Celestial | Lakewood: A Novel
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Lakewood: A Novel
Megan Giddings
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NPR Book of the Year 2020
Electric Literature: One of 55 Books by Women and Nonbinary Writers of Color to Read in 2020 | Lit Hub & The Millions: Most Anticipated Books of 2020 | Ms. Magazine: Anticipated 2020 Feminist Books | Refinery29: Books by Black Women We are Looking Forward To Reading | One of The Millions’ Most Anticipated Reads of 2020 | Amazon Book of the Month Pick | Audible Editor’s Pick | Essence’s Pick | Glamour’s Must Read | Ms. Magazine’s Anticipated Read of 2020
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. 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.
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Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Jan 20
“i just ask Chat GPT for book recs” SHUT UP
“i just ask Chat GPT for book recs” “it can actually summarize entire books for you so you can read one in just 5 minutes” “i ONLY use AI for” - STOP IT. LEAVE ME ALONE!
here are human book recs from a human!! and also they’re all really really good.
📚 books mentioned: - The Seep by Chana Porter - The Macabre by Kosoko Jackson - The Unfinished by Cheryl Isaacs - Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark - Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White - The Scammer by Tiffany D. Jackson - I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me by Jamison Shea - The Honeys by Ryan La Sala - Lakewood by Megan Giddings
👗💄: - sweater is from Farm Rio - eyeshadow is Mírame from Aora México - lip combo is Suede Matte Lip Liner (Moonwalk) from NYX Cosmetics and Bisou Balm (Bonbon Myrtille) from Violette FR - (also if you have a question about my makeup or something i’m wearing, most of it is curated in my shopmy!)
thank you to Harper Voyager, Heartdrum, Peachtree Teen, Quill Tree Books, and Scholastic Press for the gifted copies!
#horrorbooks #horrorbookrecs #disturbingbooks #nycinfluencer #bookstagram @soho_press @harpervoyagerus @harpercollins @tordotcompub @peachtreeteen @quilltreebooks @fiercereads @scholastic @amistadbooks @farmrio @aoramakeup @nyxcosmetics @violette_fr
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horror book recommendations • science fiction books • best horror books • diverse books • Saga Press • Harper Voyager • Heartdrum • Tordotcom • Peachtree Teen • Quill Tree Books • Fierce Reads • Scholastic Press • Amistad
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Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Aug 9 2025
my passion is just shouting horror books at you until you read them. do it.
my passion is just shouting horror books at you until you read them. do it.
📚 books mentioned: - Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker - Delicious Monsters by Liselle Sambury - Lakewood by Megan Giddings - Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant - Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White - Delicate Condition by Danielle Valentine - Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark - House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland - Wrath Becomes Her by Aden Polydoros - The Honeys by Ryan La Sala - Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin - My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones - Jackal by Erin E. Adams - The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi - Infested by Angel Luis Colón
thank you to MIRA/HPT Hive, Simon Teen, Sourcebooks, Inkyard Press, Scholastic, Bantam, and William Morrow for the gifted copies!
#horrorbooks #horrorbookrecs #besthorrorbooks #horrorbookrecommendations #SimonTeenInfluencer #starrysteph #nycinfluencer #diversebookstagram #nycbookstagram #bookstagram #nycbookstagram @readmirabooks @htp_hive @simonteen @amistadbooks @orbitbooks_us @peachtreeteen @sourcebooks @tordotcompub @scholastic @riverheadbooks @sagapressbooks @ballantinebooks @williammorrowbooks @harpercollins @inkyardpress
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uneasy horror books by marginalized authors
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Posts about this book from across Bindery
Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Jan 20
“i just ask Chat GPT for book recs” SHUT UP
here are human book recs from a human!! and also they’re all really really good.
thank you to Harper Voyager, Heartdrum, Peachtree Teen, Quill Tree Books, and Scholastic Press for the gifted copies!
.
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Alex (Pucksandpaperbacks)\ \ Alex (he/him/his)\ \ • Oct 15 2025
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Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Aug 9 2025
my passion is just shouting horror books at you until you read them. do it.
my passion is just shouting horror books at you until you read them. do it.
thank you to MIRA/HPT Hive, Simon Teen, Sourcebooks, Inkyard Press, Scholastic, Bantam, and William Morrow for the gifted copies!
15 books
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Reads with Rachel\ \ Rachel\ \ • May 1 2025
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Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Mar 17 2025
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Boozhoo Books\ \ Naomi\ \ • Mar 16 2025
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RECORDING: Women In Horror Panel
YouTube link to Women in Horror Celebration, all of the (most of the) books discussed, info about our Discord bookclubs
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Mareas\ \ Marines\ \ • Feb 1 2025
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Boundless Press\ \ Jananie\ \ • Jan 30 2025
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my 2025 physical TBR | if i don't read these books in 2025 i have to unhaul them 😱
Welcome to another ambitious attempt to tackle my physical TBR, this time for 2025. Let me know which books I should definitely get to and which ones I shouldn't bother with! Circle back in a year for the official reaction video :)
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Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Oct 26 2024
if you like this scary movie … read this horror book!
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Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Aug 28 2024
uneasy horror books by marginalized authors
which one are you picking up first?? uneasy horror books!!!
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Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • May 2 2024
if you like this disney movie … read this dark & disturbing book! ✨ okay, the links between all of them may not be obvious, but i SWEAR they make sense to me.
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Boundless Press\ \ Jananie\ \ • Sep 11 2023
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the 40+ books on my fall TBR 🍁🍂 fall book recommendations ☕️
tell me your fall book recommendations in the comments! 🍁🍂
🎃 books mentioned 🎃
Misc. ↳ rouge ↳ she walks in shadows ↳ silver nitrate
Dark Academia ↳ in these hallowed halls: a dark academia anthology ↳ vita nostra ↳ plain bad heroines
“Classic” horror ↳ rebecca ↳ interview with a vampire ↳ dark tales
Real World Horror ↳ natural beauty ↳ lakewood ↳ her body and other parties ↳ bad cree ↳ weight of blood
Vampires ↳ vampires of el norte ↳ a dowry of blood ↳ masters of death ↳ house of hunger ↳ the book eaters
Haunted House books ↳ a house with good bones ↳ she is a haunting ↳ the hacienda ↳ just like home
Deathly Retellings ↳ a haunting on the hill ↳ the death i gave him ↳ one for my enemy
Cozy fantasies ↳ legends & lattes ↳ the very secret society of irregular witches ↳ venco ↳ emily wilde's encyclopaedia of faeries
Fantasies ↳ nettle & bone ↳ gods of jade and shadow ↳ juniper & thorn ↳the wolf & the woodsman ↳ the bone orchard ↳ the adventures of amina al-sirafi
Other ↳ my dark vanessa ↳ station eleven ↳ glass hotel ↳ sea of tranquility
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faqs 🤍 how do you pronounce your name? - my name is Jananie—pronounced JEN-nuh-nee (like a knee!)
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Boundless Press\ \ Jananie\ \ • Feb 24 2023
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my first book haul of 2023 | new releases, Blackathon books
Get Surfshark VPN at https://surfshark.deals/jananie - Enter promo code JANANIE for 83% off & 3 extra months for FREE!
Blackathon 2023 Announcement: https://youtu.be/1mRdXPPisEI Blackathon recs 1: https://youtu.be/rUv\_UXVKtjk Blackathon recs 2: https://youtu.be/QZyETYNMOfk Blackathon recs 3: https://youtu.be/kBioFkiv2Ug
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🤍 timestamps ↳ 0:00 intro ↳ 1:27 Hell Bent ↳ 3:10 SurfShark VPN ↳ 4:27 The Stolen Heir ↳ 6:12 Our Missing Hearts ↳ 7:34 The Last Tale of the Flower Bride ↳ 10:53 Chain of Thorns ↳ 12:40 Lakewood ↳ 14:29 The Death of Vivek Oji ↳ 15:11 House of Hunger ↳ 17:11 Before I Let Go ↳ 18:28 The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches ↳ 19:42 Legends & Lattes ↳ 21:16 outro
💌 for business/sponsorship inquiries please contact eric@smallscreenmarketing.com 💌 for all other inquiries please contact me at thisstoryaintover@gmail.com
faqs 🤍 how do you pronounce your name? - my name is Jananie—pronounced JEN-nah-nee (like a knee!)
🤍 what's your background/ethnicity/etc? - both my parents are Sri Lankan Tamil, and I was born and raised in Canada!
🤍 what is your job? - aside from youtube I also work in product marketing!
11 books