Lakewood
Ratings19
Average rating3.6
15
Ratings19
Average rating3.6
NPR Book of the Year 2020 Electric Literature: One of 55 Books by Women and Nonbinary Writers of Color to Read in 2020 | Lit Hub & The Millions: Most Anticipated Books of 2020 | Ms. Magazine: Anticipated 2020 Feminist Books | Refinery29: Books by Black Women We are Looking Forward To Reading | One of The Millions’ Most Anticipated Reads of 2020 | Amazon Book of the Month Pick | Audible Editor’s Pick | Essence’s Pick| Glamour’s Must Read | Ms. Magazine’s Anticipated Read of 2020 A startling debut about class and race, Lakewood evokes a terrifying world of medical experimentation—part The Handmaid’s Tale, part The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. When Lena Johnson’s beloved grandmother dies, and the full extent of the family debt is revealed, the black millennial drops out of college to support her family and takes a job in the mysterious and remote town of Lakewood, Michigan. On paper, her new job is too good to be true. High paying. No out of pocket medical expenses. A free place to live. All Lena has to do is participate in a secret program—and lie to her friends and family about the research being done in Lakewood. An eye drop that makes brown eyes blue, a medication that could be a cure for dementia, golden pills promised to make all bad thoughts go away. The discoveries made in Lakewood, Lena is told, will change the world—but the consequences for the subjects involved could be devastating. As the truths of the program reveal themselves, Lena learns how much she’s willing to sacrifice for the sake of her family. Provocative and thrilling, Lakewood is a breathtaking novel that takes an unflinching look at the moral dilemmas many working-class families face, and the horror that has been forced on black bodies in the name of science.
Reviews with the most likes.
You give of yourself to make your country a better place. You give of yourself to keep us safe.
Just finishing this book I am left in a haze.
To be honest throughout most of this story I felt overly cautious, almost in a daze, and not quite knowing what the following pages would have in store for me. The horrors of this book don't just touch but exclaim about the wrongdoings systematically done to people of color in the United States. Throughout the monotony of Lena's “work life” at Great Lakes Shipping Company and the actual very horrifying things she experienced daily there was no way for me to read this book without it leaving an impression on me.
This was not horror in the form of being bloody and gruesome although it did have its moments. This book is horror in the way that it shines the light at our very real shortcomings.
Stacks of Strange January 2021 Book Club Pick
I thought this book had really good commentary but there are some things I really wish were clarified more. I don't like for everything to be super easy to understand all the time but this left off in a weird place and the ending happened super fast.
For more thoughts watch the Stacks of Strange Liveshow (spoilery)
The experiments were interesting and horrifying at first, but then they became repetitive and the writing style became too choppy
I get the numerous calls by other reviewers for more context, more plot, more answers, but I kind of feel like what it lacks is the purpose. When you navigate the world while Black, you end up with a sickly feeling that your misfortune was really orchestrated on purpose but with little proof beyond your gut and historical context. This story wasn't about the other characters or why they did the studies, it was just about her, her mom, and her grandmother. More information would have muddied the point. Would any explanation really have been a satisfactory “reason” for subjecting people that level of torture?
