Drew’s brother, Mason, has recently been sent to the Residential Reform Academy, a therapeutic boarding school, to overcome his ‘behavioural problems’. The hope that Mason will come back a changed person becomes fear that Mason will come back a zombified changed person when a woman who says she worked at the Academy accosts Drew and hands her a note, supposedly from her brother, before running off.

“Help me, Drew! We’re not being reformed, we’re being brainwashed.”

Because this is a young adult novel, pretty much all of the adults are useless, evil or disinterested so if someone is going to save the day it’s going to have to be Drew. And that’s just what she decides to do.

Now Drew is also at the Academy and if she doesn’t figure out a foolproof plan soon, her brother won’t be the only one getting treated.

‘Obedience, compliance and honesty. They’re the bedrocks of society.’

This was a quick, compulsive read. There’s danger, action and a bunch of kids who have all been labelled as bad stuck in a system that’s supposed to be helping them but could actually be causing them irreparable harm.

Drew was an interesting main character. Initially a loner, she rallies when she learns her brother is in danger and even makes a friend along the way. I really liked Mouse, although I wanted to learn more about her backstory. I found Lacey and Jude so very irritating, but it probably would have been weird if I didn’t want to find a way to reach through the pages to slap them.

Some coincidences were a little over the top, like Zed just so happening to live close enough to Drew that they could meet face to face and Lacey just so happening to [SPOILER - wind up at the Academy as well. In Drew’s very own room. What did Lacey do to get sent there anyway? Was she really so desperate to bully Drew that she followed her there? Speaking of coincidences, Drew’s dad, who’s been missing for eight years, just so happened to also be at the Academy. - SPOILER]

Then there were the things that seemed too easy, like [SPOILER - people being deprogrammed so quickly when they were faced with a specific fear. Now, I don’t claim to be an expert at reversing brainwashing but if any of the things I’ve read about cults are true, then it’s not a switch that can simply be turned off. It seems to be a much more intense and drawn out process than how it’s portrayed here. - SPOILER]

The ending felt rushed and a bit too neat, and I have some unanswered questions. However, this was an enjoyable read and I am interested in reading more books by this author.

Content warnings include bullying.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Harlequin Australia for the opportunity to read this book. I’m rounding up from 3.5 stars.

A quick but. enjoyable read. Fast paced storyline with great characterisation. I can see this one being very popular in our library!

Wow what a fantastic book, darling, dangerous and scary. This book grabbed me by the throat and didn't let go until I had finished it. A fantastic 5 Star read.

"I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review"

This book was a quick and interesting read. I have to admit the idea of getting "treated" scares me and creeped me out.
I would of given this 4 stars but I found some bits in the story to drag where some bits glossed over way to much. So in saying that I would rate it 3.5 stars. I would recommend people who love YA Mystery to give this a go. It is a book that had a few twists and turns I didn't see coming.

Hello Bookish friends,

I was pleasantly surprised with this book, for myself who doesn't' read a lot of YA I really liked that this one wasn't long and drawn out.
This was my first book by C.L Tayor, I took that into account when rating and reading. This story is aimed at a younger crowd then myself. I enjoyed the characters relationships, and the way the story flowed.

Review: 3 out of 5 stars

The Treatment was almost a DNF for me, I found the start to be quite slow and I couldn’t quite connect with everything that was happening but once it picked up, I couldn’t put it down and needed to know what would happen.

Our MC is sixteen year-old Drew Finch, she lives with her mother and step-father and has a younger brother, Mason who has been sent away to Norton House, a residential reform school to be treated for his bad behaviour. When Drew receives a note from Mason which was passed on by a mysterious doctor asking Drew for help, telling her the school is not what they believe it to be and that the treatment is brainwashing teenagers, Drew’s plan is to infiltrate the facility and break her brother out.

Drew was an interesting character, quite introverted with a love for online gaming which was her escape from bullying; she had her faults but she was determined to find out what was going on with Mason especially considering her mother and step-fathers lack of help in the matter. When it came to Drew, who kept out of trouble, I found it a little strange how quickly the decision was made to send her off to the same reform school as Mason and how fast she succumbed to their ways.

Drew teamed up with her roommate Mouse, to undercover the secrets of the school and to attempt to break them all out. She also encountered the typical mean girls who were quite clichéd, all of the secondary characters were interesting and played a pivotal role in the overall story.

The Treatment I feel would suit the older YA audience, I did find it to be a simplistic read but it did leave us with questions about what could possibly be – mind altering, dysfunctional family relationships and bullying were a few of the subject matters. There was also an absence of any romantic elements so if you are a fan of a love story as I usually am then you will be disappointed.

This book was written well, the plot was fast paced and interesting. My biggest gripe was the simplified ending, I felt like it was too short and rushed, it didn’t live up to the build-up. Despite this, I enjoyed the book overall.

Thanks to Harlequin Australia via Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review The Treatment.

EXCERPT: I slip into the single stall toilet at the back of the cafe. I hold it together long enough to close the door and lock it and then I rest my arms on the wall and burst into tears. I'm still crying when I sit down on the closed toilet lid and reach into my pocket. Tears roll down my cheeks as I pull out the note that Dr Cobey thrust into my hands. They plop onto the paper as I carefully unfold it. I read the words Mason has scribbled in blue biro. I read them once, twice, three times and the tears dry in my eyes.

I'm not sad and confused any more. I'm terrified.

THE BLURB: “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.

MY THOUGHTS: There were a lot of things I liked about The Treatment, C. L. Taylor's debut Young Adult novel, and a few things I disliked, which resulted in a 3.5 star rating.

This was, for most part, a fast paced read. The plot flowed well, mostly. I had trouble with the ease with which Drew was bundled off to the reform school. I know her step-father is involved in the process, but there is a reason he should, to my mind, be keeping Drew and Mason well away from there, not facilitating their admission. This is only one instance for which I had to suspend rationality and go with the storyline.

The ending, I felt, was over simplified. And rushed. Our young adults are a great deal more savy than I was at that age, and I was an advanced reader. I was tempted to get my ten year old grandson to read this to see what he thought because I am certain he would have picked up on most of the same things I did.

Having said that, I found most of the book to be riveting, an exciting adventure, one I didn't want to put down in favor of sleep last night.

I think this book is probably suited to the younger end of the young adult spectrum.

The Treatment by C. L. Taylor is due to be published October 23, 2017.

Thank you to Harlequin Australia via Netgalley for providing a digital copy of The Treatment for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. Please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the 'about' page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com for an explanation of my rating system. This review and others are also published on my blog sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

*thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin (Australia), TEEN / MIRA for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

4 stars.
I read this in just a day, it was that good. To imagine something like this actually happening is scary and I think because things like Electroshock therapy actually still does happen (it does in the hospital I use to get sent to), it makes this even creepier! Drew's brother, Mason has been sent away to ‘The Resedential Reform Academy". One day, a lady who turns out to be a doctor from this Academy, grabs Drew and in a heightened state of anxiety and panic, she hands Drew a letter. A letter from Mason pleading for help. "You have to help me. We’re not being reformed, we’re being brainwashed!". Soon after she to gets sent away to the Academy, and what she finds out about the residents there and the program itself, makes her fully believe Mason's letter was serious and that she needed to put a stop to this.
I found that this was quite a good page turner and I definitely recommend it for YA fans.

I have enjoyed all of this authors books so when this one came up on Netgalley I was very excited to get approved. This book is a YA novel. I got hooked in early on and really enjoyed it. The story of wayward kids who are sent away for treatment. Thanks to Harlequin Australia for an advance copy of this book to read and review