Review: The Treatment by C.L. Taylor

THE TREATMENT

Author: C.L. Taylor

Pages: 384

Series: -

Publisher: HQ Young Adult

Release date: 19^th October 2017

Goodreads

Synopsis: “You have to help me. We’re not being reformed. We’re being brainwashed.”

All sixteen year old Drew Finch wants is to be left alone. She's not interested in spending time with her mum and stepdad and when her disruptive fifteen year old brother Mason is expelled from school for the third time and sent to a residential reform academy she's almost relieved.

Everything changes when she's followed home from school by the mysterious Dr Cobey, who claims to have a message from Mason. There is something sinister about the ‘treatment’ he is undergoing. The school is changing people.

Determined to help her brother, Drew must infiltrate the Academy and unearth its deepest, darkest secrets.

Before it’s too late.

Review: 3 out of 5 stars

The Treatment was almost a DNF for me, I found the start to be quite slow and I couldn’t quite connect with everything that was happening but once it picked up, I couldn’t put it down and needed to know what would happen.

Our MC is sixteen year-old Drew Finch, she lives with her mother and step-father and has a younger brother, Mason who has been sent away to Norton House, a residential reform school to be treated for his bad behaviour. When Drew receives a note from Mason which was passed on by a mysterious doctor asking Drew for help, telling her the school is not what they believe it to be and that the treatment is brainwashing teenagers, Drew’s plan is to infiltrate the facility and break her brother out.

Drew was an interesting character, quite introverted with a love for online gaming which was her escape from bullying; she had her faults but she was determined to find out what was going on with Mason especially considering her mother and step-fathers lack of help in the matter. When it came to Drew, who kept out of trouble, I found it a little strange how quickly the decision was made to send her off to the same reform school as Mason and how fast she succumbed to their ways.

Drew teamed up with her roommate Mouse, to undercover the secrets of the school and to attempt to break them all out. She also encountered the typical mean girls who were quite clichéd, all of the secondary characters were interesting and played a pivotal role in the overall story.

The Treatment I feel would suit the older YA audience, I did find it to be a simplistic read but it did leave us with questions about what could possibly be – mind altering, dysfunctional family relationships and bullying were a few of the subject matters. There was also an absence of any romantic elements so if you are a fan of a love story as I usually am then you will be disappointed.

This book was written well, the plot was fast paced and interesting. My biggest gripe was the simplified ending, I felt like it was too short and rushed, it didn’t live up to the build-up. Despite this, I enjoyed the book overall.

Thanks to Harlequin Australia via Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review The Treatment.

About the author: C.L. Taylor lives in Bristol with her partner and young son. She started writing fiction in 2005 and her short stories have won several awards and been published by a variety of literary and women’s magazines. Cally has a degree in Psychology, with particular interest in abnormal and criminal Psychology. She also loves knitting, Dr Who, Sherlock, Great British Bake Off and Margaret Atwood and blames Roald Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected for her love of a dark tale.

Her dark psychological thriller THE ACCIDENT was published in the UK by Avon HarperCollins in April 2014 and as BEFORE I WAKE in the US in June 2014 by Sourcebooks.

Her second psychological thriller THE LIE was published in the UK in April 2015. It became a Sunday Times bestseller and hit the #1 slots on Amazon, Kobo, iBooks, Google Play and Sainsbury ebooks. It will be published in the US in June 2016.

CL's third psychological thriller THE MISSING was published in April 2016 and was another Sunday Times and ebook bestseller. She is currently writing her fourth (to be published in April 2017). 

Her international bestselling romantic comedies (written as Cally Taylor), HEAVEN CAN WAIT and HOME FOR CHRISTMAS were both published by Orion in the UK. They have been translated into 14 different languages, and her debut was voted ‘Debut Novel of the Year’ by chicklitreviews.com and chicklitclub.com. 

In 2014 HOME FOR CHRISTMAS was made into a feature film by JumpStart Productions. For more information visit www.homeforchristmasfilm.com

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