Shadow State by Elyse Brayden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What do you get when you cross a drug that has the power to wipe memories meant to help soldiers suffering from PTSD and politicians who point to the greater good that drug could do in protecting humanity? I received an eArc via NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. What if that politician is not as altruistic as he seems? Bring in teenagers who stumble upon a potentially catastrophic event and the reader gets an action-packed YA thriller with a doozy of a twist at the end. I pride myself on usually being able to see where a story is going but, Shadow State threw me a curveball and I did not see that one coming.

Brynn is a teenager with the sweetest boyfriend in the world who she has a lot in common with and he treats her very well. But, Brynn has had a tough year prior to meeting Dex. She suffered from depression and had to receive professional help and with the help of medication which she has just been weaned from she is starting to see what appear to be hallucinations. Along with the hallucinations she had a hole in her memory from the previous year. Her parents are worried about her but they seem to be working through it. Her mom has finally, after years of hard work, been able to bring the drug she and her business partner created to help PTSD victims to the market. It has been approved by the FDA and the government has shown great interest in the drug's progress and how it can help the military. There also is the problem with Brynn's best friend who won't speak to her and Brynn does not know why. Brynn reaches out and Lexi won't respond. What's worse is that Brynn does not understand why they are no longer friends. I am not sure how I feel about the ending. It was unexpected, but, it was good. I will definitely be on the lookout for more by this author.