The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
mingusss's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
brooke_review's review against another edition
4.0
Megan Giddings debut novel Lakewood can't help but draw comparisons to the Tuskegee Syphilis Study and the harvesting of Henrietta Lacks' cells to further medical research. Lakewood, which examines the predatory actions of a government medical research study on marginalized groups, is fiction, but could easily have been torn from the pages of history - one in which experimenting on minorities, the poor, and disadvantaged was a common and accepted practice.
Lena Johnson is her mother's sole caretaker. Her mother, who has frequent, unexplained seizures, is without affordable medical care, and Lena is trying to juggle her course load at college, along with her family's bills. There has been talk among the circles she frequents about medical studies that will pay you well for submitting to their tests and asking no questions. With the debts mounting and her mother's condition worsening, Lena signs up for one of these studies in the remote town of Lakewood with the promise of good pay and health insurance for her family.
In Lakewood, Lena is given a cover job at the Great Lakes Shipping Company, which really doesn't exist. It is a front for anyone who should come snooping around the building where these super secretive government studies are taking place. Every morning, Lena is given a script of her work day, which contains the only things she is allowed to say to her friends and family about her "job." Behind the scenes, Lena is subjected to experimentation that tests her both mentally and physically. As the experiments intensify, and the line between real and perceived becomes blurred, Lena can't help but wonder if the seemingly dangerous risks involved outweigh the supposed reward.
Lakewood is an immersive reading experience, entangling readers in essentially torture in the name of scientific research right alongside Lena. Seeing the world through Lena's eyes as she is thrust into questionable scientific studies, readers have no choice but to trust Lena's perception of the experiments she is subjected to and bear witness to how horrifying it is to be turned into a real-life human guinea pig.
Lakewood is eerie and unsettling - as it should be. This fictional freak show is sadly not so far removed from the horrors of our past. When human rights and dignity are so easily disregarded, the fabric that holds society together unravels at a terrifying pace. Recommended for those who enjoy novels that take a voyeuristic, risky approach to storytelling, and for anyone who likes books that border on real-life dystopia.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Lena Johnson is her mother's sole caretaker. Her mother, who has frequent, unexplained seizures, is without affordable medical care, and Lena is trying to juggle her course load at college, along with her family's bills. There has been talk among the circles she frequents about medical studies that will pay you well for submitting to their tests and asking no questions. With the debts mounting and her mother's condition worsening, Lena signs up for one of these studies in the remote town of Lakewood with the promise of good pay and health insurance for her family.
In Lakewood, Lena is given a cover job at the Great Lakes Shipping Company, which really doesn't exist. It is a front for anyone who should come snooping around the building where these super secretive government studies are taking place. Every morning, Lena is given a script of her work day, which contains the only things she is allowed to say to her friends and family about her "job." Behind the scenes, Lena is subjected to experimentation that tests her both mentally and physically. As the experiments intensify, and the line between real and perceived becomes blurred, Lena can't help but wonder if the seemingly dangerous risks involved outweigh the supposed reward.
Lakewood is an immersive reading experience, entangling readers in essentially torture in the name of scientific research right alongside Lena. Seeing the world through Lena's eyes as she is thrust into questionable scientific studies, readers have no choice but to trust Lena's perception of the experiments she is subjected to and bear witness to how horrifying it is to be turned into a real-life human guinea pig.
Lakewood is eerie and unsettling - as it should be. This fictional freak show is sadly not so far removed from the horrors of our past. When human rights and dignity are so easily disregarded, the fabric that holds society together unravels at a terrifying pace. Recommended for those who enjoy novels that take a voyeuristic, risky approach to storytelling, and for anyone who likes books that border on real-life dystopia.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
plutosorbit's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.75
girrllie's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
sonialuto's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
mels_karsh's review against another edition
4.0
Very good book - I agreed with some of the reviews I’ve read that suggest we could have seen more character development, but overall I thought the story addressed a lot of topics we’ve seen become more widely discussed in the US in recent years - questions of infrastructure, ethics, what it means to sell your body. Would love to see discussed in classes on biopolitics
stephaniebookish's review against another edition
4.0
Book 3 for summerween: 3.5. This was unsettling
k_dawned's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
manicpixl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
Just a quick info tidbit: The narration switches to first person in the later third of this book.
If you are like me and try to avoid first person narrated books like the plague, this might be relevant to you, because for me, it did ruin my enjoyment of the book.
If you are like me and try to avoid first person narrated books like the plague, this might be relevant to you, because for me, it did ruin my enjoyment of the book.