Author: C.L. Taylor
Genre: YA Suspense/Mystery/Thriller
Publisher: HQ
Release Date: October 16th, 2017
Pages: 299
Spoilers: Nope, no spoilers! You need to read this one for yourself!
Rating: 
(3.5 / 5)
I received a review copy from HQ, thank you so much. I was really looking forward to this book because it sounded really exciting and at the same time super realistic and mysterious. It was a quick read and I enjoyed it immensely. However, the ending was different from what I expected, but overall: great read. I’ve never read anything by C.L. Taylor so thank you for introducing me to this author. Ready? Yes? Here we go!
““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.” [Goodreads]
The story start off A-MA-ZING. Drew is just walking back from school like she does everyday, when all of the sudden, she notices she’s being followed. She expects she’s being followed by the bullies from school, but instead, she’s chased down by a middle-aged woman. Urging Drew to listen to her, she gives her a note from her brother who’s at ‘boarding school’. He’s in danger. Drew doesn’t believe it, but the woman is quite nervous and flees before Drew can ask her anything useful. Just when Drew’s about to chase after her, the woman is hit by a car. It was ‘an accident’ they say. But Drew knows better. Is her brother really in danger? Drew embarks on a dangerous journey, trying to find out about the brainwashing and the weird school her brother is at. Little does she know the treatment centre is hiding more secrets than she’d ever imagined…
As you can probably imagine, I was hooked on the story from the very first page, and I flew through the first few chapters pretty quickly. I love how Taylor worked with suspense in her story. Throughout the novel, you as a reader just KNOW there’s something weird going on, you just can’t put your finger on what is happening exactly. The book gave me chills, which I enjoyed (strangely enough).
The story was driven by secrets and by the sometimes annoyingly stubborn main character Drew Finch. She’s determined to find out about what has happened or is happening to her brother and goes to any lengths to save him. Luckily, she quickly comes up with a plan: she gets herself expelled and ends up at the same treatment centre. So far, so good. I would probably have done the same thing. Her brother is your main good guy gone bad: he’s made some wrong choices and now he’s paying for them. A bit too much, if you ask me. He’s not very interesting, even though the whole book is ABOUT him. Did I like them? YES. Did I love them? NO. The character I thought was the most interesting is Mouse, the little girl who turns out to be pretty important. LOVED her. You’ll understand when you’ve read the book.
But why 3.5 stars if you love the book so much? Yes, I understand your question. It’s hard to explain because I didn’t really like the ending of the book and I don’t want to spoil you. So, without saying too much, I thought the ending was ‘too big’. The story started off really personal with Drew saving her brother. But at the end, the stakes are so intense and high, and things are ‘too accidental’ and I was wondering why Taylor blew things up like this? But like I said: you have to read this yourself.
Overall I was super happy with the book. I was about to give it 4, maybe 4.5 stars, but the ending just wasn’t what I expected it to be. But I’m pretty sure lots off people will think differently, so all I can say is just read this book and experience it yourself. You will not regret reading The Treatment, because it will have you hooked from the very first page!
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