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OLDER FICTION
Shusterman, Neal , Shusterman, Jarrod

Roxy

384 pp. | Simon | November, 2021 | Trade ISBN 978-1-5344-5125-4 $18.99 | Ebook ISBN 978-1-5344-5127-8 $10.99
(2) YA The events of this story are seen in part through the eyes of siblings Ivy and Isaac Ramey, in third-person limited narration, and in part through first-person narration by various drugs, who in this world are personified and have the quality of Greek gods. As the book opens, paramedics fail to revive someone after an opioid overdose; the corpse is tagged with a last name and, somewhat cryptically (and with foreshadowing), a first initial: Ramey, I. The novel then jumps back two months and follows Ivy and Isaac. Ivy, who has been a habitual partier, takes Adderall to help with her ADD, while studious Isaac gradually becomes addicted to OxyContin after his grandmother gives him one of her pills to cope with a sprained ankle. Sometime-narrators Addison (Adderall) and Roxy (OxyContin) openly court the siblings, make friendly wagers with each other, and engage in political gamesmanship with other drugs. If the premise remains nebulous and ambiguous at times, it imbues the plot with elements of mystery and intrigue, coupled with interesting characters and the timely issues of the opioid crisis and other addictions.
Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2022

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