Clean: The London Collection

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And so much of it felt like name dropping - people, brands, places, it felt like the reader was supposed to care and I just didn’t.

Narrated in first person from Lexi’s point of view, the book is broken down into twelve chapters, each headed with one of the twelve steps. While of course these novels are important, we need more representation like those in Clean showing normal young trans men and women just going about their lives. Guy, who suffers from OCD, and Brady, the mysterious Hollywood hunk who immediately catches Lexi's eye. I received a free digital copy of this book from the publishers/author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.Just because she turned a little bit blue after taking some heroin doesn't mean she needs help, and she hates Nikolai for sticking his big fat oar in. She later turned her talent to journalism, interviewing luminaries such as Steps and Atomic Kitten before writing a weekly serial in a Brighton newspaper. I've found many novels with trans characters where the story is so focused on their coming out and / or transition. It's vital to feature these kind of resources when writing a book which includes such sensitive issues, so I was very glad to see that included.

As the novel progressed, and I learned more about her character and why she acts in certain ways, I grew fonder of her. Wat ik fijn vond is de afronding van het verhaal, geen "ze leefde nog lang en gelukkig", maar net even dat beetje meer. Clean is a brilliant YA read and a perfect example of how YA fiction can be used to tackle more mature ideas in a thoughtful way to make a real impact on its reader.

The book contains phone numbers and helplines for anyone struggling with similar issues mentioned in this book, which is important. Ich glaube nur, dass es letztendlich ein wenig zu viel für einen einzigen Roman war – neben der Liebesgeschichte, die man meines Erachtens nach gut und gerne hätte streichen können, kamen viele der Einzelschicksale einfach kurz, weswegen das Ende zwangsweise auch zu kurz kam, einerseits überdramatisiert, dann übereilt, dann irgendwie zu kitschig war. I’m glad I read it, (even more glad that I borrowed it from the library) because I would have forever been wondering about it, as books with themes of mental health are of great appeal to me, it’s just a shame this one missed the mark – it wasn’t a bad book, rather, I just wanted so much more from it. Again it actually felt real, and I was pleased to see a book that doesn’t pretend that teenagers don’t swear.

With out spoiling or giving too much away I personally thought the ending was a little too neat and slightly unrealistic, especially compared with rawness of the rest of the novel, and let down how great the rest of the story was. Here, Lexi begins her 72 day, detox and step programme, along with a group of other young adults, with similar mental health problems. I've not read anything of Juno Dawson's before, so this was a really good intro into this author's writing. There were a few moments that felt like were setting up a bigger arc for certain characters yet they just fizzled out. Dawson konnte mich auch nicht von den beiden überzeugen, weswegen dieser Aspekt wohl Teil meines größten Kritikpunkts ist – zusammen mit der Darstellung des Klinikalltags.But Lexi is a heroin addict and soon finds herself in a treatment centre for well-off young adults with addiction problems. Man kann gar nicht anders, als darauf zu hoffen, dass es Lexi besser geht, dass man ihr helfen kann, dass sie sich helfen lässt, dass sie ihren Weg geht. Then when I finished it I was left with a feeling both of complete satisfaction but also wanting to read about these characters lives more. I did think the end was cliché, but I also loved how light it felt compared to the rest of the book, almost like a weight was lifted.