Did not finish. This novel was not for me. I had a hard time connecting to the story and the characters.

Unfortunately, I did not get the chance to read this ARC prior to the book's publication, and we did not end up buying it for our library collection.

An accurate, brutal and gut punching history of the opiate epidemic in our country. Through a series of topics, be it socioeconomics, race, education, etc., Sam Quinones breaks down this terrifying problem for teeangers around the coungtry. While the book was very well written in aiming towards the teenage mind, there was quite a bit of information cut from the YA version. At times, I felt it was slightly insulting towards the intelligence of our teenagers. They are one of the most, if not the most, susceptible to the addiction. Over all, I felt like this was a good overview of the addiction and opiate crisis in our country. 3.5/5 stars.

If you’re looking for a book that explains how the opiate epidemic started and why it became such a pervasive problem, DREAMLAND is the right book. The author explores the issue from all sides, from the actions of a pharmaceutical company to pill mill doctors to some stories of people who became addicted or saw opportunities to capitalize on the addictions of others.

As I read, each new chapter revealed more and more disturbing truths. So many failures at so many levels allowed this problem to take hold and explode across communities across the country.

DREAMLAND doesn’t link to this, but I recently saw a news report from a Washington Post reporter who was part of an effort to publish a database showing how many prescription pain pills were distributed to different counties in the US. I looked up my own county and was pretty much floored by the total number. I suppose I should have been less surprised since Quinones does point out in DREAMLAND that 9 of 10 of the top prescribing counties in the US during the peak of the pill mill problem were counties in Florida.

I definitely recommend DREAMLAND to anyone who wants a deeper understanding of how we got here and why the opioid epidemic happened in the first place.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

DREAMLAND by Sam Quinones is now available as a Young Adult edition which is great news given students' concerns about this health-related topic. Clearly more accessible, this YA version of DREAMLAND will pair beautifully with the recent set of articles and graphics in the Washington Post's series called Opioid Files. Quinones divides his newest edition into three parts; for example, he discusses the Pills, OxyContin, and the Oxy Trade in separate chapters contained in Part 1. Then he looks at Heroin and the drug cartels in the mid-1990s in Part 2. Some of the profiles there focus on Colorado or New Mexico. The final section again discusses Ohio and looks specifically at Corporate Crimes. Quinones includes a link to his website (with audio and videos interviews), plus photographs, a reading guide, and source notes in this excellent and timely resource. Look for the young adult version of DREAMLAND to be on our shelves soon along with Quinones' original version and other books on this topic, including Macy's Dopesick and Sederer's The Addiction Solution.

Links in post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/76-billion-opioid-pills-newly-released-federal-data-unmasks-the-epidemic/2019/07/16/5f29fd62-a73e-11e9-86dd-d7f0e60391e9_story.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/investigations/dea-pain-pill-database/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/opioid-death-rates-soared-in-communities-where-pain-pills-flowed/2019/07/17/f3595da4-a8a4-11e9-a3a6-ab670962db05_story.html

http://www.samquinones.com/media/sams-stories/

Often fascinating, but occasionally bogged down with numbers. Over all this book does a great job explaining how the drug epidemics of the last three decades arose and what people did to stop them and treat those with addiction. With the advent of OxyContin addiction touched the “respectable” families of the rust belt and the Appalachia’s and the Pacific Northwest. The epidemic finally reached a tipping point where people decided to no longer remain silent, but thousands died of overdose before that point.

As an aspiring author, I plan to use this book as a reference tool. It’s very well researched and written.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Dreamland (YA edition)
by Sam Quinones
Publication Date: July 16, 2019
read courtesy of netgalley.com

You know how there are One School, One Book or One City, One Book campaigns? Well, Dreamland (YA edition) by Sam Quinones should be a candidate for One Country, One Book. It's that good and that meaningful. I'm going to try to find a way to get as many people as I can at my high school to read this.

Quinones does an amazing job of clearly explaining a vast amount of research, of pulling all of the information together in a hugely accessible manner. Quinones has reinforced my already-existing tendency to question everything - which under some circumstances can be quite annoying, but in this instance is well justified. From a worldwide organization to the smallest home towns, Quinones pieced together the story of an epidemic.

Quinones addresses the metamorphosis of communities, societies, people, families, borders, industries, professions, and policies all under the influence of opioids. The author smoothly discusses the human effects as well as the business prowess associated with OxyContin and heroin. The confluence of events that created the perfect storm of addiction and death is astonishing, and Quinones provided a way for everyone to understand how it happened... and unfortunately is still happening.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED as an independent read or as a curriculum connection in a psychology, sociology, economics, marketing, biology, or health class.