#ATBR2020 Review: The Antidote for Everything by Kimmery Martin @kimmerym @berkleypub @jessmapreviews

#ATBR2020 Review: The Antidote for Everything by Kimmery Martin @kimmerym @berkleypub @jessmapreviews

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Berkley, Contemporary, Kimmery Martin, LGBT, Reviews, The Antidote for Everything

The Antidote for Everything 

by Kimmery Martin 

Publisher: Berkley
Publish Date: February 20, 2020
Hardcover
352 Pages
Standalone
Genres: Contemporary, LGBT

In this whip-smart and timely novel from acclaimed author Kimmery Martin, two doctors travel a surprising path when they must choose between treating their patients and keeping their jobs.

Georgia Brown’s profession as a urologist requires her to interact with plenty of naked men, but her romantic prospects have fizzled. The most important person in her life is her friend Jonah Tsukada, a funny, empathetic family medicine doctor who works at the same hospital in Charleston, South Carolina and who has become as close as family to her.

Just after Georgia leaves the country for a medical conference, Jonah shares startling news. The hospital is instructing doctors to stop providing medical care for transgender patients. Jonah, a gay man, is the first to be fired when he refuses to abandon his patients. Stunned by the predicament of her closest friend, Georgia’s natural instinct is to fight alongside him. But when her attempts to address the situation result in incalculable harm, both Georgia and Jonah find themselves facing the loss of much more than their careers.In this whip-smart and timely novel from acclaimed author Kimmery Martin, two doctors travel a surprising path when they must choose between treating their patients and keeping their jobs.

Georgia Brown’s profession as a urologist requires her to interact with plenty of naked men, but her romantic prospects have fizzled. The most important person in her life is her friend Jonah Tsukada, a funny, empathetic family medicine doctor who works at the same hospital in Charleston, South Carolina and who has become as close as family to her.

Just after Georgia leaves the country for a medical conference, Jonah shares startling news. The hospital is instructing doctors to stop providing medical care for transgender patients. Jonah, a gay man, is the first to be fired when he refuses to abandon his patients. Stunned by the predicament of her closest friend, Georgia’s natural instinct is to fight alongside him. But when her attempts to address the situation result in incalculable harm, both Georgia and Jonah find themselves facing the loss of much more than their careers.In this whip-smart and timely novel from acclaimed author Kimmery Martin, two doctors travel a surprising path when they must choose between treating their patients and keeping their jobs.

Georgia Brown’s profession as a urologist requires her to interact with plenty of naked men, but her romantic prospects have fizzled. The most important person in her life is her friend Jonah Tsukada, a funny, empathetic family medicine doctor who works at the same hospital in Charleston, South Carolina and who has become as close as family to her.

Just after Georgia leaves the country for a medical conference, Jonah shares startling news. The hospital is instructing doctors to stop providing medical care for transgender patients. Jonah, a gay man, is the first to be fired when he refuses to abandon his patients. Stunned by the predicament of her closest friend, Georgia’s natural instinct is to fight alongside him. But when her attempts to address the situation result in incalculable harm, both Georgia and Jonah find themselves facing the loss of much more than their careers.In this whip-smart and timely novel from acclaimed author Kimmery Martin, two doctors travel a surprising path when they must choose between treating their patients and keeping their jobs.

Georgia Brown’s profession as a urologist requires her to interact with plenty of naked men, but her romantic prospects have fizzled. The most important person in her life is her friend Jonah Tsukada, a funny, empathetic family medicine doctor who works at the same hospital in Charleston, South Carolina and who has become as close as family to her.

Just after Georgia leaves the country for a medical conference, Jonah shares startling news. The hospital is instructing doctors to stop providing medical care for transgender patients. Jonah, a gay man, is the first to be fired when he refuses to abandon his patients. Stunned by the predicament of her closest friend, Georgia’s natural instinct is to fight alongside him. But when her attempts to address the situation result in incalculable harm, both Georgia and Jonah find themselves facing the loss of much more than their careers.

My Review:

Whew! So much I want to say about this book.  I adored Kimmery's first book so was beyond excited for this read - especially with the subject manner as this world and our legalities when it comes to fairness to humans across the board is diminishing.  It's heartbreaking and I applaud the author for bringing this to her pages.

Georgia is a very independent female who has relationship issues (girl, I feel you).  While I adored her character in her loyalty to her friends (especially her friend who became family, Jonah), sometimes she couldn't look outside her own box.  Jonah is a breath of fresh air that brings some levity to this very serious story while dealing with some extreme issues.  Their friendship is fantastic and I enjoyed seeing their closeness and reading their banter.  Their trip to the coffee shop in Amsterdam seriously made me laugh out loud.  Mark, as Georgia's love interest, well... while I think this part of the story may not have been entirely necessary, I do think it was important in having an outside factor make Georgia realize some things about herself.

In all honestly, I spent a lot of time getting angry when reading what was happening to Jonah.  From the discriminatory practice of the hospital to their patients, to Jonah himself and just the overall want to yell FUCK YOU about a zillion times, I was getting LIVID. And unfortunately this is actually going on in the real world these days.  The author's research and own personal experiences can be felt throughout this read. I can only hope that eventually we'll go two steps forward rather than two steps back.  PLEASE.

I do think some things got a little bit convoluted in how it all panned out and the actions that took place to get there but I can't get into it as I don't want to spoil anything.  I also wanted more of Jonah's story - his patients, treatments, dismissals and more of his point of view.  I know this is something the author couldn't write from and she touches on this in her notes but that doesn't stop me from wanting more.  I do know that when I turned that last page, read the acknowledgments and author's note (and please please do read these), that I had very strong feelings and a lot of heart for this story. 

★★★★

Jessica's Review:

I absolutely loved Kimmery Martin's debut, THE QUEEN OF HEARTS, so I was anxiously waiting for her next book to release. What I loved the most about her first book was how authentic everything felt - her expertise and experience shine through and that is something I look forward to in all of her books to come! Martin covers some very prevalent topics and I think she handles them very well.

Georgia and Jonah are coworkers and close friends - they consider each other family. This is honestly the best part of the novel in my opinion. How much they care for each other and what they're willing to do to help one another is heartwarming and their interactions feel real and never forced. As Georgia is leaving for a medical conference overseas, Jonah is having to deal with new policies taking place at their hospital. They are no longer allowed to treat patients that are transgender. Jonah refuses to turn away any of his patients and quickly loses his job as a result. What will Georgia do when she returns?

This book will bring you through a rollercoaster of emotions - you'll be laughing along with the characters, getting unbelievably frustrated at the situations some have to deal with, and so much more. That is a mark of a great read in my opinion - one that makes you feel everything along with the characters and that leave a lasting impression.

Martin gives the readers plenty to think about and she does it all so well. The writing flows and keeps you engaged, well developed and complex characters, and all with the author's knowledge of the medical field. I highly recommend picking up either of her books and the wait begins again for her next book!

4 stars

Berkley, Contemporary, Kimmery Martin, LGBT, Reviews, The Antidote for Everything

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