Listen free for 30 days
-
Lakewood
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Adenrele Ojo
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wish list failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Lakewood
Buy Now for $35.73
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's Summary
A startling debut about class and race, Lakewood evokes a terrifying world of medical experimentation - part The Handmaid’s Tale, part The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.
One of The Millions’ Most Anticipated Reads (The Great First Half 2020 Books)
When Lena Johnson’s beloved grandmother dies, and the full extent of the family debt is revealed, the Black millennial drops out of college to support her family and takes a job in the mysterious and remote town of Lakewood, Michigan.
On paper, her new job is too good to be true. High-paying. No out-of-pocket medical expenses. A free place to live. All Lena has to do is participate in a secret program - and lie to her friends and family about the research being done in Lakewood. An eye drop that makes brown eyes blue, a medication that could be a cure for dementia, golden pills promised to make all bad thoughts go away.
The discoveries made in Lakewood, Lena is told, will change the world - but the consequences for the subjects involved could be devastating. As the truths of the program reveal themselves, Lena learns how much she’s willing to sacrifice for the sake of her family.
Provocative and thrilling, Lakewood is a breathtaking novel that takes an unflinching look at the moral dilemmas many working-class families face, and the horror that has been forced on Black bodies in the name of science.
More from the same
Narrator:
What listeners say about Lakewood
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Penda K
- 2020-06-09
Fact or Fiction
This book is one where you have to really listen in order to hear the whole story. The book causes you to think about research in the African American community.
13 people found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Tron H
- 2020-05-31
Thought provoking
It was probably me drifting to other thoughts and not paying 100% to the story, but when I found myself near the end of the book and not understanding, I went almost half way back to the beginning and paid attention, parts of the story near the end didn't click into place until I went back to earlier parts of the story, then it made sense, which drew my interest back deeper into the story. As I followed the narrative closely near the end, my thoughts started to be stirred.
12 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- LATOYA LEWIS
- 2020-04-20
Experimental studies...right under our noses
I had a hard time reading it, but I truly focused after my third time, I loved it. It's crazy what our government does in plain site. It's generations of it too, and I'm not surprised what folk will do for the mighty dollar .
#book17of2020 #bookworm #whatsnext
10 people found this helpful
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- Kay
- 2020-08-03
Just Ok - not much of a thriller
Sometimes reading through reviews can be so deceiving. I usually have to click the lowest reviews first to get a better midway rating. This wasn’t anywhere near as suspenseful, thrilling, or horrific as the summary or some reviewers claimed it to be. While I enjoyed it to some degree it could’ve been so much more! I wish the author would’ve gone into greater detail with the experiments allowing you to fully experience the pain and uneasy feelings. Perhaps if there would’ve been dialogue between the doctors explaining what they were doing may have helped. The narrative of Lena alone wasn’t enough to bring this to the suspenseful and thrilling climax I had expected. The ending came without warning. There was no explanation of “how” or “who” exposed/discovered what was going on. I really like the idea behind the story. It just could’ve gone so much deeper in so many ways that would’ve instilled a greater fear and paranoia while reading/listening.
8 people found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Charlette Stanton
- 2020-04-13
The Rollercoaster came to a screeching halt!
The story was very well thought out, very well written. However, I struggled sometimes with the male character voices, and I hoped for more of a big reveal at the end of the story.
8 people found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- L. Fitzgerald
- 2020-05-30
I wanted more from this book.
The narration was lovely, and the premise was intriguing. And I’m always down to support WOC writers. But it was a let down in the experiments and creepy factor.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall2 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story1 out of 5 stars
- KayKay30
- 2021-04-25
Wasted Potential
This storyline had a lot of potential. However , the author was so long winded about the experiments, the rest of the story was neglected.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall2 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story1 out of 5 stars
- QueenPinky
- 2022-01-12
You'd be ridiculed for not understanding this book
but in reality, this story is anything but easy to understand.
[Spoilers]
When something is so "deep" people can't understand it, that doesn't always mean that it's actually thought-provoking. Sometimes it's just confusing.
I also want to start by saying that I am an African American woman, so I'm speaking from what I truly know of Lena's experience.
I tread the line on thinking the book is just about Lena and her time in a research study or that it has a deeper meaning. But the author is trying REALLY hard to make a point about how Blacks are treated in America. This book came out shortly after the whole United States learned about the Flint Michigan water crisis and the author was (I think) planning a story that would address that, in Sci-Fi. In fiction. The publisher, known for telling stories that are important for and to the Black community, quickly scooped it up and here we are.
However, this is a very FORCED, ham-handed attempt at addressing how Black and impoverished communities are treated, or the general plight of Blacks who are taking on responsibility for their family. The author tells us about research studies for 75% of the book and yet we are to believe that our naive main character decides to stay in one for more than 60 days?
This is a situation where, if the character didn't do [insert dumb thing here], there wouldn't be a story. A young adult who is in college, engaging in very damaging, sci-fi level research studies but also knows a lot about research studies, shouldn't be in those studies. The author sets up time and time again, many great reasons for Lena to leave the study, yet she never does. I was never able to connect with her for this reason. The author gave Lena many escape routes from her plight and she took none of them. The story just goes on in a non-sensical way.
The plot twist was really easy to figure out and truly summed up the whole story. The women in Lena's family are gullible. This brings me to the ending. I was really let down with how, again, it wasn't a sci-fi ending in the least. The author relies on flowing words and Lena's silly way of thinking to lull the reader into believing the story is over, or that Lena's new life is beginning. the hopes of her recovery. Again, too preachy, not enough fiction. Lena had no agency as a character. She got herself into this crazy study and didn't even get herself out... The author deus ex machina-ed the whole thing.
The ending, as many have pointed out is so rushed and so flat that it proves what I thought about the book all along: This book is a speech by the author against all negative things done to people of color. It's not a sci-fi version of her anger at the systems that we all know exist. It is a direct, blunt, in-your-face chant that we should not be subject to mistreatment. The studies, the wacky drug-induced mayhem does not make a sci-fi. The author missed a prime opportunity to give us REAL fiction by pushing the sci-fi and instead gave us page after page of fact spewing. Story after story about real testing and tragedy. I'm not against learning, but I picked this book for the surrealism that I thought would give me an outlet from the harshness of these topics as we see them in news. The author instead gave me exactly what I get in the news, sprinkled with some out-of-body experiences.
Overall, I wouldn't recommend this book because I never connected with the characters, found the plot (Lena staying in the study for more than 2 months) unbelievable, and felt like my head was being bashed into a wall by the author. The author is just trying to tell us all about studies, how bad they are, and why we should stop them. I can get that in any major news outlet, any day of the week, and for free.
This book was a big missed opportunity to really make a story about a Black issue into a STORY and not just a rehash of our true tragic lives.
The narration was decent, but yes, the male voices are bad, and the voice was a little babyish which always made me think I was listening to a young adult novel instead of adult fiction... That did kinda match Lena though because she was young, silly and naive...
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- el
- 2021-05-11
Excellent!!
This book is amazing! Informative, tons of imagery and symbolism, and nothing is over explained! I like being able to figure things out and guess in a book. This is perfect!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall2 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story2 out of 5 stars
- The High Heeled Hustle
- 2022-09-15
If “Huh?” Was a Book
This book literally makes zero sense. I wanted to like it. I really did. It had so much potential, but unfortunately fell short. It’s hard to follow; likely because the plot is underdeveloped. It wants to be symbolic and thought-provoking, but jumps around without context and drags on for several chapters unnecessarily. And the ending……😐. I was left thinking “WHAT did I just waste almost 9 hours listening to??”
Also, the narrator isn’t awful, but I found her inflection distracting. She places emphasis on the wrong words and over-enunciates. Give it a listen if you’ve run out of other books in your TBR pile, but it isn’t worth the time or the credit.
1 person found this helpful