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A review by howlinglibraries
The Innocence Treatment by Ari B. Goelman
4.0
Spoiler-free review!
"The funny thing about paranoia is it depends on the truth, right? I mean, it's only paranoia if I'm wrong."
Life has always been different for Lauren, who has an unexplained medical condition that forces her to believe every word she's told. When a treatment is offered that can make her "normal", she jumps at the chance, but the results brings on sudden, overwhelming paranoia.
This story reads as a non-fiction work compiled by Lauren's sister, who switches between young Lauren's journal entries and the therapy notes she was able to retrieve. The alternating timelines let us sample a bit at a time of each phase in Lauren's life: pre-surgery and immediately post-surgery (as she is forming her suspicions), and a few months post-surgery (when she has committed herself to a psych ward and is neck deep in full-blown paranoia).
"I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but understanding other people is sort of terrible sometimes."
The thought of not recognizing sarcasm or lies is baffling to me, but it was really interesting to watch Lauren change. Even her manner of speaking in her journal entries reflects the changes in her, as she starts off sounding incredibly young and innocent, and gradually grows to sound jaded and wronged. The depictions of her concerns will feel familiar to a lot of individuals who have struggled with anxiety and paranoia, as they feel super authentic and really suck you in to the drama.
You spend the bulk of the story getting down to the truth: is Lauren really suffering from delusions, or is the government out to get her? I won't tell you that; you'll have to pick this one up and find out for yourself!
I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I flew through it. The formatting makes for a very quick read, and while I never fully attached to the characters enough to 5-star this one, I am delighted to have read it and would be very interested in reading more from Ari B. Goelman. I believe that this is a standalone, and it ties up the loose ends well enough by the final chapter, but if it is extended into a series, I would be more than happy to continue it!
Content warnings: ableism, fat-shaming, violence, attempted sexual assault.
All quotes come from an unedited advance reading copy and may not match the quotes in the finished release.
Thank you to Roaring Brook Press for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
You can read my review and more on my blog!
"The funny thing about paranoia is it depends on the truth, right? I mean, it's only paranoia if I'm wrong."
Life has always been different for Lauren, who has an unexplained medical condition that forces her to believe every word she's told. When a treatment is offered that can make her "normal", she jumps at the chance, but the results brings on sudden, overwhelming paranoia.
This story reads as a non-fiction work compiled by Lauren's sister, who switches between young Lauren's journal entries and the therapy notes she was able to retrieve. The alternating timelines let us sample a bit at a time of each phase in Lauren's life: pre-surgery and immediately post-surgery (as she is forming her suspicions), and a few months post-surgery (when she has committed herself to a psych ward and is neck deep in full-blown paranoia).
"I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but understanding other people is sort of terrible sometimes."
The thought of not recognizing sarcasm or lies is baffling to me, but it was really interesting to watch Lauren change. Even her manner of speaking in her journal entries reflects the changes in her, as she starts off sounding incredibly young and innocent, and gradually grows to sound jaded and wronged. The depictions of her concerns will feel familiar to a lot of individuals who have struggled with anxiety and paranoia, as they feel super authentic and really suck you in to the drama.
You spend the bulk of the story getting down to the truth: is Lauren really suffering from delusions, or is the government out to get her? I won't tell you that; you'll have to pick this one up and find out for yourself!
I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I flew through it. The formatting makes for a very quick read, and while I never fully attached to the characters enough to 5-star this one, I am delighted to have read it and would be very interested in reading more from Ari B. Goelman. I believe that this is a standalone, and it ties up the loose ends well enough by the final chapter, but if it is extended into a series, I would be more than happy to continue it!
Content warnings: ableism, fat-shaming, violence, attempted sexual assault.
All quotes come from an unedited advance reading copy and may not match the quotes in the finished release.
Thank you to Roaring Brook Press for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
You can read my review and more on my blog!