Lakewood, Megan Giddings
Lakewood, Megan Giddings
2 Rating(s)
List: $23.99 | Sale: $16.79
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Lakewood
A Novel

Author: Megan Giddings

Narrator: Adenrele Ojo

Unabridged: 8 hr 33 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: HarperAudio

Published: 03/24/2020


Synopsis

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.

About Megan Giddings

Megan Giddings is an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota. Her novel, Lakewood, was one of New York magazine’s 10 best books of 2020, one of NPR’s best books of 2020, a Michigan Notable book for 2021, a nominee for two NAACP Image Awards, and a finalist for a 2020 Los Angeles Times Book Prize in The Ray Bradbury Prize for Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Speculative Fiction category. Her second novel, The Women Could Fly, was named one of the Washington Post’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy novels of 2022, one of Vulture’s Best Fantasy books of 2022, and was a New York Times Editors’ Choice. Her work has received support from the Barbara Deming Foundation and Hedgebrook. She lives in Minneapolis.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Cindy on February 12, 2021

A creepy and unnerving story based on how black people have historically been treated and tested in government experiments. Reading this felt like a fever dream: confusing and bizarre and unsettling. I think this would best be enjoyed by readers who also liked Catherine House, since it primarily foc......more

Goodreads review by Lala on November 22, 2020

reading vlog [URL not allowed]......more

Goodreads review by Destanye on August 17, 2020

Ok, guys just finished Lakewood: A Novel by debut author Megan Giddings! ————— SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT ——————— Pros - I’m not sure what genre this book was supposed to be in but the idea of a realism horror of using black and brown bodies for experimentation purposes (that were done so many times......more

Goodreads review by Paige on March 20, 2020

3.5stars After her grandmother passes, Lena searches for financial comfort since her mother is medically unwell. She receives a letter offering more than enough to provide the comfort she needs if she moves to Lakewood and submits herself to the Lakewood Project. Accepting, Lena finds herself as par......more

Goodreads review by Starlah on October 15, 2020

This book is creepy, gripping, thought-provoking, atmospheric. Honestly, if Jordan Peele wrote a movie about Henrietta Lacks, it would be something like this. While reading, there is such a sense of dread mounting up until the end. I was so engrossed with this. When Lena Johnson's beloved grandmother......more