Book Review :: Roxy by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

Roxy by Neal Shusterman, Jarrod Shusterman
ISBN: 1534451250
on 2021-11-09
Pages: 384
Find at Walker Books AUS
Goodreads

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?

Last updated on 19 March 2023

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The story of Roxy by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

Roxy opens with a scene in two months’ time, where a Ramey,I has overdosed. But here’s the thing, there are two Ramey, Is: brother and sister Isaac and Ivy. And we won’t find out straight away which one Roxy starts with.

Jumping back to two months prior to that first chapter, we meet Issac and Ivy. When Issac has a soccer injury, he turns to oxycontin for pain relief. Ivvy has ADHD and decides to finally take prescribed medication (Adderall). Both siblings start using the drugs with great reasons, hoping that they will help them, but after a little, while their need becomes desperate, and Roxy and Addison (oxycontin and Adderall respectively) leap at the chance to dig their nails in and take the siblings for a ride.

“Reality is overrated—but they’ll remember thinking they knew the secrets of the universe.”

Roxy and Addison are like gods, usually spending time at the Party with other characters such as Molly and Crys (all personified names for various drugs). And when the two make a bet to see who can bring their respective Ramey sibling to the Party first (read: have them overdose first), that’s when things really start kicking off.

As we follow Issac and Roxy’s emerging relationship, and Ivy and Addison navigating life together, the siblings become more and more reliant on the gods/drugs and they begin to spiral. Pretty intense right? Right.

My thoughts on Roxy

I’m a big fan of Neal Shusterman’s books. Scythe is such an incredible series and when I first read book one, I was thinking about it for so long after I finished it. It really got me thinking about life and death and mortality, and that’s what Shusterman does so well: he takes things that we’re so familiar with (like life, death, water in Dry) and spins the concept in a way that makes you think about it differently. That’s what I love about his books.

Perhaps it’s because I have very little knowledge about the drug world (both prescribed and not), or that I don’t know anyone who takes medicine on a regular basis that could be catastrophic if not regulated … or perhaps it was the strange format of the book with these drugs personified as gods/other-worldly beings that interact with humans. Whatever it was, I did not like Roxy much at all.

“The misinformed mob never changes; it just replaces torches and pitchforks with iPhones and Androids.”

I didn’t engage with the characters, I didn’t care for the mini-history lesson chapters in between (while they too were personified and allowed us to learn a little more about how drugs in history have been used and taken off the market etc they just didn’t add to the story for me and I found myself skimming or skipping after a little while), and while I could recognise the need for the book and the importance of talking about drug use and the threat that it has on young people (and any age!), I just couldn’t get into this book.

You’ll notice I gave it 2 stars, and in keeping in line with the Goodreads rating system, 2 stars is ‘it was okay’. And it was okay. As I said, I think the topic is super important, and while it was a bit odd to read, I think the idea of having these drugs personified is quite clever. Will I be reading it again? Nah. Will I be recommending it to others? I mean, sure. If I think someone will like it based on the other types of books they read, then sure. But I won’t be singing its praises as I do with Scythe.

And it’s tough, but that’s just how it is, unfortunately.

But I would love to know: have you read Roxy yet?

What did you think about it?

Leave your comments (no matter if you didn’t like it or you LOVED it!) below so we can chat about it.

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I received this book from HarperCollins NZ and Walker Books Aus for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my review and all thoughts and opinions are my own.