This allegorical novel by Neal and Jarrod Shusterman is a commentary on the opioid crisis in America. Told from the perspective of Oxycontin (Roxy) and Adderall (Addison), the two characters are in a competition to bring a plus-one to the Party and get them all the way to the VIP room (death). They have chosen a set of siblings – Isaac Ramey for Roxy, and his sister Ivy for Addison.
Isaac is a soccer player, and after spraining an ankle his grandmother gives him one of her pain pills – Roxy. Ivy has a lot of issues, and her parents take her to a psychologist who prescribes Adderall to help her focus. The book focuses on these main characters and their downward spiral into the relationships they share with their respective drugs.
Also featured in asides throughout the book are other drugs – Roxy’s cousin Phineas (Morphine), her up-line Hiro (Heroin), Addison’s competition, the Coke brothers and good old friend Al (cohol).
Roxy is a dark book told well. There are many books that deal with teenage addiction, but none before this told from the perspective of the drugs themselves. A worthy read, but a troubling one.
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