The Innocence Treatment

Gr 8 Up—In 2031, 16-year-old Lauren Fielding becomes known as the "Innocence Girl." Born without the ability to distinguish truth from lies, she believes everything she is told. Unlike her sister, Lauren has never had a reason to be wary of the government, called the Department. When Dr. Corbin, the doctor who helped Lauren's parents conceive her, offers a surgical treatment to fix the disorder, she eagerly accepts. Within months after the operation, Lauren transforms into a self-sufficient, paranoid, and violent version of herself who is constantly suspicious of the Department. When she befriends Department agent Sasha, Lauren sets out on a mission to uncover the truth. The teen discovers that she has been genetically engineered by Dr. Corbin to experiment with an Innocence Treatment, a chemical compound that will be used by the Department to gather information from disobedient citizens. Lauren makes her findings public, throwing herself and her family into danger. A compelling plot structure, in which her sister has compiled Lauren's journal entries, doctor's records, and video notes, will instantly pique readers' curiosity. Goelman captures the protagonist's spiral from innocence to paranoia vividly. An anticlimactic reveal of Lauren's discovery, which she admittedly forgets to tell readers, is a hiccup in an otherwise rapid plot. Devious characters pivot across the pages of this novel.