One book that has been on my shelf for a few years now is Dry by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman. The premise interested me enough to buy it, but I am kinda a little too scared to actually pick it up and read it. I had similar feelings about today's pick, Roxy, but not so much that I would let this book stay on my to-read shelf. Shusterman and son decided to tackle the opioid epidemic, dedicating the novel to those who are in the midst of a struggle with addiction.
The Situation: Isaac and big sister Ivy are incredibly different, but they each care for the other. With his parents almost always focused on the floundering family business, and almost always fighting with each other, or with Ivy, Isaac holds himself steady in all areas of life. He has solid friends, gets solid grades, and is a star on the school soccer team, something that could help get him into MIT, if he can stay focused. But when he gets into a fight with Ivy's sleazy boyfriend, it results in a troublesome ankle injury. It's fine, he just needs to stay off it, ice it, massage it, and pray he can still play in the upcoming game. Meanwhile, Ivy has more or less given up on her future, though she does not want to end up attending the alternative high school, which at this point seems like an inevitability. A solution to each of their problems comes in a prescription. For Isaac, it is for the pain. And for Ivy, it is so she can focus.
The Problem: There are forces at work that Isaac and Ivy know nothing about. And while these forces are interested, and perfectly capable, of relieving Isaac's ankle pain and allowing Ivy to focus, they would also love to become the only thing they care about. Roxy is used to the popularity and being the star of the show. She almost always gets her way, and she sees a willing new mark in Isaac. Addison has had less luck in the past, and he's not exactly known for being a closer. But with Ivy, he is determined, and he makes a wager with Roxy that he can take Ivy to the end, while Roxy is more than sure that she can get Isaac to surrender to the same fate that so many have before. For Isaac and Ivy, these medications are simply solutions to a problem...until they are suddenly more than that, and the siblings have no idea just how far they've gone, and there is not much farther they can go.
Genre, Themes, History: This is a young adult fiction novel set in the modern day U.S. Isaac and Ivy are two siblings on opposite sides of the behavior spectrum. Isaac has always been the rule follower, while its almost as if Ivy cannot help but get in trouble. It is only after Isaac injures his ankle, and Ivy decides she does not want to go to the alternative high school, that things change. But that change comes at a cost. Instead of the drugs simply being part of the story, the Shustermans have made them fully fleshed out characters with personalities, goals, plans, and ambitions. With nicknames like Addison (Adderall), Phineas (morphine), Lucy (LSD or acid), and Crys (crystal meth), they each have a way they behave, talk, and even dress. The reader knows they are not real people, but Ivy and Isaac often interact with them as if they are, showing just how much influence these drugs can have.
My Verdict: At the beginning of the book, the authors warn that the story will be intense, and just because I believed them, it does not mean I was prepared. Ivy and Isaac have a fairly typical sibling dynamic, with one being a mess and the other being the protective and careful one, but it is incredible how drastically everything changes. What the authors have done is show how quickly the addiction can show up, and how sneaky and insidious it all is. It does not matter that Isaac has never demonstrated this kind of behavior before, and it does not matter that Ivy only wants to be able to focus and do better. And the voices and personalities that the Shustermans have given to the prescription drugs are not only convincing, but haunting. All readers should heed the warning at the beginning of the book, particularly those with any experience with addiction.
Favorite Moment: It is hard to chose a favorite moment in a book like this. There is a lot going on, and a large amount of it is bad. But there are moments when some of the prescription drugs must reflect on what they are, why they were created, and what they are doing to people.
Favorite Character: When I first started reading, I never imagined that I was going to pick one of the drugs as my favorite, but Rita (Ritalin) wins it for me. She is Addison's annoyingly virtuous sister who refuses to lose sight of the real reason she was created.
Recommended Reading: Neal Shusterman's Arc of the Scythe series is certainly on its way to being a modern classic, though I also recommend the memoir Hollywood Park by Mikel Jollett.
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