Lakewood by Megan Giddings is a gripping psychological sci-fi horror novel that explores the extreme sacrifices a person will make to protect their family. The story centers on Lena Johnson, a young Black college student who is suddenly forced to confront a mountain of devastating family debt following the death of her grandmother. On top of the financial ruin, Lena must find a way to pay for the expensive, ongoing medical care required by her mother. Desperate for a rapid solution, Lena drops out of college and accepts a mysterious, exceptionally high-paying position in the remote town of Lakewood, Michigan. The job package seems too good to be true because it offers vast amounts of money, free lodging, and comprehensive health insurance that will completely cover her mother's medical needs. In exchange, Lena must sign a strict non-disclosure agreement and participate as a test subject in a secretive institutional research program. The researchers promise their work will change the world, but the actual experiments quickly become deeply unsettling. Ultimately, she must decide how much of her own mind, body, and humanity she is willing to compromise just to ensure her family's survival.