The Innocence Treatment by Ari Goelman

The Innocence Treatment

by Ari Goelman

Lauren has always been naïve. She has a disorder that makes her believe everything that everyone tells her-to the point that she often puts herself in danger. When she has the opportunity to have an operation to correct her disorder, she and her family are thrilled. Now Lauren can live a normal life. But after the surgery Lauren grows more and more paranoid, convinced that she's part of a government conspiracy that only she can uncover.

Told in journal entries and therapy session transcripts, The Innocence Treatment is a collection of Lauren's papers, annotated by her sister long after the events of the novel. Some would call this book speculative fiction, but it could just as well be a shocking tell-all of genetic engineering and government secrets.

Reviewed by shannonmiz on

4 of 5 stars

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You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight I found myself quite fond of this book, which is why when I saw the announcement for the blog tour, I jumped on it! I have not been doing many blog tours lately, unless I know I really liked the book or author, so here we are. This came as part of my Macmillan Fall 2017 package, and was one of the reasons I picked said package, actually- it just seemed like my kind of book. And yay, it was! Let's talk about why, shall why?

  • It is future/dystopian, but a really fresh take. I liked the medical aspect a lot, and I liked that it focused on distorting the brain. Because frankly, that is so fascinating in a creepy "oh crap I hope this kind of thing doesn't actually happen" way. But it feels plausible. Okay, maybe not this exact situation obviously, but some form of awful medical control. Look, I have read a ton of dystopian and future-set books, and this felt very original to me, so I think that says quite a bit!

  • The formatting is unique! I love me some unique formatting. This is done through Lauren's journal entries, her sister's footnotes (which were probably my fave!), and clinical session transcripts. The journal entries worked really well because the reader got to know Lauren quite well through them, so she didn't seem so abstract. And the other bits filled in some things that Lauren wasn't privy to.

  • Speaking of Lauren, it was impossible to not feel for her. I mean, brain surgeries? Not knowing who to trust? Not knowing what is happening to your own body? That is a lot for one person to handle, especially a young person. And most especially a young person who has spent her whole life completely oblivious to the truth of the world around her.

  • The possibility of an unreliable narrator. Was Lauren reliable? I am not telling you, and I myself was unsure for so long. Which made the book that much more high stakes. Because as much as Lauren doesn't know who to trust throughout the book, neither do we as the reader.

  • It was fast paced and engaging. I flew through the book, not only because I was invested in the outcome, but just because there were constantly new twists and discoveries. Plus, the formatting made for a really enjoyable read as well.


I think the only thing that I wasn't a huge fan of was that I did have some trouble believing the whole "not understanding sarcasm/lies" part- because I don't really know if that is how the brain works? But alas, it was easy enough to get over once I got into the book!

Bottom Line: A great fresh take on future/dystopian novels, from the plot to the formatting. It was engaging and entertaining, and a definite win for me!

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 12 August, 2017: Finished reading
  • 12 August, 2017: Reviewed