Most assume that addiction comes with tell-tale signs, from weight loss to scabs and scars, but Heroine by Mindy McGinnis speaks the humbling truth that will leave you feeling hollow. This raw, eye-opening novel is just what everyone needs to read.
Heroine elucidates how the opioid crisis is affecting many, including young people. Mickey Catalan is a smart, talented 17-year-old, unrivaled on her softball team. After getting into a car crash with her best friend, she is itching to recover to play in her softball season. After being prescribed OxyContin once for pain, Mickey realizes she adores the sense of numbness that the drug yielded. Heroine dives deep into addiction from the perspective of the user, narrated through Mickey’s downward spiral, which is more like a roller coaster in a myriad of ways. She goes through many phases of addiction, all described through her actions and innermost thoughts. McGinnis opens the novel with Mickey finding all of her friends dead, which is then backtracked to see the story unravel. We see every one of her highs and lows, all while building her character and getting to know her as a person.
McGinnis titled this novel Heroine, spelled to describe “a woman admired or idealized for her courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.” Mickey’s story becomes one where she finds satisfaction in other’s pride in her, which leads her down many unfortunate paths. Used to being idolized for her softball talents, she also begins to doubt herself when this skill is put at risk. Before, she only felt comfortable on a field behind the plate, and now painkillers are helping her relive it.
Although its release date was four years ago, this Mindy McGinnis novel calamitously relates to society more than ever. Deaths from overdose of opioids continue to rise, officially naming it a national health crisis. Like so many, Mickey has her life and future looming over, forcing her to face some hard truths that the drugs make far too easy to cast aside.
Heroine illustrates exactly this: all the damage drugs can do. I found it interesting how McGinnis made Mickey’s experience so realistic, but there can always be improvement. Mickey’s best friend was also in the car crash and got injured, but never got addicted to any medication. It would have made the novel even more riveting if her perspective was described in order to represent the different things that go on in people’s minds.
Overall, this book was difficult to put down, always keeping me on my toes and excited for what was to come. I cannot attest to the truthfulness behind Heroine without experiencing something similar myself, but I can say that this novel brought the topic closer to home, which is one of the book’s greatest achievements, along with its immaculate storyline.
The book’s development, with its brutal honesty, shows us the ups and downs of a drug user’s daily life. When reading Heroine, what comes next is always difficult to predict, making it an exciting read. If you are looking for a book to get you out of a reading slump, Heroine may do the trick.