When a car crash sidelines Mickey just before softball season, she has to find a way to hold on to her spot as the catcher for a team expected to make a historic tournament run. Behind the plate is the only place she’s ever felt comfortable, and the painkillers she’s been prescribed can help her get there.
The pills do more than take away pain; they make her feel good.
With a new circle of friends—fellow injured athletes, others with just time to kill—Mickey finds peaceful acceptance, and people with whom words come easily, even if it is just the pills loosening her tongue.
But as the pressure to be Mickey Catalan heightens, her need increases, and it becomes less about pain and more about want, something that could send her spiraling out of control.
Goodreads | Amazon
Rating: 4 Stars
My Review: WOW just WOW! This was so dark and raw and just so good. This is such a great book for teens of today. It doesn't sugar coat anything and it feels so real.
From School Library Journal
Gr 9 Up—All it takes is one prescription to kick-start a student athlete's frightening descent into opioid addiction. After surgery following a car accident, Ohio softball phenom Mickey Catalan is prescribed OxyContin for pain. When she starts to run out of the Oxy she relies on to get through her physical therapy, she gets pills from a dealer, through whom she meets other young addicts. Mickey rationalizes what she's doing and sees herself as a good girl who's not like others who use drugs (like new friend Josie, who uses because she's "bored"). Mickey loves how the pills make her feel, how they take her out of herself and relieve the pressures in her life. Soon she's stealing, lying, and moving on to heroin. Her divorced parents, including her recovering addict stepmother, suspect something is going on, but Mickey is skilled at hiding her addiction. A trigger warning rightfully cautions graphic depictions of drug use. In brutally raw detail, readers see Mickey and friends snort powders, shoot up, and go through withdrawal. Intense pacing propels the gripping story toward the inevitable conclusion already revealed in the prologue. An author's note and resources for addiction recovery are appended. This powerful, harrowing, and compassionate story humanizes addiction and will challenge readers to rethink what they may believe about addicts. VERDICT From the horrific first line to the hopeful yet devastating conclusion, McGinnis knocks it out of the park. A first purchase for all libraries serving teens.—Amanda MacGregor, Parkview Elementary School, Rosemount, MN
Review
“Intense pacing propels the gripping story... This powerful, harrowing, and compassionate story humanizes addiction and will challenge readers to rethink what they may believe about addicts. From the horrific first line to the hopeful yet devastating conclusion, McGinnis knocks it out of the park.” -- School Library Journal (starred review)
“A compassionate, compelling, and terrifying story about a high school softball player’s addiction to opioids. The writing is visceral, and following Mickey as she rationalizes about her addiction is educative and frightening. A cautionary tale that exposes the danger of prescription medications by humanizing one victim of America’s current epidemic.” -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“[A] realistic portrayal of how easy it is to develop an opiate addiction and the very real consequences of addiction. A timely and important message for teens everywhere.” -- ALA Booklist
Praise for The Female of the Species: “[A] gripping story that should be read and discussed by teens, as well as those who work with them.” -- Booklist (starred review)
“Each word has been specifically chosen, each character superbly and humanly sculpted, the plot line masterfully completed. McGinnis plays with the readers and they are at her mercy.” -- Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA) (starred review)
“McGinnis gracefully avoids the pitfalls of creating a teenage vigilante, instead maintaining a sense of piercing realism.” -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)
An unflinching look at rape culture and its repercussions.” -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“This is an astoundingly dark but beautifully written tragedy.” -- School Library Journal (starred review)
“[I]t’s raw. Not “raw for YA.” Real-deal raw. And violent. And unforgettable. McGinnis explores both and she goes there in a way no one really has before in YA.” -- The Globe and Mail
“Your heart may still be pounding after you’ve finished this book.” -- New York Times Book Review
“A compassionate, compelling, and terrifying story about a high school softball player’s addiction to opioids. The writing is visceral, and following Mickey as she rationalizes about her addiction is educative and frightening. A cautionary tale that exposes the danger of prescription medications by humanizing one victim of America’s current epidemic.” -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“[A] realistic portrayal of how easy it is to develop an opiate addiction and the very real consequences of addiction. A timely and important message for teens everywhere.” -- ALA Booklist
Praise for The Female of the Species: “[A] gripping story that should be read and discussed by teens, as well as those who work with them.” -- Booklist (starred review)
“Each word has been specifically chosen, each character superbly and humanly sculpted, the plot line masterfully completed. McGinnis plays with the readers and they are at her mercy.” -- Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA) (starred review)
“McGinnis gracefully avoids the pitfalls of creating a teenage vigilante, instead maintaining a sense of piercing realism.” -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)
An unflinching look at rape culture and its repercussions.” -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“This is an astoundingly dark but beautifully written tragedy.” -- School Library Journal (starred review)
“[I]t’s raw. Not “raw for YA.” Real-deal raw. And violent. And unforgettable. McGinnis explores both and she goes there in a way no one really has before in YA.” -- The Globe and Mail
“Your heart may still be pounding after you’ve finished this book.” -- New York Times Book Review
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FTC Guidelines: In accordance with FTC guidelines regarding endorsements and testimonials for bloggers, I would like my readers to know that many of the books I review are provided to me for free by the publisher or author of the book in exchange for an honest review. If am compensated for any reviews on this site I will state that post has been sponsored.
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