Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Roxy by Neal Shusterman, Jarrod Shusterman Narrator: Michael Crouch, Megan Tusing, Shaun Taylor-Corbett, Candace Thaxton, Neal Shusterman
Published by Simon & Schuster Audio on November 9, 2021
Genres: Science Fiction, Thriller, Young Adult
Length: 10 hours, 56 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Libro.fm, Barnes & Noble, Apple
The freeway is coming.
It will cut the neighborhood in two. Construction has already started, pushing toward this corridor of condemned houses and cracked concrete with the momentum of the inevitable. Yet there you are, in the fifth house on the left, fighting for your life.
Ramey, I.
The victim of the bet between two manufactured gods: the seductive and lethal Roxy (Oxycontin), who is at the top of her game, and the smart, high-achieving Addison (Adderall), who is tired of being the helpful one, and longs for a more dangerous, less wholesome image. The wager—a contest to see who can bring their mark to “the Party” first—is a race to the bottom of a rave that has raged since the beginning of time. And you are only human, dazzled by the lights and music. Drawn by what the drugs offer—tempted to take that step past helpful to harmful…and the troubled places that lie beyond.
But there are two I. Rameys—Isaac, a soccer player thrown into Roxy’s orbit by a bad fall and a bad doctor and Ivy, his older sister, whose increasing frustration with her untreated ADHD leads her to renew her acquaintance with Addy.
Which one are you?
I’ve always enjoyed this author and the unique sorts of worlds they build. The premise is always intriguing. Roxy starts with someone dying. So throughout the whole book, I’m trying to figure out who it was.
Roxy is the story of the opiod crisis through the lens of a family with two children. The parents are rather workaholic. Ivy is the oldest and traditionally chooses the wrong guys and isn’t very focused on school. She is easily led astray by her shady boyfriends and friends. Isaac is the star in sports and school. He has a golden future. His parents trust him and praise him, while expecting the worst and doubting Ivy.
We see how they end up taking controlled substances and how it affects their lives. We get the point of view of the drugs and their whole “lines.” There is their purpose and the misuse of them.
I was for Isaac and Ivy. I wanted them to live and be well. They both struggled a lot and had some very rough breaks which weren’t their fault. It was too easy to turn to the drugs when they had bad luck even when they were trying hard to do the right things.
Narration:
There was a cast of narrators including the author. I was comfortable with the voices for the different characters including the drugs. I listened to this at my normal 1.5x speed.
Listen to a clip:
About Neal Shusterman
Award-winning author Neal Shusterman grew up in Brooklyn, New York, where he began writing at an early age. After spending his junior and senior years of high school at the American School of Mexico City, Neal went on to UC Irvine, where he made his mark on the UCI swim team, and wrote a successful humor column. Within a year of graduating, he had his first book deal, and was hired to write a movie script.
In the years since, Neal has made his mark as a successful novelist, screenwriter, and television writer. As a full-time writer, he claims to be his own hardest task-master, always at work creating new stories to tell.
Neal Shusterman is the author of many novels for young adults, including Unwind, which was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and a Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Readers, Everlost, and Downsiders, which was nominated for twelve state reading awards. He also writes screenplays for motion pictures and television shows such as Animorphs and Goosebumps.
Neal Shusterman lives in Southern California with his children Brendan, Jarrod, Joelle, and Erin, who are a constant source of inspiration!
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I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- C21-Fall
I don’t think that I have read this author yet. I do have a lot of his books on my wishlist though. This sounds really good. I like that it deals with drug use.
I really, really enjoy this author. I’ve read a few series and I want to read more of his work.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this Anne! Happy New Year!
Thank you Wendy
I wanted to like this one, and in a way I did. I got what it was doing/saying, and know that I will share it with my students. But for me I couldn’t finish it. I don’t know if I could have listened to it, although if it had different narrators for all the parts that might have been helpful for the issues I had. Great review!
Thanks Lisa. It wasn’t the easiest book to read. It is not really in my normal world so not as relatable for me. And I’m not a fan of the YA mindset. So it was tough to read some parts.
I thought this book was incredibly unique. I love audiobooks with multiple narrators, and it’s even more interesting that Shusterman is one of them!
(And, look – we do have some books in common!)
Yay! I do read some YA I’m just really picky about it. I am a big fan of fantasy and dystopian so Shusterman is favorite author. I chose this because yes, it is very unique. It’s also why I do a bunch of genre changeups.
Glad to hear you enjoyed this book too. I really enjoyed the unique way this story was presented.
Yes it was a great concept on a sad topic.
Shusterman has written some books I’ve really enjoyed. I wasn’t sure I’d like this one based on the premise but maybe I’ll give it a try. It seemed so serious though and I haven’t wanted to go down that road in awhile.
yes it’s dark. Obviously these people have problems so it’s not really a happy book even though it is well done.