I love Neal Shusterman’s work but I felt like I didn’t know enough about drugs to understand this book and I’m in my 30s. The writing was great. His typical way of drawing you in. I just felt like there were a lot of generalizations and I missed too much to be fully immersed.

ROXY, by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman, is one story told in two parts. Isaac and Ivy Ramey are siblings in high school trying to negotiate what every teenager does: figuring out how to manage all of the grown up responsibilities that comes with age but still wanting to live the carefree life of a child. Their struggles lead them down the road to addiction. Their journey is one part of the story and the second part is told from the point of view of the drugs that Isaac and Ivy find to help them work through their problems. The book gives each drug a personality, as if each is a deity. Those deities naturally have a perpetual desire to "help" people and becomes so attached that people no longer see a life without them.
The authors intertwine Isaac and Ivy's life and the drug's lives in unique ways that are quite clever and interesting. They provide histories of many drugs, sometimes with breaks in the story called "interludes", and describe the drugs as if they have been living beings since their invention and have feelings and thoughts on how they have been used over the course of time. Isaac and Ivy's journey through the book felt real and grounded and those readers who have experienced addiction challenges can relate to the Ramey siblings. The supporting cast is also well written, reflecting a variety of opinions and approaches to drugs and addiction that mirror real life. The finale of the book is a powerful read and once finished will leave the reader emotionally spent. Being someone who has overcome addiction, I had a hard time connecting with how each drug works in each person and I think that there were certain generalities that were expressed that don't hold true. Drugs work in different ways in each person and the purpose and effect of each drug is widely varied.
A moving odyssey of a novel, ROXY is not the kind of book I will soon forget. For someone new and/or unfamiliar to drugs and addiction, like a young adult, I think this book will be eye-opening and will leave a strong impression. No matter who you are, though, it is a good read.

I really liked Roxy. There were some pacing issues (more for myself than the Shusterman’s), but it was a really intense book.

I can post my review now...

Roxy is a really tough book to read based solely on its content. I will say that the notion of drugs, all drugs, not just illegal drugs, having lives and goals, is one of the most creative elements of literature I've read in a very long time. I mean, sure, personify things to your heart's content, but to personify drugs... that is something that I've never seen before, and for these drugs to have personality and emotions, and connections, it's just wild.

I do not think that the Shusterman's are glamorizing the world of drug use at all, instead, they are creating a warning system. I also do not think that they are creating stigma with drug use (of the legal kind. I've been a teacher for more than 20 years and I've seen the benefit of prescription drugs as well as the negatives). I think that the goal here was to create a world that reasons what is possible in our world and in a time when it seems all bets are off when it comes to being popular, creating content, becoming known, and doing whatever one likes to do, well, this is a warning signal to readers that there are consequences for each action.

I highly recommend this book. It's wonderfully written and just a beautiful idea, but it's tough and it will be hard for some people to get through. It's worth it though. It's definitely worth it.

I feel this is a powerful YA novel about drug addiction. I do wish that Adderall wasn’t mentioned as specifically as I feel like there’s enough stigma surrounding mental health and medication management. I would recommend that a parent at least skim through this before giving it to their teenager. It does serve as a way to start a conversation about drug addiction, but not something I would want my teen to walk blindly into.

I would like to thank Neal Shusterman, Jarrod Shusterman, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Publication date: 11/09/2021

I was provided a free copy of this book by @netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
Trigger Warning: Drug abuse, addiction, overdose, etc.
This is a pretty powerful book, giving the reader a look into the treacherously slippery slope of drug addiction. Intended for a YA audience, I was kept entertained and was curious to find out what was going to happen!
In this story we see the drugs personified into characters. Roxy (Oxycontin) and Addison (Adderall) make a bet to see who will be the first to take a high school aged brother/sister pair to "the big party"! Along the way we see Isaac and Ivy (their two victims) struggle through some tough things in their lives and witness their journey into addiction.
We also see a few side stories of other minor characters who have their own experiences with different drugs (the pastor with cancer choosing to dance with Mary Jane, the teenager who wants to try something fun at a party just once, etc.).
It's definitely an eye opening book on the dangers of drugs. It was a bit unsettling at times as the personification of Roxy made me sometimes feel empathetic towards her. Although I thought the ending was great when (minor possible spoiler ahead...) some of her more empathetic traits and feelings turn out not to be as straightforward as they are portrayed.
I could definitely see how this book could trigger anyone who struggles with addiction! So if that is a struggle for you, you may not want to choose this one!
But otherwise, I think it's a good book that can teach a good lesson!
It is set to be published 9 Nov 21, so go ahead and pre-order if it sounds like something you'd enjoy!
#Roxy #NetGalley

I just feel like there are so many other "gateway" medications that could have been used instead of one so widely taken by my students. It will trigger several who take Adderall and I don't want that negative insight put on them. These stories are very important when it comes to the opioid crisis, but choosing a popular PRESCRIBED drug wasn't the best idea I feel like - from an educator's perspective.

CONTENT WARNING: death, drug use

As someone who has worked in substance use treatment, I was extremely curious about how this book was going to play out. However, I’ve also read some other books by the authors, and was intrigued by how they handled other sensitive issues. I think we can all recognize that prescription drugs are a double-edged sword — they help so many people, but there’s a dark side as well, since they have the potential to be abused.

I think what was most intriguing about the book was that it didn’t just involve Isaac and Ivy and their social circles, but it gave voice to the drugs themselves as characters. It personalizes drugs as both helpful and potentially harmful when they’re abused. And it clarified that their primary purpose *is* to treat conditions — Roxy was designed to treat pain, Addy was designed to treat ADHD. And they do that effectively, although both Isaac and Ivy head down the path of abusing that. It doesn’t happen to everyone that uses these drugs, but it also personalizes how a valid medication can turn into a life-ruining drug when it isn’t used properly.

It’s hard not to empathize with both Isaac and Ivy, even as they are ruining their lives slowly. We can watch it happen from an outsider’s perspective, although it was harder for me to watch Ivy’s downward spiral, seeing how she was actually struggling with a valid diagnosis and benefiting so much from using the medication … until she wasn’t anymore. Whereas with Isaac, he wasn’t really doing what he was supposed to do from the start. It was easy for me to see what was going to happen down his timeline early on, even though we don’t quite know what happens in the end. We see an event at the beginning of the story, but it isn’t clear who it happens to.

I found the whole story quite intriguing, and it was a quick but very thought-provoking read. While I also understand that there are complex issues at play regarding substance use and regulations, I think that this was a clever look at the inner workings of the pharmaceutical scene and the innocent people who get caught in the crossfire. Because this isn’t just a story — this is a lived reality for so many people. My only critique is that I would have liked to see an additional character involved who doesn’t wind up abusing prescription medication, just as a foil for the ones who do, since the vast majority of people who are prescribed these drugs don’t wind up abusing them and in the throes of addiction.

Isaac is the star of the soccer team, with a chance at a full-ride college scholarship. Ivy is a partier, with a bad boy boyfriend and questionable life choices. But when Isaac has an injury and Ivy decides to clean her life up, both begin to depend on drugs to get by. Isaac needs Roxy to manage his pain, but soon he needs it to function. Ivy needs Adderall to focus, but soon she needs it to catch up on everything she's neglected. How long can they play with fire before they get burned?

I love Neal Shusterman and everything he writes, but this one just wasn't my cup of tea. I kind of had a hard time following when the story would turn to the personification of the drugs, because I didn't understand the "personalities" and characteristics that each one had according to their side effects/reactions in real life. I was constantly looking something up because they almost all went by nicknames and I couldn't tell which drug they were talking about. It was an interesting concept, but it didn't make the impact that I wanted it to. It was just ok, and I HATE saying that about this author.

Into The Darkness

A sad and heartbreaking story of two teenagers caught in the darkness of drug addiction. It starts innocently with legitimate reasons for the drugs but grew to a life threatening addiction. Only one would survive the pull of the drug.

Isaac and Ivy are brother and sister. Isaac is a hockey player with an injury that introduces him to Oxycontin and Ivy is a student with ADHD given Adderall. Ivy is the troubled daughter often in trouble with her parents, while Isaac is the shiny star of the family.

This story of the fall of two teens is told from the drugs themselves. Roxy (Oxycontin) and Addison(Adderall). They explain their jobs as drugs to bring their charges to the drugs higher up like Heri(Heroin) and Crys(Crystal Meth). The two drugs Roxy and Addison want to keep their charges to their selves and bring them to the VIP room which is where the charge would perish. They are in competition with each other while other drugs try to steal their charges away. One of them will win and one will lose.

This story would be a good one for the YA age group or even upper middle grades to read. It has nothing too shocking, it has no sex or bad language. It does shoe the progression from legitimate drug use to abuse and how it is such a small step to addiction. It is told in a way that young people will relate and understand.

It was an interesting read although I was not associated with the drugs talked about and sometimes did not know what the nicknames stood for but I caught on as the drugs talked to each other at the party.

I would recommend this book for teenagers and for the parents of teenagers. It might save someone's life.

Thanks to Neal and Jarrod Shusterman, Simon and Schuster Children's Books, and NetGalley for allowing me to enjoy a complimentary copy of the audio book for my honest review.

Every book I’ve read by Neal Shusterman has held me spellbound, and this one was no exception. It’s unlike anything I’ve come across. Just be prepared to have your heart ripped from your chest and put through a meat grinder.

You know from the first few pages one of these two main characters isn’t going to live. During the course of the story I changed my mind countless times about which one it would be. The second chapter flashes back to two months earlier, and that’s where the story begins. Isaac seems to have his life together – good grades, plans for college and a career. His sister Ivy isn’t quite as together. Because of untreated ADHD, she’s at risk of failing her senior year of high school and also has a history of trouble with drugs and alcohol. Both of these characters are extremely well-crafted and easy to connect with, and their paths to addiction are very plausible and relatable.

The conversations between Roxy (Oxycontin) and Addison (Adderall), as well as others (Al, Lucy, Molly, Crys, and Phineas to name a few – all types of drugs) are wildly imaginative, thought-provoking, and profound at times. But also sad. Bringing these two teens to “the Party” is only a game to them, and seeing Isaac’s and Ivy’s downward spirals makes for a gut-wrenching, difficult read.

Roxy is an incredibly dark, gritty novel that focuses on the devastating effects of addiction and how anyone can be susceptible to dependency. It will gut you, but is so well-worth the read.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Just couldn't get into this story in which Oxy and Adderall are embodied gods. The concept didn't work for me, and the storytelling felt forced. I generally love this author, so it's sad that this one wasn't for me.

While I usually love anything by Neal Shusterman, this one just didn't do it for me. I wasn't really sure what was going on most of the time, and I didn't particularly like any of the characters. Maybe my opinion would improve upon a second reading...

Very slow, read I could never get into this book.. A comment I never really understood where Roxy came in at all, this is just my opinion.

High school siblings Ivy and her younger brother Isaac have carved out their places in the family; Ivy as the scatterbrained screw up with terrible taste in boyfriends and Isaac as the reliable younger brother who helps out with the family remodeling business and loves sports. When Isaac uses OxyContin to dull the pain of an ankle injury that threatens to derail his slight hopes for a soccer scholarship, and Ivy begins using Adderall to gain focus and pull her academics together so she can graduate, they both struggle with temptations to abuse and addiction. A panoply of personified drugs become major characters and form a sort of Greek chorus of misery as Ivy and Isaac lose more and more control of their choices. A bit uneven to begin with as readers sort out the characters and narrative structure but a gripping and deeply sad story. Suggested for grades 10-12. There was no glossary in the EARC; perhaps on the finished copy readers will be able to connect nicknames with correct drug names mor easily. EARC from NetGalley.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for the eARC of this book.

I am a long-time fan of the Shustermans - their stories are always unique, inviting you to challenge your perspective and think of things in new light. This story is no different.

Told in multiple perspectives, high school aged siblings Ivy and Isaac are introduced to the world of pharmaceuticals. Ivy parties with her older boyfriend, known for being a dealer, and is again later reintroduced when restarting Adderall as she tries to finish out her senior year, and Issac who is injured on the soccer field and takes an Oxy, given to him by his grandmother, to help ease the pain.

The personification of the drugs is outstanding. Each medication/drug was given a very distinct voice and personality. I had read some other reviews where readers had discussed their disappoint of the Adderall being included, but I don't think it was viewed in a negative light - almost just as a warning of how it can be abused. So many medications were showed as being helpful - Chemo, medicinal marijuana, etc., but also showed their negative affects and how medications both help and hurt and how easy it can be to become addicted.

As a librarian, I can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy of this to share with students. This would be such a great conversation starter - "drugs" aren't just the "hard stuff" - a common misconception with MS/HS students.

We all know addiction is a widespread tragedy suffered by people of all ages and walks of life. I went into this novel with an open mind because although it is a cautionary tale, it is a work of fiction founded in creativity. It was like nothing I've read before and I was interested to see how personifying drugs/alcohol would play out.

And the authors did a good job creating the drug characters, seemingly innocent but with alterior motives founded in a competition.

What I felt was lacking was the development of the human characters. The Grandmother was the coolest character in the book, and I was more disappointed when her part was over than the reveal at the end. I did not feel any connection with Ivy or Issac which diluted the intended emotional impact.

Thank you Netgalley, the publisher and authors for allowing me to read/ review.

My feelings are mixed on this. It's a great concept, but I wanted a little more.

The personification of drugs is certainly unique, and you have to buy into the idea of that to enjoy this book. I loved the idea the second I heard it, and I (weirdly?) enjoyed figuring out which drug was which and they connected and what was considered their uplines.

The exploration of what some of the drugs are meant to do versus what they actually end up doing was a nice added layer, but I really wish it had been taken a step further and explored the greed of those who made these drugs, especially as the POV character of Roxy is clearly an opioid.

My feelings are mixed on this. It's a great concept, but I wanted a little more.

It did seem a little strange that Ivy was more tempted by harder drugs and Isaac was less. Adderall abuse certainly isn't a straight line to coke or meth while opioid abuse does often go that way because of the similarities of the drugs compounds, and based on my own experience with family members drug addictions.

This was such a captivating and compelling read. This father and son author team have taken the themes of addiction, substance abuse and overdoses and have created a story that is totally different from all that have come before. The main difference is that they have taken the drugs and personified them, making them god like in the way they manipulate the humans to use them over and over again.

Ivy and Isaac are two typical teens. Ivy is the wild one with ADD and has experimented with drugs and alcohol before, but nothing to bad. She is failing school so decides to return to adderall to help her focus. Her slow spiral into abusing a drug that helps as much as it can hurt was well done and very believable. Isaac’s story was just as heartbreaking. A sports injury introduces him to Oxycodone and his long slide into addiction was really hard to read. You end up pulling for both of these teens and hoping that things will work out in the end for both of them even though you know from the start that one of them doesn’t make it.

The best and most interesting part of this book thought is the personification of the drugs. Many of the legal and illegal drugs are represented and it was really interesting to see how the attributes of the drug were played up in these characters. Although we hear from many of the drugs Roxy (oxycodone) and Addison (Adderall) are the two that carry the story. They are sort of like gods in that they whisper in Ivy and Isaacs ears all the things that they can do for them and how much they love them and care for them. They are almost like their conscience arguing with each character when they have their doubts and make them feel better when they are lonely and scared.

The plot is fascinating. I personally have no experience with addiction of any kind, but it was so easy to see how it can happen through these two teens eyes. The ending was heartbreaking, not so much because one of the characters that I have grown to like and root for dies, but because through the personification of the drugs we see how the cycle continues. This whole story is set up to repeat itself once again.

A very well done look at the spiral of addiction, done it a way that I think teens will be able to relate to. This is an important story that needs to be told and one that I hope will help those who need it.

Ok, how do I begin this review? For some reason, it is hard to put into words how I actually feel about this book.

This book is unlike other books I've read by Neal Shusterman, and I am a fan of his. In fact, I still am. I LOVED his Arc of a Scythe series, and I enjoyed Dry too, which he co-wrote with his son Jarrod as he did with Roxy. He included his science fictional and fantasy elements to Roxy as he is pretty well known for with several of his other series. However, I felt like this book was difficult to read because I had to work hard to understand all of the elements of the story. Let me try to explain:

So, this book is written in several different points of view: those of fictional and realistic characters that include two teenagers who are sister (Ivy) and brother (Isaac) and those of fantastical characters that are used to represent the minds/figures/purposes of recreational and prescription drugs. The story introduces the reader to Ivy and Isaac, who both at some point or another, use and abuse prescription drugs so that the reader can relate to or empathize with someone who is in their situation and bring to light the opioid crisis and how serious and common of a problem it really is. Meanwhile, the recreational and prescription drugs are all given a persona by using their street nicknames (Ex: Roxy aka Oxycodone, Addison aka Adderall, and Lucy aka LSD to name a few) to portray to the reader how they help and/or sometimes harm people who are prescribed them and those who use and abuse them.

The message of the story is clear, and even though I am aware of the opioid crisis and even felt that I was somewhat knowledgeable about commonly known drugs, I was sadly mistaken. I found myself having to stop reading so that I could Google the nickname of a drug and look up what it's real name was and what is was commonly used for before I could continue reading the story. There were clues and descriptions used in the story to help explain what drug was being portrayed, but apparently, I didn't know enough about each of them to use context clues to figure them all out on my own. Was it pertinent that I know exactly what drug was being represented at a given time? Maybe, maybe not. However, my personality wouldn't allow me to continue on with the story before I could put a face to a name sort of speak, so the reading journey for me wasn't simply just reading and consuming. It became a research project as well, and maybe that was the intention of Shusterman after all. Obviously, he used this story to bring awareness, and it definitely did that. I give this book 4.5 stars for being a challenging yet informational read!

I have never read any books by Neal Shusterman, so I wasn't really sure what to expect. I didn't know if this genre was going to work for me. Imagine a story about Greek gods, but instead of the usual characters, see them as different mind-altering chemicals. These gods can and do interfere with the lives of humans, especially our characters, Isaac and Ivy.

I think it goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway. If you are triggered by mentions of mental illness, drug use, and overdose (not a spoiler), be aware that this book is heavily centered around these topics. I have never used the majority of the substances mentioned in this book, but if I had a problem with any of them, I can see how the book might even make me want to use.

Ultimately, the book is about the evils of substance abuse, but the reader must make it to the end to really understand this. Having lost a close relative to overdose, this book definitely affected me on a personal level. It made me more deeply understand how healthy people can be led into the grips of addiction.

I do applaud the author/s for taking on such a heavy subject in a YA book. I think Roxy is an excellent book that touches on taboo subjects that should probably be discussed more often.