically deals with grief, loss and guilt.
February 13, 2022
5⭐️ This was a childhood favorite of mine. It never disappoints. I love it so much. It brings back so many good memories!
November 5, 2015
A character based YA book - really well written
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews