Title and author: Placebo Junkies by J.C. Carleson
Goodreads synopsis: 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…
This book had so much potential. And it fell so flat. I am so bummed.
I picked up this book when I was in LA back in June and was so excited to find a book about medical lab rats. I don’t know, I have a thing for medical experiments and oddities (hello, Maximum Ride and The Chemical Garden!) but this book was a very big disappointment.
There is no clear plot. It changes from Audie and her appointments to her talking to a Doctor. There’s no explanation about who he is, which, at the end, it’s apparent as to why.
The characters are boring. Audie is not special. She’s no different than the other ‘lab rats’ and she’s not interesting to read about. Her title might as well be ‘medical prostitute’ because all she does is sell her body to labs for money and reports whatever side effects she has.
I don’t know, maybe my expectations were too high. Or maybe I just expected something other than 298 pages of a delusional girl ranting about her life and fanning over her too-perfect boyfriend.
It was 300 pages too long. 2/5 stars
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