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Ari Goelman
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The Innocence Treatment Kindle Edition

by Ari Goelman (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars 9 ratings
See all formats and editions

You may believe the government protects you, but only one girl knows how they use you.

Lauren has a disorder that makes her believe everything her friends tell her—and she believes everyone is her friend. Her innocence puts her at constant risk, so when she gets the opportunity to have an operation to correct her condition, she seizes it. But after the surgery, Lauren is changed. Is she a paranoid lunatic with violent tendencies? Or a clear-eyed observer of the world who does what needs to be done?

Told in journal entries and therapy session transcripts, Ari Goelman's The Innocence Treatment is a collection of Lauren's papers, annotated by her sister long after the events of the novel. A compelling YA debut thriller that is part speculative fiction and part shocking tell-all of genetic engineering and government secrets, Lauren's story is ultimately an electrifying, propulsive, and spine-tingling read.

Previous page
  1. Print length
    268 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Roaring Brook Press
  5. Publication date
    October 17, 2017
  6. Reading age
    14 - 18 years
  7. Grade level
    10 - 12
  8. File size
    5320 KB
  9. Page Flip
    Enabled
  10. Word Wise
    Not Enabled
  11. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  12. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 8 Up—In 2031, 16-year-old Lauren Fielding becomes known as the "Innocence Girl." Born without the ability to distinguish truth from lies, she believes everything she is told. Unlike her sister, Lauren has never had a reason to be wary of the government, called the Department. When Dr. Corbin, the doctor who helped Lauren's parents conceive her, offers a surgical treatment to fix the disorder, she eagerly accepts. Within months after the operation, Lauren transforms into a self-sufficient, paranoid, and violent version of herself who is constantly suspicious of the Department. When she befriends Department agent Sasha, Lauren sets out on a mission to uncover the truth. The teen discovers that she has been genetically engineered by Dr. Corbin to experiment with an Innocence Treatment, a chemical compound that will be used by the Department to gather information from disobedient citizens. Lauren makes her findings public, throwing herself and her family into danger. A compelling plot structure, in which her sister has compiled Lauren's journal entries, doctor's records, and video notes, will instantly pique readers' curiosity. Goelman captures the protagonist's spiral from innocence to paranoia vividly. An anticlimactic reveal of Lauren's discovery, which she admittedly forgets to tell readers, is a hiccup in an otherwise rapid plot. Devious characters pivot across the pages of this novel. VERDICT A fresh take on futuristic psychological thrillers and an easy sell to reluctant readers.—Amy McInerney, Falmouth Elementary School, ME

Review

Praise for The Innocence Treatment:

"Readers looking to jump into government conspiracies will find a fresh take with this teenager who gains the ability to fight back, rebel against authority, and expose government corruption." ―VOYA

"...readers who enjoy the moral cartwheels of a nation flooded by fear and the chill of a troublingly plausible future punctuated by opportunistic and insidiously innovative scientists will find all the frissons they could ask for here.Nineteen Eighty-Four meets V for Vendetta in a thrilling package." ―Kirkus Reviews

"A fresh take on futuristic psychological thrillers and an easy sell to reluctant readers." ―School Library Journal

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B06XW3MKSS
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Roaring Brook Press (October 17, 2017)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 17, 2017
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 5320 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 268 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1626728801
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars 9 ratings

About the author

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Ari Goelman

Ari Goelman

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Ari Goelman is the award winning author of The Innocence Treatment and The Path of Names. In addition to writing fiction, he teaches at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, and enjoys biking in the rain, especially when it stops raining. He lives in Vancouver with his family. Find more about Ari at: www.arigoelman.com

Customer reviews

4.9 out of 5 stars
4.9 out of 5
9 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars "The Innocence Treatment" is brilliant.
Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2017
Verified Purchase
"The Innocence Treatment" is a brilliant, gripping novel, suitable for YA readers and not-so-Y A readers alike. It describes a dystopian future society, but from the point of view of a teen-age schizophrenic grappling with her own bio-engineered self.
One person found this helpful
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K. M. Martin
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating and Fast-Paced Dystopia
Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2017
This near future dystopia is a science fiction story about a girl who has a medical treatment that changes her from being trusting, believing everything a person tells her, and loving everyone to a girl who is paranoid about what the government is up to. Or is she? Paranoid assumes that what she believes isn't true. But what if it is?

Lauren Fielding is living near Washington DC after the Emergency through civilization - at least, in the United States - into chaos. A new Department has been formed to "protect" the citizens from dangers as a result of the Emergency Act. People are afraid to say anything derogatory about the government or the Department for fear of being arrested and imprisoned without any legal representation. There are spies and informers everywhere watching everyone.

When the story begins, Lauren is looking forward to the operation that will "fix" her. She is tired of having a set of rules to live by and a school paraprofessional dogging her steps all day. She wants to be normal. After the operation, she begins to see that her friends aren't really friends and she develops a taste for violence. When an older boy, playing on her supposed innocence, attempts to have sex with her, she uses the self defense skills she has been taught to discourage him. When he spreads the story around school that she had sex with him, she is helped by Sasha Adams, a new student and informer for the Department.

She and Sasha become as good of friends as they can be considering that everything she says to him while he is wearing his glasses goes right into the Department's hands. One clear indication that the Department has over-reached is that Sasha was recruited by the Department from a Ukranian refugee camp when he was a pre-teen and trained to be a spy. Failure to follow their rules will see him deported.

This story is told by Lauren's older sister Evelyn who has gathered together Lauren's journals, the case notes of the psychologist who interviews her while she is in "voluntary" detention, and interview transcriptions. Evelyn wants to get out the true story of the Innocence treatment and of her sister who was a hero.

The book was fascinating and fast-paced. I enjoyed it.
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K. Adams
5.0 out of 5 stars This book deserves more reads!
Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2018
I got my copy at the library but I was curious to see how popular is here. It's doing okay but I really think this is a terrific YA scifi/dystopia. The idea that the main character is a complete innocent, unable to perceive lying, is particularly appropriate in this day and age where people hide behind social media accounts and avatars. I liked that it was written as a diary, sort of like Flowers for Algernon, so that you could see the changes in the protagonist. There's mystery, romance, fight scenes, cool science, love and betrayal.
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Lorena
5.0 out of 5 stars Plot twist
Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2020
Loved this book I was so hooked on it 😃 plot twist was the best part ❣️
One person found this helpful
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Terri
4.0 out of 5 stars Experimental brain surgery, the U.S. government..... hmmm
Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2018
This was a great book that I wish had been 2-3 times longer than it was. It had me hooked from page 1. The last page came way too soon.

The author builds the background conditions, and our characters, as living in the United States after there have been 2 “uprisings”. The conditions are pretty dire. For a time after the 1st uprising, the power grid went down, the Government shut down, we infer that martial law was declared because the story mentions “troops everywhere”. The Department of Security, Defense, and Well-Being has enacted a law known as “The Emergency Act” which allows greatly heightened surveillance and prosecution OF the American people BY the Government.

Living under these conditions, in the year 2031, begins actions that are referenced in the story, it has been 10 years.

This is the story of Lauren C. Fielding, a 16 year old girl, and the experimental brain surgery that she was told would “fix” her “imperfect” brain. She was told it would make her smarter > make her normal. This is the story of how she became “The Innocent Girl”.

After brain surgery, Lauren is under care of a Psychologist. She is confined in a “facility”. She is kept either sedated and/or physically restrained whenever she is to interact with her care givers and her Psychologist. She is said to be having paranoid delusions.
But is she?
Or is it all true?

The Innocent Girl. The girl who awakens the American people to the reality of the acts of the
U.S. Department of Security, Defense, and Well-Being against it's own citizens.

Great book for Young Adult readers and older. Thank You Netgalley and author, Ari Goelman for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
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andy
4.0 out of 5 stars If you liked "Hunger Games" try this one too
Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2017
This novel's kick-ass girl protagonist transforms from naive child to perceptive adolescent with surgical assistance. This is one of the only teen books I've read in which navigating the complexities of power and complicity parallels what I see high school students deal with.

I liked it a lot - the grit in the relationship between sisters, the unashamed power in the protagonist's relationship with her spy lover, the surprising honesty in the narrator's political realizations.
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