I have never read anything by this author before but I was certainly intrigued. I do like a good thriller and coming across a good YA thriller is something that is hard to come by. While I did enjoy the novel I found that it just seemed to be missing the actual THRILL factor for it to be a good thriller read.

Drew receives a mysterious note from her brother who is in the Academy. Soon she finds herself at Norton House and is determined to save her brother. I really liked Drew. I thought she had a really strong protective nature towards her brother even though she didn't always get on with him. I thought what she done to get into the Academy was so brave. Although I did think some of her choices during the course of the book was a little questionable.

There are a whole set of characters that you grow you love and hate. I hated Jude! God did I hated her. She was a bully and coward. I wanted Drew to just punch her!! Mouse was a quiet girl. And quickly becomes really close to Drew. Israel is someone who I liked from the moment we meet him. He is funny and outspoken. My only thing was we didn't really get to know him much. I wanted more of his story and why he was sent to Norton House.

Norton House is place where "Bad" kids go. These teenagers are from all different backgrounds with so many different stories that I feel could have been explored a lot more. They have been sent by parents or guardians under the pretense that it's a reform school. However, the treatment is a little different and they leave almost robot like young adults because they are being brainwashed. This is the part that really intrigued me. The idea that going through some sort of treatment can actually change how someones brain is wired is really interesting. The people who run the place are just pure evil to me. And once you really get into the story you really see how messed up the situation is and who in involved.

The Treatment to me feels more of a mystery novel rather than a thriller. I kept waiting for that thrill factor to come but it didn't. I was quite disappointment by that because this had so much potential. If it was classed as a mystery it would have been massive two thumbs because it certain has a lot of mystery surrounding Norton House and what goes on inside it.

The author has delivered a good solid YA debut and it definitely kept me enticed which is a hard thing to do right now as I am struggling with books. I found myself needing to know all the "what's" "why''s" and "who's". There is a nice pace to the story until the ending. It just felt a little rushed to me.

I will say though the ending is set up nicely for a second book. Will there be one? I honestly don't know. However, just the way the author has left it seems to me that the story isn't quite over just yet.

Review from Mia Madden, aged 13.


This is the stunning YA debut from C.L. Taylor. It is about sixteen-year-old Drew Finch, who's brother, Mason, has been sent to a reforming school. One day, Drew meets Dr. Cobey, a person who has been working at the school. Cobey gives Drew a letter from Mason saying that the school has been brainwashing teenagers. She dismisses it at first, thinking that her younger brother is just pranking her, but then she starts to grow worried. What if her brother is being serious? What if Norton House actually was brainwashing teenagers?

She does a little bit of research and finds nothing, except for a single person claiming to know the truth about Norton House. Drew meets up with this person, who calls themself Zed Green. Zed brings her boyfriend, who was a victim of Norton House's 'treatment'. The boy, that was once a rebellious skater-kid, was now a mindless, polite, contributor to society. Drew decides to take action. She has to find a way to be sent off to Norton House to rescue Mason, without raising too much suspicion. Will she get to the school to save Mason? And will she be able to avoid the treatment, herself?


I would never be able to do this book justice. I absolutely adored it. It's probably the best book I've read this year and I would be surprised if it doesn't win some form of award. C.L. Taylor is now my favourite (non-Irish) YA author. I just couldn't see the end coming! I love Drew's character, probably because she reminded me of myself. At one stage, she claims she was Emo. I'm sort of an Emo now. I mean if she listens to Evanescence, Fall Out Boy, Paramore and other bands that I like, she's basically an older, British, fictional version of me! Anyway, I would definitely recommend this book for ages 11+.

This is a young adult read which adults will love as much as their kids. The author has taken YA and taken it to a whole new level with this book.

The premise is simple - a young girl misbehaves in order to be sent to a school which is meant to rehabilitate children whose behaviour has led to them being excluded from main stream schools. The girl in question, Drew, has done this deliberately though. Her brother Mason had previously been said to the special school and she has discovered that all is not as it seems. In order to help Mason, Drew needs to be ‘on site’ so to speak.

What she discovers within the walls of the school isn’t normal, and she very quickly finds herself in extreme danger. With the help of friends she has made within the school, Drew has to fight to survive.

This was a well written story which, as I already said, will appeal to adults as well as young adults. Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing a copy.

Although this book is marketed to appeal to a teen market I thought I would give it a go as I have enjoyed previous by books by this author. It is definitely a teen read in my opinion but I did enjoy it and it had quite an unique story line bordering on science fiction.

WOW! Read this book on 2 sittings, utterly un-putdownable!! A fantastically written gripping story that had me totally hooked from the start and I raced my way through to the conclusion. It's billed as a young adult book but I'm 41! I have previously enjoyed this authors work hence giving it a go and boy I'm glad I did!

When I was recently browsing through the new books on Net Galley I spotted this one by C.L. Taylor, an author I had previously enjoyed and quickly clicked on the request button. What I didn't notice until after receiving it was that it is high-lighted as a YA a genre I normally don't read. Never-the-less having enjoyed the authors work previously decided to give it a go and how glad I am that I made that decision.

The story features sixteen year old Drew Finch who is not interested in spending time with her mum and stepdad and prefers her own company. Her disruptive fifteen year old brother Mason is expelled from school for the third time and is sent to a residential reform academy and everything changes. She is followed home from school by a Doctor Cobey, who claims to have a message from Mason telling her that there is something sinister about the ‘treatment’ he is undergoing. The school is changing people. She decides to try and help her brother but must first get into the academy and discover the truth before it’s too late.

I found this book a very entertaining read.
I would like to thank Net Galley and HQ for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I couldn't put this book down. Simple yet gripping. Drew's story was exciting and scary. The bullies were described with accuracy, that made me hate them too. Only a few bits, that I found a little too farfetched stopped me giving it 5 stars.

Shut up!
Shut right up!
Is she messing with this book?
Like, seriously though!

Cally Taylor just kicked YA arse! (Ass if you're American.)

Debuting into YA, but staying in the Psychological Thriller genre we all know and love her for, C.L. Taylor has produced something so very slick and atrocious and enticing, it has you glued to every single word. She has crashed into the YA/PT genre so fucking hard that she has indeed left a crater that can now only be known as the Finch Bomb to the world of reading.

Now, you know I won't lie to you, and I'll admit I did at the start think I was going to struggle with this read, but I'll hold my hands up here and say I was wrong. A slow start it may have been, but I was seriously devastated to not have more to read. And, I'd usually dock a 0.5-1 star off a read for that, but I won't because it more than sure makes up for it.

The plot thorough and clever, meticulously planned and thought out made sure every single aspect was covered in multiple ways. It's original, Interesting, deep and utterly horrifying. It is what you want in a book of this style to be fair.

Character wise it is kept to a minimum focusing on protagonist, Drew Finch, as she puts herself through absolute torture to try save her brother, Mason, from a reform school that is actually secretly brainwashing teenagers with some very old school methods. It could seriously be real life. I'm not even sure if it isn't If it comes out in a few years that this school does in fact exist we know where to look for the organiser. We see you, Cally. We see you and your twisted mind oh so well, and we luuurrrrvvvveee it. 😘

I'm not even writing anymore, ok?

#TheTreatment is one spine-tingling, ferocious and utterly magnificent read! YA/PT just got a new queen 👸🏻

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5/5

I recieve an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
The treatment follows a sixteen year old girl called Drew Finch as she tries to save her brother from a reform school after receiving a note from him about the treatment he was due to receive at the school.
The book was a quick and easy read, I managed to make it through it in the space of a couple of hours, but I enjoyed it. You could tell that the author has a degree in psychology from the information she provided, never writing in such a way that was hard to follow for anyone that maybe doesn't have much experience with the subject. A few things about the book confused me, the reintroduction of a character from the first chapter later in the book seemed pretty unnecessary to me, possibly just as a plot device for another character? The book was a fresh take on a possible future, never straying too far from the very real possibilities of what can happen within education, healthcare and the government, especially at this time in history when many people within the UK are worried about the roads that the government are going down.
I loved this book,
4/5 stars

Really enjoyed this book, the first one I have read by this author. I will do a fuller review when I can post online as well. It was a gripping read, the characters had much potential that I felt the writer did not explore, very much a surface read, with no deeper plot line. There were so many elements that could have been expanded to create more empathy with the characters and their storyline. Grammatical errors do not help the book flow well but I am guessing the script will be proof read before it is published. The ending suggests that the author is planning to create a series and I would defiantly read any further books. The concept was interesting, again it just felt as if there was no depth to the storyline. One earlier character met in the park and asked for help, was not picked up later in the book, you wonder what become of her.