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itsmeimkaty's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Drug abuse, and Addiction
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Eating disorder, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Antisemitism, Toxic friendship, Vomit, and Sexual assault
elllav's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Violence, Drug abuse, Self harm, Eating disorder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Death, Transphobia, Sexual assault, and Vomit
aliteubner's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, Drug use, Death, and Mental illness
beaky's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
i really loved this book - more than i expected.
although some of the characters seemed stuck in stereotypes of race and class, i thought the characters were really well portrayed when it came to their experiences with mental illness and addiction.
i loved the ill kids do crime aspect and the found family vibes although i don’t normally like the latter trope
they all seemed real and had heart and dynamic personalities - all the characters had layers which i loved to read about.
i thought Kendall’s anorexia was portrayed really well as i can unfortunately relate to her in that sense. her late night runs were heart wrenching to read but were described and written so well
i loved Juno’s writing and now want to read more Dawson books.
obviously, BIG TRIGGER WARNINGS for anorexia, binge eating, ocd, addiction, drug abuse, self harm and make sure to check these before reading!
i’d 100% recommend clean, especially to ppl who have gone through mental illnesses and struggled with addiction WHO ARE NOW RECOVERED!
although some of the characters seemed stuck in stereotypes of race and class, i thought the characters were really well portrayed when it came to their experiences with mental illness and addiction.
i loved the ill kids do crime aspect and the found family vibes although i don’t normally like the latter trope
they all seemed real and had heart and dynamic personalities - all the characters had layers which i loved to read about.
i loved Juno’s writing and now want to read more Dawson books.
obviously, BIG TRIGGER WARNINGS for anorexia, binge eating, ocd, addiction, drug abuse, self harm and make sure to check these before reading!
i’d 100% recommend clean, especially to ppl who have gone through mental illnesses and struggled with addiction WHO ARE NOW RECOVERED!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Violence, and Self harm
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Toxic relationship
ameliapagee's review against another edition
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: Drug abuse, Drug use, Addiction, and Toxic relationship
zafiras_bestie's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Body shaming, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Mental illness, Drug use, Death, Child death, Medical content, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, and Eating disorder
maevehandy's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Death, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Alcohol, Suicide, Eating disorder, and Toxic relationship
char9341's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A wonderful book to read. Really fast paced. Different layout as there was no chapters, felt like a diary more than a book which I loved. Characters were really well developed and felt as if I knew them, especially the main one. Would definitely recommend to anyone who wants a book to read that they can’t put down. Within the first evening of reading I read over 70 pages without even thinking about it
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction and Toxic relationship
enmcurrie's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The book follows 17-year-old socialite Lexi Volkov moments after overdosing on heroin, who gets transported to a luxury rehab clinic. It follows her recovery journey and how her elite status and family wealth has played a part in her addiction. It also talks about the recovery of other patients Lexi spends her time with. I thought it was a great book.
What I love about this book is just how raw and real it feels. It doesn’t cut corners it doesn’t try to belittle anything, it’s straight to the point in its handling of addiction and recovery and was really eye-opening to me. It’s so easy to be judgemental of addicts but they have so many more layers to them, and that’s conveyed clearly in this book. The plot is dark, but Dawson gives Lexi such a great dry sense of humour to counteract just how dark and heavy the storyline is, which I appreciated. The characters weren’t meant to be perfect, they say and do offensive things. They’re heavily flawed. But they don’t feel curated. The characters feel real, like you’re reading about the lives of random people you pass by on the street.
Lexi’s recovery felt real too, it wasn’t one dimensional and simple. It wasn’t cliche. The same goes for the other characters in rehab recovering.
The only issue I could comment about with the book would be the way it dealt with anorexia and overeating. I didn’t really like the favour and better treatment there was towards anorexia, but there was good representation there. Also, the ending felt a bit out of place and didn’t make all too much sense to me:
She spent the whole book saying she was a London girl but then just moved to a ranch in America all for a boy? I mean I kinda get it, but a little weird.
The ending was satisfying though and overall I really enjoyed this book. It tackled a lot of issues and it did it well. The pace was good. I would definitely recommend.
What I love about this book is just how raw and real it feels. It doesn’t cut corners it doesn’t try to belittle anything, it’s straight to the point in its handling of addiction and recovery and was really eye-opening to me. It’s so easy to be judgemental of addicts but they have so many more layers to them, and that’s conveyed clearly in this book. The plot is dark, but Dawson gives Lexi such a great dry sense of humour to counteract just how dark and heavy the storyline is, which I appreciated. The characters weren’t meant to be perfect, they say and do offensive things. They’re heavily flawed. But they don’t feel curated. The characters feel real, like you’re reading about the lives of random people you pass by on the street.
Lexi’s recovery felt real too, it wasn’t one dimensional and simple. It wasn’t cliche. The same goes for the other characters in rehab recovering.
The only issue I could comment about with the book would be the way it dealt with anorexia and overeating. I didn’t really like the favour and better treatment there was towards anorexia, but there was good representation there. Also, the ending felt a bit out of place and didn’t make all too much sense to me:
The ending was satisfying though and overall I really enjoyed this book. It tackled a lot of issues and it did it well. The pace was good. I would definitely recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Alcohol, Vomit, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, and Eating disorder
Minor: Fatphobia, Body shaming, and Suicidal thoughts
thenovelbookshelf's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The story of Lexi and friends, both in the real world and in rehab, Clarity, is a story most of us have been a part of one way or another.
Clean is an easy read, which seems fast but is more medium paced, and may discomfort the reader or at least make the reader question what's really important in your life.
I don't know if it was the writing, the characters or the story that got me hooked, no pun intended, but I breezed through this book in a day, all the while alternating between yelling a Lexi to grow up, and to realise she can do better in friends/boyfriends.
Clean is an easy read, which seems fast but is more medium paced, and may discomfort the reader or at least make the reader question what's really important in your life.
I don't know if it was the writing, the characters or the story that got me hooked, no pun intended, but I breezed through this book in a day, all the while alternating between yelling a Lexi to grow up, and to realise she can do better in friends/boyfriends.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Confinement and Self harm
Minor: Emotional abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Transphobia