Book number 36 in my Goodreads Reading Challenge (and book number 4 of my holiday reads) is Fix Me by Lisa M. Cronkhite.

‘Penelope Wryter‘s life has been a mess ever since her sister committed suicide a year ago. Now Pen’s hooked on Fix, an illegal drug that makes her feel, think, and see differently. The hallucinations are intense, but there’s one vision that keeps Pen coming back for more—Nate. He’s the only person who cares about her. Too bad he’s just a side effect of the drug. Pen knows she’s going nowhere fast. She’s desperate to change. But when she tries to say goodbye to Nate, he professes his love for her making her more confused than ever. Then, when a girl from school goes missing during a bad Fix trip, Pen realizes she may be in a lot more danger than she ever imagined. Unless Pen straightens up and faces reality quick, she might be the next missing girl on the list.’ (Thanks Netgalley!)

Firstly I should say that this novel is very different to novels I would usually pick up and read – I was very fortunate to be contacted by Lisa M. Cronkhite who asked me to take a look, and i’m really pleased I did!

This novel focuses on Penelope, a young girl who is grieving over the death of her sister whilst struggling with her addiction to the latest ‘fashionable’ drug, Fix.  As a YA genre novel, this book focuses on two incredibly important topics: drug addiction and mental health.  These are important subjects for everyone in my opinion, but getting young adults to read about them and their effects on people is so very important.

In the novel Fix is the most popular illegal drug in the U.S. and it was previously used to treat clinical depression until its effects were known.  We soon learn that Tabitha, Penelope’s sister, was clinically depressed before she committed suicide and had been treated with Fix.

We follow Penelope through her highs and her comedowns, as she battles to work out what is real and what is not – she knows she only see’s Nate when she’s under the influence of Fix, but he seems so real.  With girls going missing, Penelope has to work out what’s real and what’s not before it’s too late.

I definitely enjoyed this novel.  Like I said, it was different to what I usually pick up but sometimes that’s a good thing.  The drug abuse and mental health issues are so relevant at the moment, and both are topics that needs to be highlighted.  There is always help out  there if you are just willing to accept it.

Rating: 📖 📖 📖 📖

Thanks to Netgalley and North Star Editions for an advance reading copy in exchange for my honest review.