I'll be honest, I'm still a little numb from the insane twist at the end.

Mind. Blown.

I liked Audie and her irreverence given the fact that she is, basically, a human guinea pig for medical and drug trials. The fact that people live this life is kind of incomprehensible. Some of the people she lived with were a bit a a mystery and hard to take. Her boyfriend gave me hope that there was hope for her yet.

Ok, so yes, it did take me a few chapters to figure out that, on so many different meds, particularly once she started to get really wiggy, that she probably wasn't the most reliable narrator.

And then, JC Carleson slipped a mickey in my drink and messed me up good.

I mean. What the what???

I'm still sitting here, staring at the ending. What just happened?

This book isn't for everyone because there are too many trigger warnings to count. But it's cleverly written, irreverent, and likely a good look at what life is like for those who really do make a "living" (if you want to call it that) as a human test subject for pharma and medical trials - at least, the first 80%. I waffled between three and four stars on this one - really, I'd put it at a 3-1/2 if I could, because it's not for everyone, and definitely not for kids.

NetGalley provided me with an ARC i exchange for my honest opinion.
(Will they provide me therapy?) ( )

See this review and more of my thoughts on this book at my blog, Carlene Inspired.

If you're looking to shake up your reading list, get out of a slump, or just have your mind completely blown, then Placebo Junkies is for you.

Audie and her band of misfit friends are professional lab rats, or as she calls them "guinea pigs." Forget needing a regular job, sign up for 6 weeks of trials here, 5 days here, and maybe another 10 days here and you've got a wad of cash in your hands. Don't mind the rashes, the boils, the crazy thoughts you have, it's easy money. Audie's in it for her boyfriend, Dylan; such a sick, handsome, so deserving boyfriend. She's got a trip of a lifetime planned, so he can finally stop making a list of places he's never been to. No pain, no gain, that's what Audie says, so she signs up for every trial she can to save the money. Except, all these trials are making things fuzzier and fuzzier for her.

Audie is such an unreliable narrator; she's queen of the damned and totally disillusioned by life, except for her love of Dylan. Her thoughts jump around, her judgement is skewed, and absolutely everything she did in this book made me worry about her like a mother hen. It was totally the right kind of book to bring me back to YA novels. This just isn't like any other YA novel you've read, not even close. There's no insta-love, no obnoxious love triangles that make no sense, and no run of the mill story line. No, Placebo Junkies is edgy, it's raw, it deals with an extremely tough subject, and it makes you live it right alongside the narrator.

Placebo Junkies it written in two styles, first person POV from Audie and satirical blog posts. It's humorous, sarcastic, and a little bit depressing. As you weave yourself into the world of pharmaceutical drug trials things get a little turned upside down and the twists come at you when you least expect them to. The characters are twisted, they aren't perfect or beautiful, and they will make you pretty introspective. You see, nothing is what it seems in this book and as you unravel the story your mind unravels a teensy bit with it.

This book will make you uneasy, it will make you think a lot, and it will also make you take a look at your world around you. While this is a work of fiction, the author shares that parts of it really are real life for some people. It also brings some serious mental issues that people are often afraid to talk about to the table. J.C. Carleson not only has you experiencing it with our narrator, but sympathizing as Audie's history comes to light. I gave this book four stars, because of how badly it messed with my own psyche after I closed the book. I got 80% of the way through, shut it and walked away for an entire day, because I felt so uncomfortable. It isn't a bad thing, while frightening, it is an important topic to cover and I think this book does it better than any other I've seen try to scratch the surface. Yes, it is a Young Adult novel, but I think this darkly humorous book is one than everyone should take the time to read, young or old. I'd like to see this book be a book club read, I think it is absolutely worth having a discussion about.


I would like to thank Random House Children's Books for providing a copy in exchange for my honest review. ( )

Audie, the main protagonist, is a girl that comes from difficult times. She relies on pharmaceutical trials in order to make a living to keep herself off of the streets. She decides to go on a challenge, with a friend named Charlotte, for a period of nonstop trials where the two will fake results and end up with the ultimate amount of cash. Charlotte wants to get rich, while Audie wants to give her terminally ill boyfriend the trip of a lifetime.

Audie deals with a lot in her life. She loves Dylan, but hates to see him suffering which fuels her to go on this treacherous challenge. She knows this might be his only chance to travel and see one of the most beautiful places in the world and she can’t bear to let him down. While Audie sees that everyone that surrounds her is suffering she is in denial about her own depression. Her own mother died from addiction as a child and from then on she was basically on her own. While Audie claims she’s not one of those junkies or addicts she’s so desperate to separate herself from, we see her transform as her depression spirals out of control even further after certain events transpire.

The novel focuses on drugs, addiction, mental illness, and teen homelessness, among other issues. While some people think billboards that advertise these drug trails are a joke, its such a huge business. The novel highlights the fact that while pharmaceutical trials are rewarding by making advances in medical science, they’re still very dangerous. The trials lure people with money, but what are the consequences of being used as a guinea pig? In the book we see the many damaging side-effects of these unknown drugs that not only causes serious destruction of the human body and also results in death.

This is such a heartbreaking and realistic novel. While reading this novel, I could tell that Carleson did her research as the characters used and situations that take place seem so realistic. I’ve read novels about addiction and mental illness before, but never any about the issue of pharmaceutical trials. I knew some information and read some articles about drug trials prior to reading this book, but I came away from the story with even more knowledge and a different perspective on this issue. I appreciate Carleson writing about and highlighting this important topic in her novel. ( )

3.5 stars (liked it a lot)

I wanted to read Placebo Junkies because I am drawn to stories about illness and the idea of putting yourself through medical procedures and taking medicines that can have nasty side effects for cash intrigues me in that morbid way. Also, the boyfriend that's sick that she thinks is worth the big surprise and money grabs my attention. I wondered if doing the clinical trials was also a way to connect with him and just trying to understand what he might be going through with a terminal illness. I knew this would likely be highly emotional and give room for lots of character growth and realization since the trials will effect her and things go to a bad place as a result of the trials.

This is a gritty book, and Audie describes with detail the horrible side effects of the trials she goes through, and we get pieces of her rough life and what has led her to this lifestyle. Most of the people in her life are also in the drug trials and can sympathize, but her boyfriend also has been through hard procedures and medicines. I couldn't decide if I was feeling their relationship- it was different from a lot of couples I've read about for sure, and they have seen unpleasant sides so its not putting on a front. But she couldn't decide as the book gets going if he is getting sicker or if he is moving on, and her uncertainty and not able to get in his head made me feel a lot of these things.

Things got really weird and a twist that I was not expecting. Audie ends up being an unreliable narrator. Characters that I thought I had a hold on completely transformed. It was nice because of the fact that I expected one sort of outcome and this managed to change that up.

We get answers to the why and how, and Audie's motivations and reasoning. The wrap up was complete, and though I was a bit confused at times, it resolved itself.

Source: Random House e-arc via Netgalley
Disclaimer: I received this book as an ARC (advanced review copy). I am not paid for this review, and my opinions in this review are mine, and are not effected by the book being free.

Bottom Line: Twisty, gritty with an unreliable narrator. ( )

I was so excited to read this book. After reading it, I am glad I did check it out but I am a little disappointed with it at the same time. In fact, I waivered between giving this book a three star or a four star rating. I finally decided on a four star. The reason for my hesitation on the rating is because while I found the story itself very intriguing and very realistic. Almost too scary how far people are willing to go for the price of money. It is like participating in these clinical trials is an addiction like drugs and alcohol. So I get why people would want to participate in these trials. Also if there were not people willing to try them than drug companies and other medical companies would not have their human drug testing trials before the final product is released in the markets.

My issue is that I did not become emotionally attached to Audie or any of the other test subjects. Even when things starting happening to the people in the story, I was sad for a moment but it passed as soon as I was done with that page. Plus, I appreciate that the author tried to fit a romance into the story, I thought it did not work or lend anything to the story as a whole. ( )