Heroine by Mindy McGinnis tells the story of a teenage girl fighting the struggles of life with addiction. The book begins with the event that started it all. Mickey Catalan and her best friend Carolina get into a car crash. Mickey injures her right hip and will miss months of her softball season to recover. She pushes herself to the max in hopes of recovering faster. She is given Oxycontin for the pain, but she quickly becomes dependent.
When her doctor refuses to give her more pills she finds new ways to treat her addiction. She meets a woman named Edith who comforts Micky like a mother, but sells her Oxy pills. As she spends more time at Ediths she creates new relationships with other addicts like Josie. Feeling excluded at school and at home she finally feels accepted as she slowly moves away from her past life and into a new one.
People in Mickey’s life begin to notice her change. She is torn between the drugs and her life before the accident. The book shows a unique perspective on the mind games she played on herself to give in to her addiction. Soon, she is unable to stop her need for drugs and she watches her life spin out of control.
Review: ★★★★✩
Heroine shines a much needed light on the real struggles of the opioid crisis. McGinnis describes the thought process of Micky throughout the story. Micky is constantly changing and it shows how even the toughest of people are nothing compared to addiction. McGinnis was able to mold the characters to create a realistic, roller coaster of a story.
Mindy McGinnis’ novel cover pictures the title, “Heroine” being submerged into smoke. Her novel provides a fictional story of what it is like to struggle from substance addiction even if you are considered by society to be “tough.”
