Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Roxy by Jarrod Shusterman, Neal Shusterman

13 reviews

taliatalksbooks's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Roxy by Neil and Jarrod Shusterman was compelling from the first page. I loved the perspective changes (which is rare for me) and thought they added a lot to the narrative. I also loved the characters and the complexity of their interactions. Addiction is a really difficult topic, but the way these characters interacted made it manageable and digestible. For me it was a very mind-opening read, and allows you to think in hard topics in a more controlled setting. I did find the story a bit predictable as details began to be revealed, but that didn’t stop this book from being really entertaining and thought provoking. I think if you’re looking for a unique book to add to your TBR, this one is definitely worth your time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Grief, Addiction, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Alcohol, Cancer, and Car accident

alicia_g's review

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

really impactful, but the ending was kinda predictable for me

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Grief, Drug abuse, Death, Alcohol, Addiction, and Child death

Moderate: Cancer

sienna1508's review

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is definitely one of my favourite books!! The whole book is so well written and really hooked me. The blurb for this book is a little confusing so let me re-write it: 
Drugs are personified to be like deities, existing and interacting with you when they take that drug. Most of them have the goal of taking the person to 'the Party' which is where they can be handed off to 'stronger' drugs or taken into the VIP room which is the equivalent of ODing. 
So a massive TW for drug abuse, plus also toxic relationship. 
<minor-spoiler> The story mainly follows a brother and sister Isaac and Ivy, and you learn from the first chapter that one of them dies, you just don't know who. </minor-spoiler> 
Doing some research into who the characters are before reading the book is useful, for example, Mary Jane is marijuana, and she has a business suit because she is legalised now. So all of the drugs have their own corresponding personality and description. 
Overall, this book is amazing and should definitely be read by more people. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Grief, Child death, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Death, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Alcohol, Gaslighting, Alcoholism, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Eating disorder and Vomit

glorytowers05's review

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Car accident, Death, Drug abuse, Medical content, Child death, Drug use, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Grief

ferdie's review

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Even though it was fast, if you have any connection with addiction, it will make you reflect. It was very thoughtful and well put together for how horrible the content can be. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Drug abuse, and Addiction

Moderate: Child death and Death

Minor: Alcoholism, Car accident, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts

212keatsk's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book HURT. I think it handled the very controversial topic of addiction very well. The writing is engaging and very layered. The concept of drugs using people and not the other way around is a very fresh perspective on addiction, one that I enjoyed. This book was a hard read but a necessary one. Neal shusterman handles mental illness with grace and this one felt like a waltz. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse

Moderate: Vomit and Death

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Grief

ecravens's review

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Medical content, Child death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Grief, and Vomit

atringas's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Incredible book. A very sensitive and creative exploration of some very deep, touching and emotional subject matters. The authors nail Roxy in a tone that is accessible and engaging without doing their subjects a disservice, or becoming derivative. 
An amazing read which, while slightly out of the ordinary, engages the brain and the heart in a unique and compelling tale of the struggles of modern life.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Drug abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, and Suicide attempt

kshertz's review

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This was such a good read and also, deeply disturbing and emotional. It is a fictional story of sibling addiction but at the same time, it has the drugs as main characters themselves. That took some getting used to and felt gimmicky and silly at first but then I fell into the deeper meaning and was able to fully learn and feel the emotion of addiction and the pain from this that is felt by families and the cycle continuing. Hard but good and important read. Surprised it’s YA!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Minor: Alcoholism, Self harm, Grief, Gaslighting, Death, Alcohol, and Toxic relationship

esme_may's review

dark emotional informative tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

There was a point in this book where I thought I was going to like it as much as some of Neal Shusterman's other books (I loved the Arc of a Scythe trilogy and Dry) as it was easy to get invested, but after a while it got repetitive. I used to be someone who kept up with the author's releases but I'm not sure that I still will given how widely my opinions on his different books vary

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Moderate: Grief, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Car accident, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit