Clean was powerful, compulsive reading from start to finish. Lexi is a brilliant character, somehow both extravagantly alien and companionably relatable. I felt a sense of kinship with her as someone feeling very disconnected from the world, she is also very aware of her status as extremely privileged and as heiress to a notable family name. This adds to her personal feelings of distance from the world, and adds an extra layer of crushing guilt to her recovery. I dislike cliché's, over idealistic story arcs and perfect neat happy endings. This book was none of those things, it felt real and gritty and messy, it was raw and honest. No shying away from horrible details, no sugar coating or glossing over, it was true to the nature of recovery. Whatever you are recovering from. We always hope recovery will be a steady line inclining upwards, but it isn't. There are pitfalls and setbacks and relapses, sometimes it can take more than one attempt, or more than 5 or 10 attempts to recover, and help always comes from the most unexpected of places. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in recovery, mental health, addiction, and discovering yourself. 10/10, not enough stars. An addictive book.

This book centres around Lexi Volkov, a party girl socialite and recreational drug user who isn’t aware she has a problem until she ends up in a private rehab facility. From the outset, this book is very much to be about recovery, but it covers all kinds of topics including grief, loss, a variety of mental illnesses and most importantly friendship and support systems. Therefore, there are 5827593753984 trigger warnings for this book, please look them up before reading if you’re concerned. As someone who has suffered from anxiety and depression since I was young, this book resonated with me really strongly at points, and it’s quite difficult to articulate why it was so important to me, but just know that it was. I honestly think it’s an incredibly important read if you’ve been struggling and I really enjoyed Juno’s narrative style and the accessibility of her writing. Juno Dawson is a transgender UKYA author, journalist, and model. I recommend following her on instagram and honestly, she’s an inspiration and an icon.

This book is sharp. It’s definitely not afraid to pull any punches and shock you with the true horrors of addiction. Throughout the story we are shown the stages of recovery but not just for Lexi, but the other characters too. There is a whole load of different characters struggling with their own issues and addictions, which helps Lexi to grow and understand her own troubles. However, a dark secret is still at the back of her mind, threatening to come to the surface, and Lexi won’t allow that to happen. It was so interesting to see this secret slowly unravel, and the discovery of what it is was sad and so very unfortunate. The writing is fast paced, with short chapters at just the right moment to really set in either a sense of dread, urgency, excitement, or even all three. The language of the book was also quite refreshing as it sounded very realistic to the generation of teenagers that the book is about. Of course, I’m nowhere near the social elite that Lexi and the other patients are used to, but it was intriguing to read the language be very modern and in-date. It doesn’t shy away from the topic either which is brilliant! It’s right there in your face at all times; it’s dirty, scary, and oh so worrisome. Lexi’s journey through the book is not easy, and we really see her at her lowest moments as the realisation of her addiction smacks her in the face. There are moments of joy, moments of horror, moments of utter disgust, and moments of realisation. This book is raw and unfiltered, but saying any more will give it all away. Make sure you pre-order this book, as it’s due out 5th April this year!

What a book! Lexi is a spoilt, materialistic heiress who "doesn't have a drug problem", but as we delve deeper into her character and the story we find that there's a lot more to her than her designer clothes and awful boyfriend... This book is definitely on the older end of YA fiction as Dawson worked anonymously with ex-drug addicts to gain a realistic, and gruesome, insight into what it's like to 'get clean'. I really enjoyed following the growth of Lexi in this book and I really enjoyed that it was set out in the '10 steps of recovery' format. Dr Golstein was by far my favourite supporting character, almost taking on the role of father figure and pushing Lexi to her (mental and physical) limits. The rest of the characters were also well fleshed out and I'm glad that Dawson included mental and physical illnesses like; Anorexia, Over Eating/Binge Eating, OCD, and Sex Addiction. But - I do feel like the romance in the book was slightly too insta-love for it to be realistic. It seems as though Lexi was lonely and her and Brady both over-reacted to the attention the other was giving them.

Firstly, a word of warning. Yes, this book is amazing but, if you are someone who has been an addict or have suffered with addiction in any form please be cautious when picking up this book. There are multiple types of addictions mentioned and they are handled very head-on. If you are easily triggered I would suggest giving this book a pass. If you want to try it then by all means do, but don't be afraid to put it down and take some time, or leave it completely. This is not a negative view on the book there is a warning in place by the author before you start I am simply giving an extra heads up. Clean is a story told from the point-of-view of Lexi Volkov a spoilt, bratty and rich 17-year-old who is also a massive drug addict. So much so, that her brother has to almost kidnap her in order to get her to an exclusive rehab facility on an island. She's officially stuck for seventy days, the only option? To get clean. One thing this book 100% does not do, is hold back. There is a very broad range of addictions, health and family issues amongst other things, that are taken on. It is a real strength for this book. Usually, when an author places things such as addiction and mental health into a book it's skirted around. It's mentioned, but not too much. Enough for you to know it is there, but not enough to make an impact. Juno Dawson however, goes full throttle and it is so nice to these things being tackled head on in literature. Even though it is fiction the story and the events are incredibly realistic. You can tell Dawson has done her research and tried to make this as practical as possible. For me, that was one of my biggest concerns. At the beginning I was concerned I wouldn't like Lexi enough to want to read about and follow her journey. As I progressed I realised I probably wasn't supposed to like her at the beginning. She is someone who has grown up very privileged and has taken full advantage of that. My not-so-fond feeling left pretty quickly. You really start to sympathise as her struggles and problems come to light and I really started rooting for her. I wanted her to get clean. I think the supporting cast of characters were very well chosen and represented. I like how they weren't all addicted to the same thing. Again, it made it more realistic and added to the depth of the book. Ruby and Kendall were fantastic characters. Essentially they are different sides to the same coin. One went one way, one went the other. It gave you a good contrast and a way to see both sides. Ultimately, I am a sucker for characters supporting other characters and the support and friendships that were built were very uplifting. Another thing Dawson does well with her characters is representation. A character was Muslim, some were black, some were white, they were privileged and one was not, there is a transgender character. I cannot name a book that I have read with a transgender character in it. Plus, the character is very well written and incredibly represented and Dawson makes it so normal. These are all just kids going about their lives. I will admit that Clean itself is very addicting. It has such a great flow and progression that just makes you want to keep reading. Some chapters are quote long, but you never really notice.Those that are shorter come at the right time that fits with where Lexi is with her recovery process. It mixes the sense of urgency with excitement, but also dread. Sometimes not all together. But they are there. It is very modern in setting and there are multiple pop culture references that I picked up on which I thought were brilliant. Now, I do have one tiny, minuscule issue. "The mysterious Brody" (from synopsis). One question: Why? I know this is something that many do like and will find intriguing but for me, it was not necessary. This book did not need a romantic sub-plot taking away from the seriousness of the main theme. It didn't at first. At the half-way point it didn't bother me. By the end, it was bugging me slightly. Thankfully, it isn't the whole 'boy fixes girl' thing because they're both messed up, but as a whole I don't think it was necessary and I wasn't invested in the romance in the slightest. Not only does Clean take you through the recovery stage of Lexi's addiction but it also shows flashbacks, usually during therapy, to the early stages of her doing drugs. I thought this was really smart on Dawson's part to have them as flashbacks. She also pants little seeds at times before actually showing you what happened. So you're sat wondering what something means, wanting an explanation about 20-30 pages before you get it It adds to the want to keep reading. Additionally, it shows you Lexi after the seventy days when she goes back to the world. I think Clean is one of those books that you read and you really learn something. If you have been through addiction it is a book that helps you understand and realise you can get help and recover, but you can slip-up and still get better. If you're lucky and have never gotten to that stage then I think it's a real education into the mind of addicts. Overall, Clean is a very engaging, dark and gritty story that explores things that have almost become a taboo in society; addiction and mental illness. I think this a book so many people should read, but, as I said at the beginning, please be cautious. I have struggled with my mental health for some years now and I have self-harmed in the past. This is not a book I would have read in one sitting. You could, like I said it's engaging. However, I had to take it upon myself to put it down and walk away and resume reading the next day when I felt like I could. Be aware and be cautious.