Book Review - Heroine by Mindy McGinnis

Title: Heroine
Series: -
Author: Mindy McGinnis
 
Description: 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 help her get there.
 
The pills do more than take away the 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 het spiraling out of control.
 
Review: I want to start off this review by saying there are major trigger warnings. It’s about sever drug use, drug abuse, overdose and addiction. The book explores the opioid crisis, and sees it though the eyes of a teenage girl.
 
When Mickey gets severely injured right before softball season starts, she has to watch from the sideline. At least that is expected from her. When she gets a prescription for Oxycontin, she soon realizes they really take away the pain. But eventually they do more; they make her feel good. With her own prescription lowering quicker then required, she find several ways to get her pills. Eventually going to drug dealers or steal it from other patients. But, as Micey keeps telling herself, she is not an addict.
 
Author Mindy McGinnis wrote a very strong and realistic book. She takes on this difficult topic and turns it into an honest and raw story. “Heroine” shows us what drugs can really do to a person. Mickey starts to take her painkillers more frequently to make the pain more bearable, so that she can work through the pain and be ready for softball season. It’s such a sad story and you just know Mickey’s story is not going in the right direction.
 
I believe “Heroine” is a very important book. It’s intense and sometimes really difficult to read. But it’s really good and I could recommend it to anyone.
 
Rating: 4,5/ 5