kricketa's review against another edition
2.0
disappointing. i hated all of the characters except for will, who was tolerable.
i guess i would recommend it for fans of 'go ask alice' which i also loathed.
i guess i would recommend it for fans of 'go ask alice' which i also loathed.
missprint_'s review against another edition
3.0
I make no claims that this book shows the "real" life of teens or sensationalizes the less-than-dramatic reality. I simply don't know. What I can say is that "Rx" by Tracy Lynn is very timely. Last December, for example, there were numerous news stories detailing the pressures teens face to be perfect and pretty and fun while making it all look easy. This book offers one explanation of how some teens do that.
Thyme Gilcrest goes to a competitive high school in a rich suburban neighborhood. It's senior year and she is jockeying for position among the top 20 of her class--a coveted spot that Thyme can barely cling to despite hours of work each night. This all changes when Thyme gets a hold of some Ritalin to treat her self-diagnosed ADHD. Suddenly she can focus and life is good. Then her friends find out about the drug and start asking her to get other "cure alls" for them.
Lynn writes this story in matter-of-fact, concise prose. Narrated by Thyme, the story never offers judgment on the druggies, dealers and misfits that populate its pages. Instead, Lynn is simply setting down the facts as she knows them (read the afterward to see why the story is important to her) to offer up a cautionary tale about the hazards of prescription drug abuse and dealing.
The prose here is arresting. After the first pages I was hooked. Thyme's commentary is sardonic and caustic--an appealing combination. At the same time, her story is painful to read as Thyme describes her let-downs and her own shortcomings. Despite that, the middle begins to drag as Thyme transitions of user to dealer. However, Lynn will throw in a trick now and then to surprise you.
Stylistically, this novel isn't overly exceptional. It's what I would term a "gimmick" novel--trying to cash in on the popularity (for lack of a better word) of the issue of prescription drug abuse in high schools.
The novel also deals with the world of privileged teens: kids whose parents have enough money that they are never home and leave their children with a bit too much free reign in their absence. The term "latch key children" might also come to mind. In a world where family dinners don't happen as often as they used to, perhaps it's not surprising to see more and more novels focusing on "latch key teens."
Part of me wants to do more research on the subject to see if prescription drugs are really that available to random teenagers but, as with most things, I think it depends on the teen and the location. For my part, I had a nagging sense that the novel was overstating the problem or perhaps focusing on a more suburban phenomenon (although Meg Cabot's new novel "Jinx" which is set in New York City briefly touches upon this issue as well). Perhaps I'm the only one who didn't know how to go about getting illegal substances as a teen (and still doesn't) and had no desire to.
At any rate, "Rx" is an interesting look at the burdens of overachievers even if the novel might leave you with more of a nagging feeling than a completely satisfied one.
Thyme Gilcrest goes to a competitive high school in a rich suburban neighborhood. It's senior year and she is jockeying for position among the top 20 of her class--a coveted spot that Thyme can barely cling to despite hours of work each night. This all changes when Thyme gets a hold of some Ritalin to treat her self-diagnosed ADHD. Suddenly she can focus and life is good. Then her friends find out about the drug and start asking her to get other "cure alls" for them.
Lynn writes this story in matter-of-fact, concise prose. Narrated by Thyme, the story never offers judgment on the druggies, dealers and misfits that populate its pages. Instead, Lynn is simply setting down the facts as she knows them (read the afterward to see why the story is important to her) to offer up a cautionary tale about the hazards of prescription drug abuse and dealing.
The prose here is arresting. After the first pages I was hooked. Thyme's commentary is sardonic and caustic--an appealing combination. At the same time, her story is painful to read as Thyme describes her let-downs and her own shortcomings. Despite that, the middle begins to drag as Thyme transitions of user to dealer. However, Lynn will throw in a trick now and then to surprise you.
Stylistically, this novel isn't overly exceptional. It's what I would term a "gimmick" novel--trying to cash in on the popularity (for lack of a better word) of the issue of prescription drug abuse in high schools.
The novel also deals with the world of privileged teens: kids whose parents have enough money that they are never home and leave their children with a bit too much free reign in their absence. The term "latch key children" might also come to mind. In a world where family dinners don't happen as often as they used to, perhaps it's not surprising to see more and more novels focusing on "latch key teens."
Part of me wants to do more research on the subject to see if prescription drugs are really that available to random teenagers but, as with most things, I think it depends on the teen and the location. For my part, I had a nagging sense that the novel was overstating the problem or perhaps focusing on a more suburban phenomenon (although Meg Cabot's new novel "Jinx" which is set in New York City briefly touches upon this issue as well). Perhaps I'm the only one who didn't know how to go about getting illegal substances as a teen (and still doesn't) and had no desire to.
At any rate, "Rx" is an interesting look at the burdens of overachievers even if the novel might leave you with more of a nagging feeling than a completely satisfied one.
beccaa's review against another edition
2.0
Pretty hard book to review but I defiantly enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would.
The story is pretty pointless and isn't really going anywhere - it just follows her from the end of junior yeah to the end of senior year which I guess was interesting as I am going into my last year.
It was hard to feel a bond with the characters even thyme the main character (pretty sure I laughed out loud when I heard her name) her parents are kind of annoying but her friends seem okay.
The best part of the book is defiantly everything to do with drugs. It was really interesting and it opens your eyes to how many prescription drugs there are out there and how easy it is to get them.
I also loved the parts where she overheard certain things at party's and just around school - they were pretty funny.
So yeah not a bad book, reflects the pressure kids feel these days and shows how drugs help/interfere with modern teenagers.
The story is pretty pointless and isn't really going anywhere - it just follows her from the end of junior yeah to the end of senior year which I guess was interesting as I am going into my last year.
It was hard to feel a bond with the characters even thyme the main character (pretty sure I laughed out loud when I heard her name) her parents are kind of annoying but her friends seem okay.
The best part of the book is defiantly everything to do with drugs. It was really interesting and it opens your eyes to how many prescription drugs there are out there and how easy it is to get them.
I also loved the parts where she overheard certain things at party's and just around school - they were pretty funny.
So yeah not a bad book, reflects the pressure kids feel these days and shows how drugs help/interfere with modern teenagers.
books_plan_create's review against another edition
2.0
This one was okay. Very tedious towards the end. But I did like the ending.
haleybre's review against another edition
4.0
Going into this book, I thought that the main character, Thyme, had pretty much come out of the womb as a drug dealer and the novel was going to be about her daily life. This is not the case. Actually, Thyme started out as just an all around good kid and got caught up in dealing drugs throughout the story. I had a few problems with the book but it was still pretty fantastic. It's something you rarely hear about in books (good kids doing bad things) and I think Tracy Lynn did a great job showcasing the stress of academics.
jshettel's review against another edition
2.0
I loved the premise for this YA novel, but was really let down by the resolution.
tjlcody's review against another edition
5.0
Alternative Title: Why Self-Diagnosis and Self-Medicating is a Horrible, Horrible Idea, For the Love of God, Don't Do It (TUMBLR, WHAT'S GOOD?)
Yeah, the self-dx community on Tumblr kept coming to mind with this one, and if there's any compelling case to make for why you should always, always, always seek a professional when you think there's something wrong with you, or never, never, never take a medication you haven't be prescribed, it's this book.
Thyme is an example, for me, of a protagonist that I didn't like, but she was gloriously well-written, and so I can forgive anything else. For most of the book I thought she came off as arrogant- y'know, "lawl I'm 16 and I can totes diagnose myself and everyone else with various disorders because, at 16, I totes know psychology and physiology as well as a trained professional".
But she had her come-to-Jesus moment at the end, and the fact that it was pulled off so well made it believable, unlike other come-to-Jesus moments in other books I've read where they just ~SUDDENLY HAVE AN EPIPHANY APROPOS OF NOTHING~, versus them gradually re-evaluating their behavior and saying, "Whoops, not good."
Other than that, the humor was good and the book overall was very well-written.
Yeah, the self-dx community on Tumblr kept coming to mind with this one, and if there's any compelling case to make for why you should always, always, always seek a professional when you think there's something wrong with you, or never, never, never take a medication you haven't be prescribed, it's this book.
Thyme is an example, for me, of a protagonist that I didn't like, but she was gloriously well-written, and so I can forgive anything else. For most of the book I thought she came off as arrogant- y'know, "lawl I'm 16 and I can totes diagnose myself and everyone else with various disorders because, at 16, I totes know psychology and physiology as well as a trained professional".
But she had her come-to-Jesus moment at the end, and the fact that it was pulled off so well made it believable, unlike other come-to-Jesus moments in other books I've read where they just ~SUDDENLY HAVE AN EPIPHANY APROPOS OF NOTHING~, versus them gradually re-evaluating their behavior and saying, "Whoops, not good."
Other than that, the humor was good and the book overall was very well-written.
jlpxoxo's review against another edition
3.0
I'm going to go ahead and say that I liked this book. The main character isn't the easiest person to relate to, or be sympathetic towards, but we can't like everyone we meet right? Thyme is an academically competitive girl that finds herself in the chaotic world of drugs after trying to gain an edge by using Ritalin to study.
From that point her decisions continue to get worse. Not everyone agrees with a story like this, especially parents, but the reality is that things like this happen.
Personally, I'd recommend it.
From that point her decisions continue to get worse. Not everyone agrees with a story like this, especially parents, but the reality is that things like this happen.
Personally, I'd recommend it.