Fix Me

Firstly I should say that this novel is very different to novels I would usually pick up and read - I was very fortunate to be contacted by Lisa M. Cronkhite who asked me to take a look, and i'm really pleased I did!

This novel focuses on Penelope, a young girl who is grieving over the death of her sister whilst struggling with her addiction to the latest 'fashionable' drug, Fix.  As a YA genre novel, this book focuses on two incredibly important topics: drug addiction and mental health.  These are important subjects for everyone in my opinion, but getting young adults to read about them and their effects on people is so very important.

In the novel Fix is the most popular illegal drug in the U.S. and it was previously used to treat clinical depression until its effects were known.  We soon learn that Tabitha, Penelope's sister, was clinically depressed before she committed suicide and had been treated with Fix.

We follow Penelope through her highs and her comedowns, as she battles to work out what is real and what is not - she knows she only see's Nate when she's under the influence of Fix, but he seems so real.  With girls going missing, Penelope has to work out what's real and what's not before it's too late.

I definitely enjoyed this novel.  Like I said, it was different to what I usually pick up but sometimes that's a good thing.  The drug abuse and mental health issues are so relevant at the moment, and both are topics that needs to be highlighted.  There is always help out  there if you are just willing to accept it.

Rating: 📖 📖 📖 📖

Thanks to Netgalley and North Star Editions for an advance reading copy in exchange for my honest review.

4/5 stars!
Full review to follow closer to publication date!

Ghost, hallucination or side effect....Fix Me is a thrilling YA novel that entrances the reader. This novel will help teens, young adults and readers in general think about consequences and side effects of drug use. This action packed novel will help teens see the downward spiral of drug addition through an action packed setting.

This is a book for teens that have ever felt that they need to lean on drugs or alcohol to have someone to care for them. The personification of "Fix" was very compelling. It really showed how an addiction can take over a person's life.

Fix Me
*Thank you to Netgalley for an honest review**
This book was painful to read. Not in a “the writing is terrible way”, but in an “I want to wrench these children out of the story and help them”! Living in a community, like so many others, it is difficult to read a novel about drug addiction.
Penelope craves the highly addictive drug called “Fix”. Since her sister Tabitha committed suicide it is one way that she can “cope”. Get away from the pain. Her mother, in her own pain and self-destruction does not help. When she takes the drug, she witnesses hallucinations that may help find answers to her sisters’ death. Not only is she grieving for her sister and facing drug addiction, but schoolmates are missing, girls are being murdered and life seems to become darker. Even though I kept saying “I’m not going to finish reading this”, I found I couldn’t put it down. I will read more by this author.
This book is for mature teens and up.

Thank you to Hachette and NetGalley for allowing me to read this. A real rollercoaster read...uncompromising in its depiction of addiction, but not too bleak as we never are quite sure how much is real and how much is down to Pen's addiction.

An intense and moving story of grief, pain, and addiction.

The blurb of this novel really intrigued me. The book had a great premise as it delved into Penelope's life after she becomes hooked on Fix. I loved how the book is narrated by Penelope, leaving you to wonder how accurate her account. As she is on Fix for the majority of the book, you do wonder how true her perceptions of the world really are. I found the book completely fascinating. Sometimes confusing as her world is blurred with reality, but fascinating none the less. Pen needs to come off Fix to truly understand what is happening around her, but as with any drug, that is not as easy as it sounds.

I did find it a little hard to warm to the characters and didn't find Pen particularly likeable. I was concerned about her, and the situation she'd got herself in, but she didn't really do anything to merit these feelings of concern. However, as Pen is overcoming some very difficult times in her life, such as her sister's suicide, I had to factor these into my opinion of her actions. The book made drug additions very unappealing, which I think was the author's intention, so therefore as a YA book, it hit the mark. I certainly wouldn't try drugs after reading this as it's very graphic and off putting.

There were some issues with continuity as the book progressed, probably down to Penelope's state of mind, but I found these made the story stop and start and I kept looking back to check I'd read it correctly. It truly shows how disturbing on your health drug taking is.

This was a thought provoking read and I'll look out for this author again.

This book kept my entire attention, from beginning to end. It was unlike anything I have ever read before, which is really hard to find. I love how descriptive the book is without being overly descriptive. I also loved that the chapters were concise, and there wasn’t much extra to the book.
From what I’ve always heard, people do drugs to escape from something, which Pen is definitely doing, but she is also running to something (Nate). I found that very interesting. Personally I love reading books where I feel like I am jumping into the character’s life. I love when there is a back story and let me tell you this back story really was awesome.
I thought the author dud a wonderful job of writing about the tough topic of addiction with knowledge and sensitivity. Overtime I felt like I was going to predict a twist or turn, I was very wrong! I was so caught of guard by the way the story ended (in the best possible way) it cemented the fact that this book was definitely my type.

Drugs, addiction and the ease that minors can obtain their next high, their next escape into oblivion. This is Penelope’s story of loss, emotional and physical dependence and her fear of recovery, another form of loss in itself. Her sister committed suicide, and we wonder why Penelope doesn’t take that as a wake-up call to sobriety, but we forget she is a teen, emotionally immature and worse, floundering in a dysfunctional one parent family.

I received a copy of this book to read and review from Netgalley

The description of this book is the initial reason I picked it up. I can relate to wanting to escape from the pain of grief all too well and found myself drawn to read this novel. Fix Me makes for an interesting story about a circle of addicts and a bit of a murder mystery. Lisa Cronkhite does a good job capturing the mind of an addict in the crux of their addiction. She also does a great job capturing and conveying the emotions of the characters. The writing really made the story great.

Right away the book exposes you to the ugly side of addiction. The sickly parlor, jittery nerves and bones protruding from two addicts who can't seem to kick the habit. They're addicted to "Fix" a drug that sounds similar to acid with its hallucinogenic properties. It enhances the five senses and causes the main character to see people who aren't really there.

The relationship between addicts are often complicated and I think that this was portrayed very well. Rose, for example, was clearly lonely and wanted to have friends, but it was clear that her addiction took priority over anything else. I found Fix Me to be a relatively realistic portrayal of addiction, even though "fix" is a made-up drug.

I found the climax to kind of come out of left field and the ending was a bit to "happily ever after "for me. But the harsh reality of addiction is that getting clean is much harder for most, although some get so do get sober abruptly like this novel portrayed. I would definitely read another book by Lisa Cronkhite as she brought these characters and this story to life for me