by Neal and Jarrod Shusterman

The novel Roxy by Neal and Jarrod Shusterman is a strange and interesting read that talks about problems with drug abuse. The book is interestingly written from 4 different points of view with Ivy, Issac, Roxy, and Addison. Ivy and Issac are brother and sister who simultaneously have individual struggles with drugs, Ivy with adderall and Issac with oxycontin. They both have their own reasons as to why they do what they do, but ultimately neither of them are all that aware that they have an addiction. Roxy, oxycontin, and Addison, adderall, are portrayed as people who only interact with Ivy and Issac and are invisible to the rest of the world. While the reader is led to believe that Addison and Roxy could actually be people, all of their public interactions with Ivy and Issac go unnoticed by other people.  The goal for Ivy is to get her life together by working harder in school and get a handle on her ADHD. The goal for Issac is to allow him to keep playing soccer even though he hurt his ankle badly. The goals for Addison and Roxy are to get Ivy and Issac to the party and take them to their boss, Hiro, who will lead them to their deaths. Hiro is actually heroine and his job is to ensure that people like Ivy and Issac never leave the party by killing them with an overdose.  This book was a very interesting read for a few different reasons. Ivy and Issacs’ points of view in the book are both in third person while Addison and Roxys’ are in first person. I thought that was a subtle but powerful choice by the authors because it shows how Issac and Ivy are not in control of their choices, even though they think they are. Addison and Roxy are actually in control of them. I liked all the plot twists throughout the book that were super unexpected, and intriguing which made the ending very hard to predict, and also surprising. I also liked how at the party, all the “people” there are named with nicknames or parodies of the names of the actual drugs they’re supposed to be. Like marijuana was Mary-Jane, and Al was alcohol. It was kinda fun trying to figure out all the names. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone looking for a fun and interesting read, that makes a heavy subject a bit lighter. 

Reviewed by Payton Lundberg