Book Review: Placebo Junkies

About the Book

Title: Placebo Junkies

Author: J.C. Carleson 

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: October 27, 2015

Genres: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction

Amazon | Barnes and Noble 

Going Bovine meets Trainspotting in this gritty portrait of at-risk teens gaming the prescription drug trial system.
Meet Audie: Professional lab rat. Guinea pig. Serial human test subject. For Audie and her friends, “volunteering” for pharmaceutical drug trials means a quick fix and easy cash.
Sure, there’s the occasional nasty side effect, but Audie’s got things under control. If Monday’s pill causes a rash, Tuesday’s ointment usually clears it right up. Wednesday’s injection soothes the sting from Tuesday’s “cure,” and Thursday’s procedure makes her forget all about Wednesday’s headache. By the time Friday rolls around, there’s plenty of cash in hand and perhaps even a slot in a government-funded psilocybin study, because WEEKEND!
But the best fix of all is her boyfriend, Dylan, whose terminal illness just makes them even more compatible. He’s turning eighteen soon, so Audie is saving up to make it an unforgettable birthday. That means more drug trials than ever before, but Dylan is worth it.
No pain, no gain, Audie tells herself as the pills wear away at her body and mind. No pain, no gain, she repeats as her grip on reality starts to slide….
Raw and irreverent, Placebo Junkies will captivate readers until the very end, when author J. C. Carleson leans in for a final twist of the knife.

My Review of Placebo Junkies

Placebo Junkies is not the typical novel I usually pick up, but it sounded intriguing. I decided to go outside my usual comfort zone, and boy was I rewarded. Placebo Junkies is twisted tale full of unexpected turns right up to the very end. It looks at the underbelly of human testing and clinical trials and what some people do to but it is also very much a story of a young girl trying to survive on her own. 

Audie’s story is one of terrible circumstances and her battle to exert her control over her situation. She also has one good thing in her life, her boyfriend Dylan. She wants nothing more than to give him the best experience in life before his cancer possibly takes him. This love story is beautiful, but tragic in many ways. 

I have to say I loved the writing style that J.C. Carleson chooses to express Audie’s story. It alternates between Audie’s different clinical trials and the pain surrounding selling your body for science. The author also uses Audie’s “Guinea Pig” blog posts to give more insight into Audie’s viewpoint on human test subjects and her life. I also love that as a reader I had no clue what was going to happen or what was going on around Audie until the very last few pages. 

This book is not an easy read for the squeamish, even though it does not go into severe graphic details. I still found it enjoyable in the sense that the book kept me enthralled with trying to find out what was going to happen next, and what exactly was going on with Audie as the story progressed. I would recommend this to also most anyone. I think it is especially enjoyable for fans of realistic fiction or medical based books. 

**Unabridged Bookshelf received this book, in exchange for an honest review**

Thank you for visiting Unabridged Bookshelf!

Waiting on Wednesday: All The Rage

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we cannot wait to get our hands on.

 I am waiting on:

Title: All the Rage

Author: Courtney Summers

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Publication Date: April 14, 2015
Genre: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, 

The sheriff’s son, Kellan Turner, is not the golden boy everyone thinks he is, and Romy Grey knows that for a fact. Because no one wants to believe a girl from the wrong side of town, the truth about him has cost her everything—friends, family, and her community. Branded a liar and bullied relentlessly by a group of kids she used to hang out with, Romy’s only refuge is the diner where she works outside of town. No one knows her name or her past there; she can finally be anonymous. But when a girl with ties to both Romy and Kellan goes missing after a party, and news of him assaulting another girl in a town close by gets out, Romy must decide whether she wants to fight or carry the burden of knowing more girls could get hurt if she doesn’t speak up. Nobody believed her the first time—and they certainly won’t now — but the cost of her silence might be more than she can bear.　
With a shocking conclusion and writing that will absolutely knock you out, All the Rage examines the shame and silence inflicted upon young women after an act of sexual violence, forcing us to ask ourselves: In a culture that refuses to protect its young girls, how can they survive?

Why am I waiting?

While I get that this book is not going to be an easy book to read, I also have a feeling the Courtney Summers is going to handle the subject delicately, but brutally truthful too. This one I know I am most likely going to need a big box of Kleenex for at times, but hopefully it is an open read, even as a piece of fiction. 

What are you waiting on?

Make sure to let me know in the comments

Thank you for visiting Unabridged Bookshelf!