Reviews with content warning for Medical trauma - Lakewood

Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

thissagreads's review against another edition

Honestly after 3 hours, I STILL couldn’t get invested, because the entire story is too disjointed to make any sense. Very frustrating since I was looking forward to this book.

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_egg_wash's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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snazzy10101's review

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challenging dark tense fast-paced

4.0

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kylieqrada's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
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

I’m probably too stupid for this book. I loved the commentary about the very real history of medical experimentation on Black people (especially women) in America, but the narrative style was over my head.

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calicodoll's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.75

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beccalynnfrank's review

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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

3.5

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haileyhardcover's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I think if there was ever going to be a book that gives me nightmares, it’s Lakewood.

After losing her grandmother and struggling to care for her ailing mother and deal with mountains of debt, Lena accepts an offer to participate in a research study that seems too good to be true. It pays well, offers full coverage health insurance for her mother, and would set them up comfortably if she can just last a year. The studies claim to be changing the world, but the white scientists don’t seem to care much what happens to the Black test subjects along the way. Maybe not much has changed after all.

I thought I knew what I was getting myself into reading Lakewood, but it was so much more and so much worse (in a good way) than I was expecting. It is shocking, it is horrifying, and worst of all, it feels entirely plausible. My jaw dropped, my heart raced, my head spun. This may not be labeled as horror, but it absolutely is, and it’s horror done WELL. Lakewood is going to sit with me for a long, long time.

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brotestantethic's review

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challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Feverish. A damning indictment of clinical trials and the United States’ perversion of Black people. Giddings creates an expansive and believable landscape, despite how ridiculous the trials may seem. Every second is filled with uncertainty and terror, and I would certainly classify this as thriller even though it lacks many of the typical elements. It’s an incredibly smart novel.

What fell just short for me was the main character Lena’s personality and stakes. She has high stakes for sure, but they are not built in a convincing way before plummeting into the horrors. Lena’s personality blossoms in the second act, consisting of letters written to her best friend Tanya; here, we get a hazy first person account of her journey. This section is full of personality, with words and grammar slipping into a diabolical haze of sickness and poor memory. This bit was, I will say, extremely hard to follow. But the heart is there, and the

concept that these trials live within families, that memories traverse generations and are passed down hereditarily is absolutely stunning.

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