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kim_j_dare's review against another edition
4.0
Whew— this was a tough one to read.
I appreciate the creativity with which the Shustermans approach a topic that will be triggering to many. The personification of drugs into godlike beings worked well. We get enough backstory on siblings Isaac and Ivy and their family that the choices they make seem all too believable.
The “hidden” messages (bolded letters) in chapter titles and in Interlude #6 were a nice touch.
Thought-provoking, painful, glad I read it, not an enjoyable read.
I appreciate the creativity with which the Shustermans approach a topic that will be triggering to many. The personification of drugs into godlike beings worked well. We get enough backstory on siblings Isaac and Ivy and their family that the choices they make seem all too believable.
The “hidden” messages (bolded letters) in chapter titles and in Interlude #6 were a nice touch.
Thought-provoking, painful, glad I read it, not an enjoyable read.
halthemonarch's review against another edition
3.0
How predictable of me to go back to reading after a bit of a dry spell when Shusterman’s new book becomes available to me. He’s my favorite, and he and his son hit it outof the park with Dry, so I had to give Roxy a try.
This book is a DARE campaign, but when taken into account that father wrote it with son, both of whom are men of color living in America. I admit, I might feel differently about this book if it were written by someone else because at some points it stigmatizes drugs that people need to survive and exaggerates usage —but not too much. Isaac crashes and burns in the span of the book and his catalyst was a sport’s injury, but I’ve heard of people getting addicted in high school and flaming out in college or after. But as many times as I raised my eyebrow at Lucy wishing her charges could fly, the metaphor remains intact when you think about it.
Drugs—unempathic, semi-eternal, blessed and cursed with only partial blame, in a limbo called “the party” where mere mortals who abuse them come to dance to death. Ivy only has a heart attack after chugging a bottle of adderall in one weekend. Isaac only slips into unconsciousness after taking too much oxycodone. It makes sense that drugs are demigods because they are part human hubris that is thought to master foreign chemicals and the irrevocable, unfeeling consequences thereafter. Life saving medicine to be sure, but also life altering. Grandma said it best when she warned “Take them as prescribed, and don't ever let your medication take you.” The allegories about the caduceus were striking, these discontinued and illegal drugs wasting away, but not really. I honestly had to google what a quaalude even was.
All this to say: I immensely enjoyed myself reading it even though I’m probably not the target audience since I was deprived of Addison or Rita growing up, and now all I have is Mary Jane to see me through the lonely nights. I enjoyed the named, lowercase g gods; like Chris and Hiro, Lucy and Phinnaeus, and Lude, who I literally had no idea existed. Flipping back to chapter one, I wish this didn’t happen in the span of TWO MONTHS??? Like. Craig’s stash had to be laced or something because for Isaac to burn out that quickly felt unrealistic; but with that criticism in mind, I felt that every story beat that got us, the reader, to that conclusion was compelling. I was scared for Ivy whenever she was around blow, and I was shocked when Isaac almost disfigured his hand and so callously thought of it as a “flaming hoop to jump through” for more oxy, nothing more. I was sad that it was Isaac, but sad in the way that one knows this is meant to be a cautionary tale. Sad that it was Isaac, but in retrospect, it had to be Isaac to drive the point home. Good kid or rule breaker, rationale and recklessness, whether help is all around you or you're all alone, it’s ultimately you who has to make the call for your own life; and tragically, sometimes even that isn’t enough. This is a work of fiction that anthropomorphises drugs as divine entities, and uses human lives as competition, you expect embellishment to a certain degree. This is a book I would recommend to a teenager about the dangers of drug abuse, to get them thinking about how they view their relationship with drugs.
This book is a DARE campaign, but when taken into account that father wrote it with son, both of whom are men of color living in America. I admit, I might feel differently about this book if it were written by someone else because at some points it stigmatizes drugs that people need to survive and exaggerates usage —but not too much. Isaac crashes and burns in the span of the book and his catalyst was a sport’s injury, but I’ve heard of people getting addicted in high school and flaming out in college or after. But as many times as I raised my eyebrow at Lucy wishing her charges could fly, the metaphor remains intact when you think about it.
Drugs—unempathic, semi-eternal, blessed and cursed with only partial blame, in a limbo called “the party” where mere mortals who abuse them come to dance to death. Ivy only has a heart attack after chugging a bottle of adderall in one weekend. Isaac only slips into unconsciousness after taking too much oxycodone. It makes sense that drugs are demigods because they are part human hubris that is thought to master foreign chemicals and the irrevocable, unfeeling consequences thereafter. Life saving medicine to be sure, but also life altering. Grandma said it best when she warned “Take them as prescribed, and don't ever let your medication take you.” The allegories about the caduceus were striking, these discontinued and illegal drugs wasting away, but not really. I honestly had to google what a quaalude even was.
All this to say: I immensely enjoyed myself reading it even though I’m probably not the target audience since I was deprived of Addison or Rita growing up, and now all I have is Mary Jane to see me through the lonely nights. I enjoyed the named, lowercase g gods; like Chris and Hiro, Lucy and Phinnaeus, and Lude, who I literally had no idea existed. Flipping back to chapter one, I wish this didn’t happen in the span of TWO MONTHS??? Like. Craig’s stash had to be laced or something because for Isaac to burn out that quickly felt unrealistic; but with that criticism in mind, I felt that every story beat that got us, the reader, to that conclusion was compelling. I was scared for Ivy whenever she was around blow, and I was shocked when Isaac almost disfigured his hand and so callously thought of it as a “flaming hoop to jump through” for more oxy, nothing more. I was sad that it was Isaac, but sad in the way that one knows this is meant to be a cautionary tale. Sad that it was Isaac, but in retrospect, it had to be Isaac to drive the point home. Good kid or rule breaker, rationale and recklessness, whether help is all around you or you're all alone, it’s ultimately you who has to make the call for your own life; and tragically, sometimes even that isn’t enough. This is a work of fiction that anthropomorphises drugs as divine entities, and uses human lives as competition, you expect embellishment to a certain degree. This is a book I would recommend to a teenager about the dangers of drug abuse, to get them thinking about how they view their relationship with drugs.
meghan_solo's review against another edition
Too bad of a headspace to finish. Made me think about things I would rather not.
leakleino's review against another edition
4.0
Wow. There is so much to say about this book. It is brilliant and tragic to see the inevitable written right at the beginning. I couldn't put this book down, it was written very vividly and I found the described dynamics between the drugs really unique. In general, there is no kind of book like this that I have somehow read before. It was quite thrilling that even the reader was confronted with some plot twists as the character of each drug was only revealed little by little.
However, I would say that the book should be taken with a grain of salt and should only be read by people who are a little more mature, who don't stigmatize the subject, and who really only see it as a book. After all, sometimes the story also implies which drugs are more "harmless" than others, and on the other hand, it's also a bit exaggerating (e.g. with the fact that it all happened within 2 months), etc. These facts could be taken for granted by younger people, which is why the book is rather unsuitable for an educational purpose. But those who don't see it as that will not be disappointed in the reading experience! All in all a really good book.
However, I would say that the book should be taken with a grain of salt and should only be read by people who are a little more mature, who don't stigmatize the subject, and who really only see it as a book. After all, sometimes the story also implies which drugs are more "harmless" than others, and on the other hand, it's also a bit exaggerating (e.g. with the fact that it all happened within 2 months), etc. These facts could be taken for granted by younger people, which is why the book is rather unsuitable for an educational purpose. But those who don't see it as that will not be disappointed in the reading experience! All in all a really good book.
bretzingerb's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
desideesdanslatete's review against another edition
2.0
Histoire plutôt intéressante mais j'ai eu beaucoup de mal a accrocher à la personnification des drogues et médicaments.
Je dois avouer que j'ai eu a plusieurs reprise pensé abandonné mais j'aime donner leurs chance au livre que je lis. Globalement je ne regrette pas car le fond est malgré tout assez intéressant!
Je dois avouer que j'ai eu a plusieurs reprise pensé abandonné mais j'aime donner leurs chance au livre que je lis. Globalement je ne regrette pas car le fond est malgré tout assez intéressant!
mariahistryingtoread's review against another edition
1.0
Spoilers incoming
TW: drug use, drug addiction, drug withdrawal, death due to drug addiction
There are a few problems with Roxy, but the biggest one - the one that makes the whole venture pointless in the end - is that despite trying to build a mystery about who will die it's obvious from the moment you know what the drugs are (so pretty much the synopsis) who is going to die.
As a general rule, no one dies from Adderall abuse. Does it happen? Absolutely. Anything can happen. But, is it likely? Not terribly, so unless you're abusing multiple drugs (which is avoided here as it's a contest) and/or have other health conditions. Oxycontin is an opioid; the opioid crisis is a crisis for a reason. While Adderall abuse is a real thing, people certainly die from it, and there are a significant amount of Adderall abusers out in the world, opioids are a whole different ball game.
Therefore, it is abundantly clear from the moment the book starts where it's going to end. The book tries to drum up tension and suspense around it, but it simultaneously emphasizes constantly how Addison (Adderall) has to work double time to push Ivy while Isaac easily falls further under Roxy's (Oxycontin) thrall. The book literally is named after Oxycontin - like how much more obvious could it be?
It would be one thing if this book was simply a tragic tale of a teenager getting addicted to painkillers and the anthropomorphization of drugs is the gimmick to draw the reader in. But, it's marketed as a mystery when there is no mystery here.
I also took issue with the drugs as human shaped vessels thing for 2 reasons.
One, it didn't have a logical consistency to it. Addison is ridiculed for never having taken someone to the 'VIP Lounge,' i.e. causing an overdose. This is literally impossible as someone somewhere has to have died from an Adderall overdose before. It's not common, but that doesn't mean it can't happen, which means Addison has to have done it before, even if he didn't push for it to happen like he was with Ivy.
Two, ShustermanX2 remove all culpability from drug abusers. It is originally presented as if the drugs (as people) are not literally there, and any conversations that are had manifest as thoughts by the users. When Roxy tells Isaac his girlfriend is selfish, Roxy is not literally doing that in the 'real' world, Isaac's thought patterns are being affected by drug use. However, on the plane of existence Roxy lives on, that runs parallel to Isaac's, she is talking directly to him.
This execution makes sense and places the onus on the person taking the drugs while still acknowledging the insidious way drug usage can cloud judgment.
But, later in the book, Ivy is in a situation where she comes into contact with Crys (crystal meth). Addison does whatever he can to keep her from doing it because he's trying to win the bet. He succeeds, but Crys explicitly tells him he 'let' Ivy go as a courtesy to Addison.
This is where the concept falls apart.
Ivy is a person with autonomy and agency. Crys shouldn't be able to make her do crystal meth. Especially when her current drug of choice is Adderall. That isn't even a hard drug. That's like deciding you can totally handle a baby after taking care of a fish for a week.
I'm sure some people do make leaps like that, so that part is fine. It's the framing that doesn't work; if Crys is able to control his influence, then any person who has ever decided to try crystal meth or was unable to quit no longer can be held accountable for that decision. The same goes for addicts who have deeply hurt those they love or committed crimes or heinous acts to pursue their drug of choice. According to Roxy, it's never their fault since Crys apparently can choose to let them go or not.
Similarly, when Isaac resolves to quit and goes through withdrawals Vicodin - as a favor to Roxy - is able to push Isaac to relapse by making Isaac think to check for a leftover pill hidden on his floor. Is it really Isaac's responsibility for relapsing when Vicodin - as a separate entity capable of seeing Isaac's room to know that there are leftover drugs in the first place - is purposely spurring a line of thought?
When Ivy is on the verge of taking a harder drug - I think cocaine? I can't remember - Addison asks Al (ie Alcohol) to make her throw up to draw her away. So they're totally in charge of biological function as well? No decision, even on a genetic level, is apparently a human beings' own.
You could argue that when you develop a drug addiction or alcohol dependency, the substance does take control of you to a certain extent. I just don't think it works in this case because ShustermanX2 have made the drugs actual 'people', which introduces too much ambiguity. If someone else is truly determined to ruin your life regardless of what you do, it is impossible to stop it; how can anybody stop using a drug if its desire to see you destoyed, per Roxy's worldbuilding, completely supersedes yours in every way?
The interludes of other drugs were unnecessary. I did not need nor care about MJ's feelings on becoming above board now (legalization of Marijuana). They also had a tendency to be written overly stylized, which did not appeal to me. Outside of the Vicodin drop-in I mentioned above, none of them mattered to the central plot.
The one part I did enjoy - Roxy tragically falling in love with her mark - was ruined since apparently she does this every single time someone is hooked on her. She just forgets over and over because oxycontin has a memory loss component. So the book isn't even depicting a unique situation like it suggests. It's just another day for her.
It made me question the entire premise in the first place: why does Addison even bother when she wouldn't remember if he won anyways? Their little wager was based on Isaac specifically, which means Addison won't be able to bring it up to her
And count me as another person who would have appreciated a glossary. I didn't need one because I did not actively care what any drug was doing or who they were, still, it's the principle.
I don't believe many teenagers would respond to this book in the least. I know I'd have hated it as a teenager. It barely touches on what being a teenager is like or the difficulties they currently face. It was the same generic high school tropes used twenty years ago. If you swapped them into college, very little would have to change. Ivy and Isaac lack so much in terms of real-world application or identity.
The book would have been better if Isaac had not relapsed at the end but began a treatment program. Then leave the ending open-ended regarding his ultimate outcome. If it explored the entire cycle of drug addiction, then, at the very least, it would have some educational merit.
And the worst sin of all - it's boring.
TW: drug use, drug addiction, drug withdrawal, death due to drug addiction
There are a few problems with Roxy, but the biggest one - the one that makes the whole venture pointless in the end - is that despite trying to build a mystery about who will die it's obvious from the moment you know what the drugs are (so pretty much the synopsis) who is going to die.
As a general rule, no one dies from Adderall abuse. Does it happen? Absolutely. Anything can happen. But, is it likely? Not terribly, so unless you're abusing multiple drugs (which is avoided here as it's a contest) and/or have other health conditions. Oxycontin is an opioid; the opioid crisis is a crisis for a reason. While Adderall abuse is a real thing, people certainly die from it, and there are a significant amount of Adderall abusers out in the world, opioids are a whole different ball game.
Therefore, it is abundantly clear from the moment the book starts where it's going to end. The book tries to drum up tension and suspense around it, but it simultaneously emphasizes constantly how Addison (Adderall) has to work double time to push Ivy while Isaac easily falls further under Roxy's (Oxycontin) thrall. The book literally is named after Oxycontin - like how much more obvious could it be?
It would be one thing if this book was simply a tragic tale of a teenager getting addicted to painkillers and the anthropomorphization of drugs is the gimmick to draw the reader in. But, it's marketed as a mystery when there is no mystery here.
I also took issue with the drugs as human shaped vessels thing for 2 reasons.
One, it didn't have a logical consistency to it. Addison is ridiculed for never having taken someone to the 'VIP Lounge,' i.e. causing an overdose. This is literally impossible as someone somewhere has to have died from an Adderall overdose before. It's not common, but that doesn't mean it can't happen, which means Addison has to have done it before, even if he didn't push for it to happen like he was with Ivy.
Two, ShustermanX2 remove all culpability from drug abusers. It is originally presented as if the drugs (as people) are not literally there, and any conversations that are had manifest as thoughts by the users. When Roxy tells Isaac his girlfriend is selfish, Roxy is not literally doing that in the 'real' world, Isaac's thought patterns are being affected by drug use. However, on the plane of existence Roxy lives on, that runs parallel to Isaac's, she is talking directly to him.
This execution makes sense and places the onus on the person taking the drugs while still acknowledging the insidious way drug usage can cloud judgment.
But, later in the book, Ivy is in a situation where she comes into contact with Crys (crystal meth). Addison does whatever he can to keep her from doing it because he's trying to win the bet. He succeeds, but Crys explicitly tells him he 'let' Ivy go as a courtesy to Addison.
This is where the concept falls apart.
Ivy is a person with autonomy and agency. Crys shouldn't be able to make her do crystal meth. Especially when her current drug of choice is Adderall. That isn't even a hard drug. That's like deciding you can totally handle a baby after taking care of a fish for a week.
I'm sure some people do make leaps like that, so that part is fine. It's the framing that doesn't work; if Crys is able to control his influence, then any person who has ever decided to try crystal meth or was unable to quit no longer can be held accountable for that decision. The same goes for addicts who have deeply hurt those they love or committed crimes or heinous acts to pursue their drug of choice. According to Roxy, it's never their fault since Crys apparently can choose to let them go or not.
Similarly, when Isaac resolves to quit and goes through withdrawals Vicodin - as a favor to Roxy - is able to push Isaac to relapse by making Isaac think to check for a leftover pill hidden on his floor. Is it really Isaac's responsibility for relapsing when Vicodin - as a separate entity capable of seeing Isaac's room to know that there are leftover drugs in the first place - is purposely spurring a line of thought?
When Ivy is on the verge of taking a harder drug - I think cocaine? I can't remember - Addison asks Al (ie Alcohol) to make her throw up to draw her away. So they're totally in charge of biological function as well? No decision, even on a genetic level, is apparently a human beings' own.
You could argue that when you develop a drug addiction or alcohol dependency, the substance does take control of you to a certain extent. I just don't think it works in this case because ShustermanX2 have made the drugs actual 'people', which introduces too much ambiguity. If someone else is truly determined to ruin your life regardless of what you do, it is impossible to stop it; how can anybody stop using a drug if its desire to see you destoyed, per Roxy's worldbuilding, completely supersedes yours in every way?
The interludes of other drugs were unnecessary. I did not need nor care about MJ's feelings on becoming above board now (legalization of Marijuana). They also had a tendency to be written overly stylized, which did not appeal to me. Outside of the Vicodin drop-in I mentioned above, none of them mattered to the central plot.
The one part I did enjoy - Roxy tragically falling in love with her mark - was ruined since apparently she does this every single time someone is hooked on her. She just forgets over and over because oxycontin has a memory loss component. So the book isn't even depicting a unique situation like it suggests. It's just another day for her.
It made me question the entire premise in the first place: why does Addison even bother when she wouldn't remember if he won anyways? Their little wager was based on Isaac specifically, which means Addison won't be able to bring it up to her
And count me as another person who would have appreciated a glossary. I didn't need one because I did not actively care what any drug was doing or who they were, still, it's the principle.
I don't believe many teenagers would respond to this book in the least. I know I'd have hated it as a teenager. It barely touches on what being a teenager is like or the difficulties they currently face. It was the same generic high school tropes used twenty years ago. If you swapped them into college, very little would have to change. Ivy and Isaac lack so much in terms of real-world application or identity.
The book would have been better if Isaac had not relapsed at the end but began a treatment program. Then leave the ending open-ended regarding his ultimate outcome. If it explored the entire cycle of drug addiction, then, at the very least, it would have some educational merit.
And the worst sin of all - it's boring.
thwipys's review against another edition
4.0
im…devastated??
favorite line:
the entire ending poem by formaldehyde
favorite line:
the entire ending poem by formaldehyde
oliviaskyec's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
vfinney444's review against another edition
5.0
I was surprised to find a new Neal shusterman on our shelves unread so I decided to take it home. At first I was lost, trying to match code names to the characters, but this book is a unique and important take on drug addiction among teens.