The Subjects is definitely a book that offers a unique perspective. Written from the firsthand account of Daniel, a high functioning delinquent , who at 16 years old was sent through an alternative sentencing program in place of jail time after he was caught selling prescription drugs. Given the benefit of hindsight, the story is told after Daniel has grown up and he looks back on his time at the “school”. The “school”is a unique place with loosely defined curriculum, and private therapy sessions. One of a chosen few, Daniel finds himself among a very different group of young people who have very unique ways of thinking and interacting with the world. As he builds friendships and interacts with this isolated environment, Daniel grows and learns how to become a functional adult. However, the school isn’t what it appears to be, and it has a much larger, more nefarious purpose. There is a lot of deep subject matter in this book, and there were moments where the storyline becomes kind of opaque and a little unclear. Generally well written given the specialty of the subject matter and a disturbing look into the exploitation of at risk children around the world. Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced copy.

Interesting plot with lots of potential. However, I had to DNF it because I'm not fond of the pace and writing style. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I wish to write a longer review but this book was not for me.

I got a free copy from Netgalley for an honest review.

I found the prose too flowery and the text just too damn pretentious for me. I can appreciate that the book took time to write and the effort that went in to it. But at 35% I was so bored.

All I'd got was a stream of consciousness from a teenage boy, a weird professor and a plot that was going nowhere.

The story flipped to years later without warning "in later years I would wonder what.." which dragged you out of any narrative that was being told and I really didn't connect with the main character.

I felt that this was very similar in feel to Other words for smoke by Sarah Griffin so if you liked that then this might be one for you.

Although a little science-y for some at times this is a really well written book with a fantastic Australian voice in the form of the lead character, Daniel. Daniel is a 16 year old drug dealer whom is going to jail... until he’s not and instead finds himself being taken to a country estate but all is not what it seems. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the arc.

This book was a bit slow for me. Once I made it 2/3 of the way through, I really began to understand the premise and hunkered down for the long haul.

We meet Daniel. He is an intelligent young man. An intelligent young man with an entrepreneurs heart. Mr. Daniel decides to become a drug dealer, and lo and behold, he gets caught. Rather than juvenile detention/jail, he is sent to a facility that builds a specialized therapeutic and learning environment specifically tailored to him.

While there, he forms friendships, so to speak, with others like him. Each child his/her own brand of trauma, by their hand, another's, or both.

Relationships emerge between student and teacher, student and therapist, student and student.
Every relationship becoming more convoluted as time goes on. Personal boundaries disappear only to be reinvented and/or manipulated.

As time goes on, you begin to ask yourself, is this facility for troubled youth, or is it much more than that? Why such alternative/obscured teaching methods? Who is/are the entity/entities behind the facility? What is the cost and to what end?

A big thank you to Netgalley, Text Publishing, and Sarah Hopkins for the ARC in return for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for this advanced reader's copy in return for my honest review. Thought provoking and brilliant. Loved it.

This novel is both intriguing and chilling in its depiction of a "school" that is offered as an alternative to juvenile detention. Sixteen-year-old Daniel has ADHD but instead of taking his medication, he's made a business of hoarding his pills and selling them to classmates who need an "edge" for studying. When he's caught he is offered classes at this institute where there are very few students, and shockingly, very few rules. They are encouraged to play video games and the "lessons" are very odd and not at all conventional. As Daniel gets to know the other kids, he realizes they all have underlying issues that are so deep-seated that they manifest themselves in ways that none of them understand. It's not until the end that we see the real purpose behind the school as Daniel is now an adult and uncovers the experimental nature of what was being attempted. It will certainly make you question everything you know (or think you know) about medication for many conditions. Perhaps it resonated with me so much as I taught high school for almost 40 years and saw more than my share of students--some for whom medication was clearly working--and some for whom medication wasn't the only answer. In any case, be prepared to ponder as it's an intoxicating read!

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Text Publishing for the ARC.

What an absolutely fascinating read! Having had some experience with somewhat wayward adolescents, I could relate to a fair bit of the psychological context and was totally engrossed.

Told from 47yr-old Daniel's point of view, the story unfolds in his reminiscences of what happened to him at 16yrs of age when he was saved from prison in exchange for attending a facility in the Australian outback, his reading of the Inquiry documents presented 10 years later, and his thoughts on his and others' present lives. It isn't until the end the reader discovers the real truth behind the story, the extent of the organisation and their real purpose.
It is intriguing and absorbing - how best to 'accommodate' those adolescents displaying problems associated with loads of acronyms - ADHD, ODD, DMDD, PTSD - without drugs?
This was one man's dream - that all went horribly wrong.
This isn't a 'fast read', it needs time and consideration, but I felt it was worth it.

The first 15% was incredibly intriguing-- I loved that the narrative switched back and forth between the past in the facility and the present "court documents." Unfortunately, by 40%, I lost interest. The narrative slowed down considerably, and we just followed the central character through classes and recaps of his history and his meetings with the doctor and a fairly underwhelming "romance." I'm intrigued by the Australian aspect of the story, which I felt wasn't fully investigated. The concept, though, is intriguing.
Thanks to NetGalley for this advance copy!

So, this was very different, at the start I was really baffled, yet dying to know what was going on. I enjoyed the book, it had a kind of winding trail to follow and gave you things to think about on the way.

Five out of five stars for The Subjects by Sarah Hopkins!

I loved this book!

Many thanks to net galley and the publisher, who provided me a free copy of this ebook in exchange for my honest review.

This had a very interesting premise, but lacked better execution.
Daniel wasn't a likeable character at all and I wasn't invested in his story.
J would have preferred some of the documents printed in the book instead of having them written out. It felt too long, unnecessarily confusing and overwritten.
Unfortunately I didn't like this book, but thank you Netgalley for providing me with an eARC.

Thought provoking brilliance.. Loved it.

Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC copy

This was both a difficult and intriguing read for me. I loved the overall concept of this book and felt like in some ways it way very well constructed. In others I thought I really really really had to work to understand and relate to some of the characters This obviously caused quite the split for me. But I genuinely think this book was fascinating and thought provoking.

This book took a lot of effort. I read a good 100 pages but ultimately decided it just wasn't worth the work it took to read it. I then resorted to skipping big chunks of text and only skimming the bits I did read 'til the end.

I really struggled with the writing, the characters and the overall story. I felt it was overwritten, far too wordy and I'm sorry to say, it was boring. It was, doctor session - classes - repeat. There were just so many unnecessary scenes that dragged the story even more. I think it could have definitely improved with some editing.

The book is written in first person with the protagonist narrating his version of the story, moving back and forth between past and present during the one scene.

The inquiry was the best part but I think that, along with the rest of the book, would have been far more engaging if the book showed actual copies of the documents. Instead of having the protagonist narrate every little thing, there could have been printed within the book, transcripts, case studies, reports - for the reader to actually sight.

That would have been so interesting and personally would have held my attention much better. Some small effort was made with a little formatting and the use of italics but it just wasn't enough in my opinion.

This book was received by Netgalley.

It was hooking from the premise to the last words of the novel.

It's dark, it's intoxicating, it keeps you wanting more.

My only issue was that the tone was to me, evident that an adult was writing as a teenager and it was distracting at times, but I pushed through.

Overall, I'd give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

I really wanted to love this book but was sadly unable to get really into the story. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for an ARC egalley.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

I wanted to love this book, but I struggled reading it. I didn't connect with the characters at all and most of the time I was confused with what was going on.

I think that this book will be quite divisive and readers will either really like it, or really not, and from other reviews that I've seen I would say that this is proving to be the case.

It is not the easiest story to get into, as it eels like you are dropped into the middle of it, but for me that felt true to the experience of the MC, Daniel. He has been found guilty of a crime and instead of serving the expected jail time has been taken to a different sort of facility. He really knows nothing about where he's been brought and equally we as the reader don't have a clear sense of what's happening.

The science/psychology in the story is really interesting, and it is definitely a unique book.

The Subjects had an interesting premise but unfortunately fell flat for me. I found it quite confusing as the novel switched between narrators - from adult Daniel to teen Daniel. The science elements were too many and the ending wrapped up too quickly (although I didn't mind, I was happy to finish the book in one sitting and move onto something else).

Set in Australia and written by an Australian author, I did enjoy the discussion of mental illness and behaviour disorders; crime and the juvenile system. The novel had a distinct anti-drugs; pro-therapy and alternate treatment slant but did not seem all that realistic. I wish there had been more on the back stories of the other children; their treatments and crimes.