Clean

I really enjoyed this gritty novel about a privileged teenage girl forced to go to rehab. Lexi is a likeable character because she knows just how lucky she is that she doesn’t have to worry about money. It’s not always easy to get me to like the super wealthy.The book begins with Lexi’s brother Nikolai bringing her to an exclusive rehab center that, except for the lack of alcohol, sounds like a luxury vacation. Coming off heroin is brutally described. Lexi throws quite the temper tantrum, but Dr. Goldstein has seen this many, many times before. It’s all in a day’s work for him.When she’s detoxed from the drugs, Lexi meets the cast of damaged, wealthy characters (all under the age of 24) who are also trying to get well from their addictions. Anorexia, overeating, sex addiction, and, of course, the various substances they take to avoid dealing with life.While I’m neither a drug addict nor a wealthy British teenager, I found myself identifying with all the characters. It was a fast, compelling read, and it seemed true to life. It’s very well written.Recommend.

Love love love this book! It’s got it all from the funny to the sad to the reality of addiction! I would definitely recommend this book

Very easy read

As soon as I heard this book described as a cross between Gossip Girl and Girl Interrupted, I had to read it. Gossip Girl, the early days anyway, was one of my guilty pleasure secrets back in the day and I absolutely loved Girl Interrupted. I would have to agree that this book is like the bastard daughter they would have if they merged.Lexi is in a mess. Out of control and off her head, she is definitely on a downward spiral. Then big bro contrives an intervention and basically kidnaps her, if you can kidnap someone who is unconscious of their own volition, and takes her off to a rather posh rehab facility. To say she spits feathers would be an understatement but she has no choice in the matter. After a bit of cold turkey, she is introduced to her fellow inmates, an eclectic bunch of young people, each with their own troubles and addictions. What follows next is Lexi's journey back to life. We see her recovery in the present as she is forced to revisit and take stock of her past, told in flashback. It's a brutal journey and not for the faint hearted as it is quite graphic in places and definitely doesn't pull its punches.Yes, parts of this book are shocking but they have to be. It's no point trying to write this type of book and then pussy-footing around it all. But never did I stop reading and think - this is over the top - shocking for shocking's sake. At least in my limited experience of these sorts of things anyway. Some of it was a bit contrived though - but then that was more for the narrative than anything else, I'm talking about the number and mixture of the clients in the facility rather than anything else - through the whole book, not just the main part when they are all gelling together. But I can forgive all that in the big picture of the story being told. Predominantly Lexi's story but also the backstories of several other characters that are play just as key a part as the main thread. They also complemented each other very well, albeit in the contrived way already mentioned. They sparked off each other well and also added the element of humour that the book so desperately needed to keep it balanced and away from being too dark.This being a YA book, and especially because of the content, there are certain responsibilities that the author needs to take seriously. I guess this means that there are some things that maybe had to be but that didn't quite sit too right with me, that didn't quite gel for me, not having been a YA for many, many years. But, not being the target audience for this book, I have taken this as being more a me thing than the book thing and have not let it influence my rating. I only mention it here as I always try and make my reviews true to the way I read the book and my personal thoughts of it. The book is written age appropriately and I fully respect that. It is definitely a very well written book and portrays some very valuable messages.All in all, it was very much a book that I am glad I read. I certainly took great insight from it and some of the lessons learned by the characters within their own journeys can definitely be translated to all ages, mine included.My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Ok this review comes with a lot of trigger warnings so make sure you read the synopsis before deciding whether this book is for you. But I will tell you that this book was definitely for me. I loved this book. The premise behind it sounds like it is going to be a usual story of addiction and recovery but this novel is so much more clever than that. I am actually in awe of how this author managed to come up with this plot line and its twists and turns, I don't think I could write something so intricately crafted.Lexi as a character is a little hard to get on with but she challenges the reader throughout the book and she had definitely grown on me but the end of the novel. As the synopsis might suggest, she is entitled and selfish and so she makes for great reading material. The journey that she goes on over the course of the book, all its ups and downs is gruelling and so i did definitely sympathise with her throughout MOST of the story. There are also some other really interesting and diverse characters in this book, some of which I would LOVE to read more about, so if there are any spin offs planned-count me in!Of course this book deals with a range of issues and some of the drug taking and the recovery process from that is quite graphic. It put me in mind of Trainspotting in parts but I really feel like I have learned something after finishing this book having never been part of the world that Lexi is part of. It was eye opening, compelling and educating. It was entertaining and definitely a page turner. If this book sounds like it is something you are in a space to read at this moment in time then I definitely recommend it and I can't wait to see what Juno Dawson comes up with next!

I marked it down a star only because it's actually really uncomfortable to read in spots. Being that deeply inside an addict's head is confusing and upsetting and scary, and it lingered even after I'd closed the book - not that I did that very often, as I badly wanted to find out what happened next. I felt every bit of Lexi's struggles, both in the 'now' scenes and the flashbacks to her past.I'll admit, I went into this expecting a 'poor little rich girl' scenario, but Lexi's struggles and pain were real and truthful and I came out with a much better understanding.I enjoyed meeting her fellow inmates and seeing the differences between them, the little moments of triumph. All around a sharp, incisive book that deserves to sell much more than it's probably going to.

I've been a long term Juno fan now, since the days Hollow Pike was released, way back in 2012 (has it really been 6 years? YIKES! Time flies!) and haven't been able to get enough since. From witches, to hauntings, from murders by the poolside, to tattoos that take over the mind, Juno is in a league of her own and in Clean she really shines. In what is, in my humble opinion, her best book yet, Juno tackles the tricky world of addiction and recovery.Featuring a cast of the rich and privileged. A sharp protagonist in the form of Lexi who is used to having everything handed to her, so when we meet her, waking up in the back of her brothers car with no idea where she is going we know that things are about to kick off. Forced into a rehabilitation facility against her will, Lexi is furious and the language and thoughts of someone being forced into something they really do not want to do were perfectly captured and Juno did an excellent job of showing Lexi's anger without it going o.t.t, but still being a explosion of feelings. Whilst she may seem, on the surface as the stereotypical spoilt child of a multi-millionaire (think Nicole Richie, Paris Hilton...) as the book progresses we see that Lexi is actually an incredibly three-dimensional character and I loved her back story. By the end of the book I actually found myself really rooting for her, despite hating her in the first few chapters of the book.The book itself deals with many different forms of addiction. Drugs. Food. Sex. All have addictive qualities and all are explored in the book with varying scenarios and outcomes. It was fascinating to see inside the mind of someone who is addicted to something and then to see them work through their recovery. The book is split into ten sections, steps, each one dedicated to a step in a recovery programme and this really added to the feel of the book and I looked forward to the next one popping up to see what the next step was.The exploration of mental health was also expertly done. So often, mental health is swept under the carpet and ignored, but here it is front and centre and dealt with so well that many teens, and indeed adults, who will read Clean will find themselves a place of understanding in this book that made me, for one, feel as though I'm not alone.Something this book also does incredibly well is trans reputation! And it is about damn time! Kendall is trans but it's all so natural. It's just a fact. It isn't something that is questioned, the interactions between Kendall and the other characters are so fluid and natural and real, just the way it should be in real life with any human being. Hopefully trans readers who have never seen themselves represented in any way shape or form before may come to Clean and see that, yes, while Kendall has her problems, she's real and human and has just as much right to live her life as anyone else. Bravo, Juno!AND THAT COVER!!!! LORD THE COVER!!!! Rose gold! I have the proof (with a finished copy on pre-order, obvs...) which is a little different with a white cover, rose gold text and words written in this glossy effect that you can only see in certain light, but the cover for the finished book is rose gold foil and I can't wait to see it for myself, because you know it's going to be STUNNING!As ever with Juno, her writing is witty, sharp and encapsulating. I found myself unable to put the book down. Pardon the pun, but it's an incredibly addictive read that will have you glued to the page. Thank you so much for sharing another awesome book with us. Here's to many, many more!

I started reading CLEAN by Juno Dawson, not really knowing what to expect. And at first, I found it a bit intimidating—which is a sign of good writing, for me, as I was so overwhelmed by Lexi’s life and felt really uneasy. And I totally get that that’s the point of the writing there. It’s dark, gritty, and disturbing in more than one place.Lexi is a wealthy seventeen year old with a drug problem. CLEAN follows her on her many ups and downs as she goes to the Clarity Centre for rehab.One of the things I really appreciated about this YA novel is that it doesn’t shy away from dark topics that some might argue aren’t appropriate for YA readers. There’s drugs, addiction, sex, death, grief. And it’s all handled really well and in a respectful manner. Even when Lexi (when in withdrawal from heroin) insults one of the nurses, using a homophobic slur, she does call herself out on it when she’s clean and apologise to the nurse herself.The diversity of the characters is great too. There are many characters of colour who are central to the book (such as Saif, Sasha, and Ruby), characters with different religious identities, and LGBTQ+ characters (Kendall is trans, at least two nurses are gay, and one of Lexi’s school friends is shown in a “sexually fluid” relationship) and the best thing about all of these diversities is it’s all treated so normally! It’s not pointed out as being “different” which is what I’ve seen in a few other YA novels unfortunately (or sometimes it feels like these characters have only been put in the book for the sake of diversity—not the case here). These characters’ ethnicities/genders/religions/sexual identities are NOT shown to be their only defining feature as in some other books I’ve read and—no, they’re fully developed, treated like everyone else (as they should be!), and as far as I could see, Dawson doesn’t fall into any stereotypes. This, for me, really made this book a good read and I’ll be highly recommending it.In a book about addiction and recovery, it was obvious mental illness rep was going to be a big part of it, and I was pleased to see a large number of mental illnesses (addiction, anxiety, OCD, anorexia and other eating disorders, etc) examined; seeing them through Lexi’s eyes was also interesting, particularly how her thoughts on the others changed during her journey in recovery. However there were a few things that felt unrealistic, particularly in the treatment of anorexia: I doubted that nurses really wouldn’t be aware of Kendall’s nighttime exercise and when she was so underweight, why wasn’t she using a wheelchair? I was also surprised that the staff didn’t intervene in the water fight when Kendall joined in, chasing the others. Also, surely on an island, there’d be more staff watching the beach and the hotel in general. Why didn’t anyone but Lexi notice when Saif was high?The romance, for me, built a little quickly and it felt a little like insta-love. But I totally get that that’s because of the vulnerable places both Lexi and Brady are in. It may feel a little fast, but it’s believable and realistic to Lexi’s situation. I guess it’s just my personal preferences that prevented me from really “feeling” the love between these two characters as I prefer more of a build-up.While this is a solid 4 stars, what stopped me from upping it to 5 is the writing. For me, it would have been nice to have a little more imagery in it at times—possibly in the vein of WINTERGIRLS by Laurie Halse Anderson (which looks at anorexia) or THICKER THAN WATER by Kelly Fiore (also about addiction). For me, those two books used dark, disturbing imagery to really heighten the grittiness of the story, and I think if this book had had a little of that it would’ve truly made it a haunting story in places. As I was reading, I just wanted something more from the writing itself.However, CLEAN does give us a very strong narrating voice and so I do realise that some more imagery may have lessened the impact of Lexi’s narrative had that been the case! So again this is probably just personal preference as I’m a sucker for imagery!Overall, this is an important read. Highly recommended.

Ok. So like the title and blurb tells you, Clean is a story of a young woman, Lexi, who goes to rehab. Where other novels that have tackled this have been hugely successful, like A Million Little Pieces or Trainspotting, Clean massively misses the mark. As a cautionary 'Just Say No' tale for young adults, I suppose it's ok. As a novel? No.You can tell almost immediately that Dawson herself has never had a drug problem or been in withdrawal or rehab because whenever Lexi describes her symptoms, it reads like a cut and paste from a wikipedia article or a google search of 'what does going cold turkey feel like'.Another issue is money. Dawson uses money to make certain plot devices possible. In doing this she makes almost every last character completely unrelatable. Lexi herself is a Paris Hilton-esque heiress to a global hotel chain. Another person is a Saudi Prince. Another is the daughter of the next POTUS. Another is the son of an ageing rock star who starred in a family reality tv show. This is all total waffle that serves to only to explain why each character was allowed admittance to this ultra exclusive rehab facility on a private island.It did approach interesting when Lexi said she'd killed her friend. And this was drip dropped in hints and winks throughout the novel, purely to stop you from giving up. But when we finally learn what happened, it wasn't all that interesting, and was really really obvious.400 pages oh whingeing and moaning poor little rich kids shirking any responsibility for their own actions.

The reason that I downloaded this book is that reminded a bit of Marion Keynes 'Rachel's Holiday' though sadly it is nowhere near as good. The plot is similar- girl put into rehab against her will, rages against injustice of it all, bonds with other quirky characters, eventually realises she actually HAS got a problem, leaves, relapses etc. but then perhaps that is true of most novels about addiction.However while Keynes' heroine Rachel was someone I could relate to, the same cannot be said for 'It girl' Lexi a spoilt Paris Hilton-like heiress who has really has got nothing to worry about. She doesn't need to earn a living, she doesn't need to steal or prostitute herself to get drugs and if all else fails there is plenty of money for rehab. Perhaps this would appeal to teenagers but I'm afraid in a world where so many people have genuine problems I got tired of reading about this entitled brat and the people she hangs out with.

I loved how this book was written from the main character's 17 year old point of view. I don't mean EVERY 17 year old will think, and speak, the same way as the main character in this book but that the language and terminology was relevant for the story. A lot of the negative reviewers have focused on the fact that the main character, Lexi, is rich and have, therefore, hated her for that. However, if those reviewers could get past their dislike of rich people, they would discover that Lexi is actually a very likeable character with a warm nature and a great sense of humour. If Lexi wasn't rich, this particular story wouldn't exist. People from all walks of life have their problems and being from a more privileged background doesn't make a person's battle 'unreal'.I enjoyed all the characters - even those whose personalities made them less likeable. This is a very well written book, extremely engaging and has introduced me to a wonderful author. I will definitely read more of her books.