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A review by ameliapagee
Clean by Juno Dawson
dark
funny
informative
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
conflicted so i’m going to jot my thoughts down in a pro and con list:
+ addiction was represented very, very accurately and is not glamorized in the slightest.
+ comforted me and bought me back to my time in a clinic which was a healing, positive place and i think Juno did i remarkable job at capturing the atmosphere, solidarity and acceptance for who the person standing opposite you is (no matter how twisted and ugly) patients have
+ lexi was a super interesting character, with depth
+ does not use the love can save your mental illness trope
+ you can tell this is a really important issue to Juno, and that she knows what she’s talking about
+ super readable, reignited my joy for reading after months and almost years of not reading anything
+ first book i finished after school so sentimental value
+definitely important for younger readers i think
+ some beautiful sentences
- felt very rushed and not fleshed out, almost surface level as if the book was trying to tackle too much at once
- although i think the depiction of the rehab facility was super positive it is strange how they’re on a private island and it’s meant to be a world class centre, yet more than once patients are seriously injured and bear a ridiculous amount of responsibility which wouldn’t happen even in maximum security places. Also even in the voluntary clinic i was at they still had cameras to monitor the patients weren’t going to harm themselves which is what happened multiple times in this novel.
-> why was an ED patient being treated with the same programme and steps as a opiate addict? It doesn’t make sense.
-> for a world class center why aren’t they checking in on patients and making sure
a) they wake up and come to the meals
b) they aren’t up to high jinks at night
- weird bordering on classist / racist stereotypical representation of a black character with mental illness (super disappointed in this actually Dawson used a lot of harmful stereotypes, language and just the depiction of Sasha as the low income loony was not it)
- Never really got to see Lexi work through her trauma / familial problems or get to see it resolved but i guess maybe that’s a symbol of it being a lifelong thing she’ll have to find peace with
Overall: enjoyed but i think as someone who has been to a treatment facility i found more inconsistencies and errors that took away from the experience as a whole.
+ addiction was represented very, very accurately and is not glamorized in the slightest.
+ comforted me and bought me back to my time in a clinic which was a healing, positive place and i think Juno did i remarkable job at capturing the atmosphere, solidarity and acceptance for who the person standing opposite you is (no matter how twisted and ugly) patients have
+ lexi was a super interesting character, with depth
+ does not use the love can save your mental illness trope
+ you can tell this is a really important issue to Juno, and that she knows what she’s talking about
+ super readable, reignited my joy for reading after months and almost years of not reading anything
+ first book i finished after school so sentimental value
+definitely important for younger readers i think
+ some beautiful sentences
- felt very rushed and not fleshed out, almost surface level as if the book was trying to tackle too much at once
- although i think the depiction of the rehab facility was super positive it is strange how they’re on a private island and it’s meant to be a world class centre, yet more than once patients are seriously injured and bear a ridiculous amount of responsibility which wouldn’t happen even in maximum security places. Also even in the voluntary clinic i was at they still had cameras to monitor the patients weren’t going to harm themselves which is what happened multiple times in this novel.
-> why was an ED patient being treated with the same programme and steps as a opiate addict? It doesn’t make sense.
-> for a world class center why aren’t they checking in on patients and making sure
a) they wake up and come to the meals
b) they aren’t up to high jinks at night
- weird bordering on classist / racist stereotypical representation of a black character with mental illness (super disappointed in this actually Dawson used a lot of harmful stereotypes, language and just the depiction of Sasha as the low income loony was not it)
- Never really got to see Lexi work through her trauma / familial problems or get to see it resolved but i guess maybe that’s a symbol of it being a lifelong thing she’ll have to find peace with
Overall: enjoyed but i think as someone who has been to a treatment facility i found more inconsistencies and errors that took away from the experience as a whole.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Toxic relationship