Lexi is a heroin addict, thanks to her caring brother Nikolai, she enters treatment at a residential mansion on a secluded island.



We learn her story in stages as the chapters are set in treatment step orders and reveal more as she opens up in therapy and group therapy. Her boyfriend got her hooked on pills and heroin, she met Kurt amongst all the other high fliers as she's an heiress but was it love or using her for her money?



We also discover her turbulent family life growing up with her father's endless affairs and the drama surrounding each time he was caught and how her mum struggled with her anger towards her husband as their failing relationship failed. We also learn of her friendship troubles especially with old friend Antonella.



There's plenty of drama at the residential mansion and wildcard character Sasha is a dangerous likewise who causes a ton of crazy drama which leads to a thrilling gripping situation towards the end of the book as things retake a dangerous turn...



The book focuses on many mental health issues in the treatment from OCD, sex, drugs, alcohol, anorexia, bulimia, self harm all multitudes of addictions and shows the journey the group goes on together confusing in their issues and making friends of sorts. I particularly liked trans girl Kendall and Lexi making friends as they didn't judge each other but found a friend to help them at a hard time in their life. Lexi and how she comes to terms with who Kurt made her become and how with Brady she slowly crushes on him made clear her clarity was getting better and she was becoming herself again properly getting to see things clear with new eyes on the situation she had been through and how she had been used. The book highlights it's not an easy battle getting clean hence the title as many characters think about it do, relapse or worse. There's killer secrets packed into this gripping novel, Juno's writing never fails to captivate me and never let's me down!



Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

I received an ARC of this via NetGally as I was really intrigued after seeing it do the rounds on some of my favourite bookstagram accounts.

First thing I should mention is that this book contains some triggers - mainly drug abuse and addiction. Despite it being a YA novel, this is incredibly gritty and doesn’t hold back when describing the depths of addiction.

We first meet our protagonist, Lexi Volkov, in the back seat of her brothers car, becoming alert after being found overdosed in a penthouse flat. Her brother has driven her to The Clarity Centre, a drug rehabilitation centre. Lexi is a Russian heiress with too much money on her hands which equals too much time to get involved in drugs - heroin being her drug of choice.

At first she is reluctant to receiving treatment but as time passes, she begins to open up and get on board with the therapy sessions and other activities that are held at Clarity. During therapy, after unearthing some unpleasant memories from her childhood, Lexi is reminded of a dark secret - one she has been keeping close for years.

Considered a nobody at Clarity, Lexi no longer has her elite title and mingles with other troubled teens who are at the centre - including a boy named Brody who she is incredibly drawn to.

I don’t want to spoil this book for anyone even though I do want to delve into more detail but I really enjoyed the rawness of this book. For a YA novel, it doesn’t glamourise drug use whatsoever. It has me gripped from the beginning and I particularly enjoyed the character of Kendall, a trans patient with an eating disorder.

All in all, a great read that is murky at times with strong characters and a plot that keeps you sucked in

I don't often read YA fiction but I'm trying to read books from all different genres now. Saying that I really enjoyed Clean! It opens with a bang and what follows is a real insight into the world of addictions and detox.

I thought "Clean" was funny, emotional, sassy with a kick ass bite! This is my first book by Juno Dawson and I thought it was a fresh and vibrant read. I loved the relationships between the characters and the way they were able to identify their own failures and flaws in each other. The writing was clean, fresh and very entertaining and I enjoyed the way the story was told in the first perspective by the main character. This is one of my favourite types of writing! I also liked the fact that the chapters were not too long which helped to keep me interested in the flow of the story. A brilliant read for young adults, adults and anyone with an addictive personality!

I loved this book! From the very first few sentences, this is genuinely a story that I could not put down and I absolutely flew through it. The story not only has excellent characters with all sorts of diversity rep and stories but also has a really intersting location and tone to it.

Lexi is a really great character. She is utterly despicable when we first meet her and says and thinks terrible things. Really terrible things. But like Dr Goldstein said in the book, we soon find out that the Lexi we first meet is her addiction wearing her, and we start discovering the wonderful person she is and who she has been hiding away from some kind of reasons.

I loved the friendships that Lexi has in Clarity. The group of people were wonderfully diverse - there’s fat rep, characters of colour, trans rep, people suffering from drug addiction, alcoholism, self harm etc.

I want to also add that there was period representation in this book which I love and is so important. The therapy Lexi goes through while in Clarity is also portrayed in a really good light - she only resists the therapy at first but then she and her doctor start having really frank conversations and end up having a really lovely relationship. Also a bonus point for having horses in it.

Loved this, and loved the emphasis at the end that sometimes the first time doesn’t always work out so well. Try, and try again until you succeed and live the way you want to.

A fantastic insight into mental health, addition and substance abuse. The book was so raw that I was a whirlwind of emotions and laughing one minute whilst holding back tears the next. Whilst Lexi wasn't a character that I thought I could relate to, I actually found myself wanting to reach through the pages and give her a hug, reassure her that everything was okay and remind her that she had a big future ahead of her. It captured the literal highs and lows that those who face addiction of all types face. Raw, thought provoking and honest. This book about recovery was an unputdownable read.

We all love tales of the sordid and scandalous world of the rich and famous, right? There's a reason why Gossip Girl and The Great Gatsby are perennial favourites. This book gives you enough to satisfy your desire to see the beautiful and the damned laid low, but adds another level of empathy and understanding which ultimately leaves you more satisfied than a book featuring just the former would.

Socialite Lexi Volkov doesn't think she has a problem, but after she almost overdoses, her brother checks her into an exclusive rehab facility and she realises she's hit rock bottom. Or, so she thinks. As she works on her recovery with her fellow inmates, she's forced to examine her past and come to forgive herself for something that seems unforgivable.

Juno Dawson deals sensitively with a whole host of issues in this book, from the trans identity of fellow rehab-er Kendall, to mental health issues and abusive relationships. This book is a perfect example of why I adore young adult fiction - it's smart and sensitive without compromising the story. Lexi is a great protagonist - you'll love her and you'll hate her, and the details of her glamorous, privileged life are juicy enough to make you feel like you're going behind the scenes of a reality TV show. Plus the cover is next level beautiful.

I've really enjoyed many of the author's other YA novels so I'm always excited to hear what her next new release will be. Honestly, I'm not sure whether I would have picked up a copy of Clean based on the premise alone, but I enjoy reading Juno's work and love the way she is always able to create such memorable characters, so when I saw the book pop up on Netgalley I couldn't resist!

The book and Lexi's story feel very raw and intense, so at times it can be a difficult read but I loved that there was a diverse range of characters in the book, each with dealing different issues. At first, our main character Lexi felt very unlikable and unrelatable but I still found her to be an interesting guide through this particular journey and enjoyed seeing her growth over the course of the novel. Whilst I wasn't crazy about the ending, or the romance element in general, this didn't take away from the way Juno explored such interesting yet tough topics and I love that she wasn't afraid to tackle these.

So this time last week I had the nastiest bug in a long time. I couldn’t stop being sick, I had an intense fever, and was having aches and pains all over my body. Unable to get out my bed and too uncomfortable to sleep reading a book seemed like the most sensible way to pass the time. My head was so muddled I couldn’t concentrate on the over complicated plots of my usual crime genre, so instead, I picked up Clean, a YA novel by Juno Dawson. I have read a YA novel before, but this will be my first time reviewing one. Pitched as “Gossip Girl meets Girl, Interrupted”, Clean is so fashionably on point it hurts. I initially thought of it more of a cross between Clueless and Rachel’s Holiday, but maybe I’m showing my age there.

“It’s a dirty business getting clean”

Lexi Volkov, the beautiful, blonde 17-year-old heiress to a hotel empire. Known as a “socialite” she’s the Russian-English version of Paris Hilton. She’s rich, spoiled and used to getting her own way. She is also a heroin addict. After a night of heavy partying and drug use leads to Lexi being found unconscious and covered in vomit, her big brother stages an intervention and whisks her away whilst she’s still out of it, to Clarity, a fancy and very expensive rehab facility with a whole island of its own. Here, Lexi begins her 72 day, detox and step programme, along with a group of other young adults, with similar mental health problems. Lexi doesn’t go down without a fight, to say she goes kicking and screaming is an understatement. Already beginning to rattle as the effects of her last hit are long gone, Lexi descends into the hell of withdrawal and starts her recovery process.

Clean is a totally mixed bag. Narrated in first person from Lexi’s point of view, the book is broken down into twelve chapters, each headed with one of the twelve steps. In parts, the story was fresh and fluffy with its modern references and teenage melodrama, but other parts were rather gritty and raw. I was curious to see how a YA novel would handle the drug use, whether the author would shy away but in fact quite the opposite was true.

“Direct into the bloodstream. Now, that is pretty shameful actually. Worst part is, I knew that was proper junkie behaviour and I did it anyway.”

For me personally, the best part of the book was early on when Lexi was going through her withdrawal. It was superbly written, the author taking time to go into every excruciating detail. Partly because I was feeling so ill myself when I read this book, and partly because of the descriptive prose I felt every shake, every chill, every stabbing pain through my body. I could smell the sweat and sickness. My temperature seemed to soar when Lexi’s did till my skin felt like it was on fire. However through it all, I knew that what I felt wasn’t even a touch of how someone going through detoxification in real life must feel.

“Why can’t we just be honest and say ‘drugs are boss until you almost snuff it, your brother abducts you and you start shitting the bed?”

When Lexi is over the worst of her withdrawal she is allowed out of her room and gets to meet the rest of the residents. Colourful yet troubled, the reader gets to meet the myriad of multi-layered characters that bring another dimension to the story and prove pivotal in Lexi’s recovery. Covering multiple themes, through this group setting, the author touches on sensitive subjects like anorexia, OCD, obesity and gender identity disorder. Privilege is also an important part of this novel as most of the characters in the facility are from extremely wealthy families, and the novel goes to show that privilege isn’t without its problems, and this is especially true for Lexi.

The only aspect of the novel I struggled with was Lexi’s development of co-dependant relationships. I’m not an expert in addiction however I am aware of how dangerous and destructive these are in the precarious road to recovery, and I would have liked to have seen the author tackle that head on.

There are plenty of light moments to balance out all the dark and I loved the glamour and celebrity circles that Lexi moved in. It felt almost voyeuristic being in a nightclub taking shots alongside models and reality tv stars.

Clean is a journey not just about getting of drugs, but a journey of Lexi finding out who she really is underneath her party girl persona. A teenage, life affirming tale of self discovery. Thanks to the author Juno Dawson and publisher Quercus who provided me with a free review copy.

Ok this review comes with a lot of trigger warnings so make sure you read the synopsis before deciding whether this book is for you. But I will tell you that this book was definitely for me. I loved this book. The premise behind it sounds like it is going to be a usual story of addiction and recovery but this novel is so much more clever than that. I am actually in awe of how this author managed to come up with this plot line and its twists and turns, I don't think I could write something so intricately crafted.

Lexi as a character is a little hard to get on with but she challenges the reader throughout the book and she had definitely grown on me but the end of the novel. As the synopsis might suggest, she is entitled and selfish and so she makes for great reading material. The journey that she goes on over the course of the book, all its ups and downs is gruelling and so i did definitely sympathise with her throughout MOST of the story. There are also some other really interesting and diverse characters in this book, some of which I would LOVE to read more about, so if there are any spin offs planned-count me in!

Of course this book deals with a range of issues and some of the drug taking and the recovery process from that is quite graphic. It put me in mind of Trainspotting in parts but I really feel like I have learned something after finishing this book having never been part of the world that Lexi is part of. It was eye opening, compelling and educating. It was entertaining and definitely a page turner. If this book sounds like it is something you are in a space to read at this moment in time then I definitely recommend it and I can't wait to see what Juno Dawson comes up with next!

Clean is the story of a dirty taboo subject; addiction. Addiction is usually kept quiet. Nobody discusses treatment plans or recovery time in society. Nobody dares to admit they have a problem. Nobody confesses that they aren't strong enough to overcome something alone. Clean is such a breath of fresh air in a world of hushed up remedies and sideways glances. Clean is brutally honest about the trials and tribulations of sacrificing the addiction to become your own person again.
Lexi must relinquish the little amount of control she has left of her life to fully immerse herself into the rehabilitation programme. Clean guides you through each step of the programme alongside Lexi.
This book is engaging, from the first page I felt as much a part of the therapy sessions and support groups as Lexi. It's an immersive experience into the life and rehabilitation of an addict.
Lexi as a protagonist is fantastic, she's determined and brutal. I loved her fiery personality and self-assurance. By the end of the book I was in awe of Lexi and the challenges she faced. She has slip ups, like we all do, she's human.
Easily a 5 star book.

A pretty cool novel about an over privileged young addict who gets sent to rehab by her brother.
It’s quite raw in some places but sensitive and insightful, the story is well paced, plot solid and the characters are great, I felt like I knew them.
It was a bit different from the novels I normally read but I am glad I read it as it opened my eyes and kept my interest to the satisfying end.

Recovery is a bloody hard process. You start off thinking that everything is fine, you don't have a problem as you spiral slowly down your dark, self-destructive spiral, oblivious to the harm radiating out from you. Then something happens, someone steps in and you're made to stop. You think that the hard part is the stopping. That once it is out of your system you'll be fine, you'll be clean and everything will be okay.

That's where Clean starts. Lexi is forced into rebab, and goes through the hell of heroin withdrawal. It's brilliantly written, capturing her suffering and her lack of awareness of anything else really well.

But getting clean is about more than stopping. And for me, this is what Clean captured so well. It uses the clinic's ten step recovery process to mark out stages in the novel, and we follow Lexi as she realises that what she needs to focus on isn't so much what's coursing through her bloodstream, it's what is going through her brain. It's the little encouragements, the "This doesn't really count," thoughts, the over-confidence, the temptations. the slips and the successes. It's all captured here to see and to follow along with.

Clean isn't just about drugs either. Lexi's fellow patients in the clinic suffer with a wide range of addiction issues, and they are all dealt with in a positive, constructive way.

Most of the characters in Clean are, to be honest, spoilt rich kids. They have too much time and too much money, and very little to focus on other than what clothes they are going to wear for the next party. It's a very different view of drug problems than, say, Trainspotting. But that does help by showing that drug addiction can be a problem wherever your place in society. Lexi's starting position that it's not a problem for her because of her money and status is soon challenged.

Lexi herself is a great main character. She's witty and cool, and comes across really well. I was a little concerned that I wouldn't like her at all, as she is an over-privileged socialite heiress, but I found myself sympathising with her from early on in the novel. I guess we sometimes bring our own prejudices into our reading, and Clean challenges those too.

I found Clean to be a powerful, hard hitting and brutally honest novel about dealing with addiction and recovery

An interesting read about a teenage "it" girl who overdoses and is forced into rehab. There was a lot that I liked about this but it all just felt a bit too easy. Lexi was compassionately written and likeable, as were the other characters; I really liked the diversity. I think my problem lies with the romantic side of things, it weakened the message about being strong and true to yourself. Obviously it is a YA read, so maybe I'm expecting too much.

I was lucky enough to get this book to review through Netgalley. All thoughts on this review are my own.

Wow, just wow. I will tell you now this book is not for the faint hearted and I will warn you it selves into the hard stuff. It talks about addiction, mental health and drugs as well as touching on other topics.

You meet Lexi Volkova a rich Russian Heiress who has it all. But does she?! This book takes you on Lexi’s journey through rehab and how she overcomes addiction and finding herself.

This book starts off with a hardcore chapter of Lexi overdosing and her being taken to the rehab facility by her brother. You see how she grows as a person and finally realised that she is worth loving.

Juno Dawson was not scared to write about the nitty gritty of what being an addict is, and I’m not just talking about drugs and alcohol. I feel that Dawson has created a well written book about what addiction, mental health and being unwell is all about. Yes the main character is an heiress and yes the rehab is on a private island but Dawson’s to me is powerful that it made me really think about how being an addict, suffering mental health can affect different people and how they can get better if they receive the correct help and the key part... if that person also wants to her better.

Not for the faint hearted and if you have suffered yourself with any of the above I have mentioned I would consider how this impact you.

Dawson is obviously a very requested write on netgalley and I was thrilled to be approved to read an advance copy of her new book.

Lexi is a young girl (17) who has a heroin addiction and subsequently ends up in rehab against her will.

I have no personal experince of drug addiction (thankfully) but I felt like the experience described by Lexi when she was getting 'clean' was very true to life. It can't be easy coming off drugs and this really gave an insight into how bad it can be. However I don't think it was described fully, Lexi seemed quite lucky to be able to sleep a lot of the time to me whereas in reality I am sure stomach cramps would keep you awake.

Lexi is from a rich family and as such the rehab facility she goes to is extremely nice, more like a hotel. I can't help but wonder what people do who don't have the money for a facility like this?

Throughout the book I found Lexi to be alternately likeable and someone I thought was a spoilt brat and I could never really reconcile the two. The sub plot regarding Storm, the horse, seemed too 'psycho analysis' to me and to be honest I couldn't really take to Brady, the love interest, at all.

All in all, I enjoyed the book, but it didn't enthrall me - it wasn't one where I was carrying around my kindle while making dinner just so I could read a few more pages! It was a shame as I had expected the book to be one I couldn't put down, but actually it was pretty average.

This is what young adult fiction needs more of. Hard hitting fiction that actually makes you want to keep reading. Everything's grey, rather than black and white and just requires you to do a little thinking, rather than being full of fluff. I've never read a Juno Dawson book before, but this has convinced me to go and read/listen to all of her other books, fiction or not.
'Clean' is essentially Gossip Girl + Russian Oligarchs + Rehab Clinic. It follows a hugely wealthy drug addict who is taken to an island to get clean, hence the title of the book. Such a premise could have been done very badly, but really, I found myself connecting with Lexi and so many of her struggles. This is one of those books that you want to read with hot popcorn because every few seconds, something new is happening and it just sucks you into this world. I finished almost half of it in less than a day because I was just so determined to figure out what happens next.
Though it's not the perfect book, for a young adult novel it was a nice surprise to see a less pedantic style of writing in YA. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who doesn't love the fluffy side of the genre and wants something a little more hard-hitting. It was a really awesome novel and no wonder I read it so quickly because it was JUST THAT GOOD.

I was honestly surprised that Netgalley approved me to have an early copy of this book, because Juno Dawson’s work is so highly requested. I’m a bit of a Dawson fangirl, I follow her on social media and I’ve met her, and therefore it was the highlight of my month to be able to read this book.

Clean is the story of Lexi Volkov, a Russian heiress living in London who overdoses on heroin. Her brother finds her, packs up her things, and sends her off to rehab on an island, where she will go through the process of getting clean.

Having followed Dawson on social media, I know that Dawson has said things about Lexi being an unlikeable protagonist. I actually really enjoyed Lexi, no matter what horrible things she was saying, or thinking, or the actions that she made. I found her really funny and likeable, and I would definitely want to befriend her.

This book was far more horsey than I was ever expecting, with a subplot involving a horse named Storm. There are some very cliché moments of Lexi taming the wild horse, and also of her racing along the beach as she tries to find her lost love.

I feel like a lot of the romance wasn’t needed, and as a lesbian, I’m very tired of straight romance in all of my books. Brady was incredibly boring to me, and I didn’t find him that ‘mysterious’, no matter what the blurb said. I preferred all the other habitants of the clinic, Kendall, Ruby, Guy, even Sasha. Brady just didn’t do anything for me.

I was also glad that Lexi doesn’t just ‘get better’ after going to the Clinic once. She comes out of rehab, and she fucks up. I think it’s good to show that progress isn’t perfect, that you aren’t instantly cured, and it takes time, and money, to get clean.

Overall, this was a really interesting book from a very interesting writer. I really enjoyed reading it, even if it was hard at times as it deals so explicitly with addiction. I would definitely recommend this to anyone, and I hope it receives the praise it deserves.

Thank you for Netgallery for giving me the chance to read and review this ARC.

Witty and cuts-to-the-chase rehab story of a rich girl

There are many stories of drug addiction and rehabilitation out there. Some harsh and gritty (Trainspotting, Junk), others (Basketball Diaries, Requiem for a Dream) that show very average people being caught up in the world of drugs. It's not often that a very privileged, rich heiress is the protagonist and addict in question.

Lexi Volkov is the daughter of a hotel czar, who has never had a want she hasn't been able to satisfy. At the start of her story she is angrily struggling against 'kidnap' by her brother, as he forces her to an island paradise of a rehabilitation centre. As you would expect, Lexi does not believe she is truly an addict, but as she meets the other residents and begins to rid her body of the drugs, a rather satisfying and heartfelt recovery process can start.

The story is as much about the other addicts as Lexi, and they are a wonderfully chosen bunch - it was gratifying to see Dawson include a transgender character in this for whom gender was not the issue.

Lexi makes a very likeable (despite her flaws) narrator, she has a backstory you want to delve into, and she doesn't just glide through recovery without a hitch, she makes progress and falls back.

There are moments of genuine emotion - regarding drug addiction of course, and the stories of the residents, and it never feels as though Lexi, as someone privileged, isn't entitled to feel anything less than blessed and blissfully happy over her wealth.

Dawson speaks to the reader with the voice of an adolescent, creates a a set of people you find yourself caring about. And it feels contemporary and smart:
"We won't get through this alone. 'Get through what?' 'Get through anything.' 'Such wisdom.' 'I read a John Green book once.'

The mindset of a drug addict feels realistically written:
" Direct into the bloodstream. Now, that is pretty shameful actually. Worst part is, I knew that was proper junkie behaviour and I did it anyway."

It's honest. And sometimes very raw. This will make a great addition to a school library and as suggested material for a KS4 reading group. I would say age 14 would be a recommended age, there is a fair amount of sex/swearing that parents of younger teenagers may not appreciate.

With thanks to Netgalley for the sample e-copy.