libarra's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Great to read when you want to enjoy a book. There are never really any boring parts of it and if you want a book to read in your free time choose this one.
kpmanatee12's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
agenderberry335's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Drug abuse
carlyroth10's review against another edition
4.0
4.5
Oh how I love Mindy McGinnis. I had this book on my to read list ever since I read The Female of The Species, hoping this book could replicate the captivating, heartbreaking, and real feel of it. It did not disappoint.
Heroine was a heartbreaking story, but one that happens too often. Mickey, our heroine addicted to heroin (get it) struggles after a car crash only wanting to recover fast, and ends up just wanting to feel happy. Throughout the book, from Big Ed and the obituaries, it showed really how many people are affected by the addictiveness of drugs. When I read my first drug usage book, Crank by Ellen Hopkins, I thought “damn dude this is a great story but probs doesn’t happen to many”, this book showed me it happens to anyone.
I sped through this book because I just couldn’t put it down. I was anticipating when it would all go to shit. What killed me in this book was when it was revealed just how long Mickey had been using ( a month) and it made me do a double take. It happened so fast but I was reading it as though it happened through a whole semester and a half. But just one month and her life was fucked up.
This book really just took a hold of me and wouldn’t let me go, which I’m not completely mad about although I should be studying for finals. A great book, a great story, and fantastic writing.
Oh how I love Mindy McGinnis. I had this book on my to read list ever since I read The Female of The Species, hoping this book could replicate the captivating, heartbreaking, and real feel of it. It did not disappoint.
Heroine was a heartbreaking story, but one that happens too often. Mickey, our heroine addicted to heroin (get it) struggles after a car crash only wanting to recover fast, and ends up just wanting to feel happy. Throughout the book, from Big Ed and the obituaries, it showed really how many people are affected by the addictiveness of drugs. When I read my first drug usage book, Crank by Ellen Hopkins, I thought “damn dude this is a great story but probs doesn’t happen to many”, this book showed me it happens to anyone.
I sped through this book because I just couldn’t put it down. I was anticipating when it would all go to shit. What killed me in this book was when it was revealed just how long Mickey had been using ( a month) and it made me do a double take. It happened so fast but I was reading it as though it happened through a whole semester and a half. But just one month and her life was fucked up.
This book really just took a hold of me and wouldn’t let me go, which I’m not completely mad about although I should be studying for finals. A great book, a great story, and fantastic writing.
rachreads28's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
4.5
littlespookycute's review against another edition
4.0
This is very different from what I usually read but it was so good and so SAD. Like the author really does a great job of making you feel what Mickey is going through. This book is very triggering though so be sure to read the TW’s!
mandyist's review against another edition
4.0
I never thought I’d see the day where I recommend a book that I did not enjoy or where I absolutely disliked the protagonist but here we go. In Heroine Mindy McGinnis, author of Female of the Species and Not A Drop to Drink has decided to tackle the growing opioid crisis in the US with a brutal, no holds barred account of a teenager who becomes addicted to heroine. It is not a pleasant book to read but I could not put it down.
Mickey Catalan and her best friend Carolina are local softball stars, the talk of their town and no doubt heading to college on scholarships. Until one day, they are involved in a terrible car accident where Mickey’s hip is shattered along with Carolina’s arm. In those first weeks following the accident, both girls need Oxy to help them deal with the pain and get back into training. Why is it then that Mickey travels down a much darker path than Carolina, one that will destroy nearly everyone close to her and end some relationships forever?
Mindy McGinnis starts at the end, so we know in the very first page where this story is going but that didn’t make it any less compelling or devastating.
The only problem is that Mickey is so awful.
I don’t usually like it when people say they don’t like a protagonist, preferring instead to try understand why the author wrote them that way. That didn’t make the book any more enjoyable to read because Mickey is first and foremost an addict and what is there to like in a novel about an addict becoming addicted? I speak from deep personal experience when I say that addicts are selfish, duplicitous, lying, thieving people who will stop at nothing to get their next fix. You’re not meant to like an addict.
Mickey’s downfall is horrendous and messy. There is not really any chance of liking that.
"REALISTIC, FRUSTRATING AND TERRIFYING"
So is the book worth reading? Yes. Mindy McGinnis has done such a good job of writing this catastrophically flawed character that she draws the reader right in to the events in a book. I don’t mean simply that I was engaged or riveted, which I was, I mean that I felt emotionally drained and traumatised by the end of the book.
Heroine definitely does a better job of showing the harm of drugs than Christiane F or Go Ask Alice. I haven’t read any more contemporary YA books on substance abuse because, like Heroine, if it is well written it is never going to be an enjoyable or uplifting read. I’ve also gone through that in real life and don’t necessarily want to be reminded of it.
Heroine is realistic, frustrating and terrifying. I give it an excellent four out of five stars and definitely recommend this book for classroom discussions on opioid abuse and addiction.
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Mickey Catalan and her best friend Carolina are local softball stars, the talk of their town and no doubt heading to college on scholarships. Until one day, they are involved in a terrible car accident where Mickey’s hip is shattered along with Carolina’s arm. In those first weeks following the accident, both girls need Oxy to help them deal with the pain and get back into training. Why is it then that Mickey travels down a much darker path than Carolina, one that will destroy nearly everyone close to her and end some relationships forever?
Mindy McGinnis starts at the end, so we know in the very first page where this story is going but that didn’t make it any less compelling or devastating.
The only problem is that Mickey is so awful.
I don’t usually like it when people say they don’t like a protagonist, preferring instead to try understand why the author wrote them that way. That didn’t make the book any more enjoyable to read because Mickey is first and foremost an addict and what is there to like in a novel about an addict becoming addicted? I speak from deep personal experience when I say that addicts are selfish, duplicitous, lying, thieving people who will stop at nothing to get their next fix. You’re not meant to like an addict.
Mickey’s downfall is horrendous and messy. There is not really any chance of liking that.
"REALISTIC, FRUSTRATING AND TERRIFYING"
So is the book worth reading? Yes. Mindy McGinnis has done such a good job of writing this catastrophically flawed character that she draws the reader right in to the events in a book. I don’t mean simply that I was engaged or riveted, which I was, I mean that I felt emotionally drained and traumatised by the end of the book.
Heroine definitely does a better job of showing the harm of drugs than Christiane F or Go Ask Alice. I haven’t read any more contemporary YA books on substance abuse because, like Heroine, if it is well written it is never going to be an enjoyable or uplifting read. I’ve also gone through that in real life and don’t necessarily want to be reminded of it.
Heroine is realistic, frustrating and terrifying. I give it an excellent four out of five stars and definitely recommend this book for classroom discussions on opioid abuse and addiction.
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kerstynleigh's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
sad
fast-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
4.75
This is probably my favorite of the 3 Mindy McGinnis books I've read so far. It was so raw and sad and Mickey was terrible and wonderful. She is so good at making you look right at something and accept it for what it is. And Brittany Pressley brings her stories to life perfectly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Vomit, and Excrement
Moderate: Death
lisettemarie's review against another edition
5.0
Ooof normally I don’t cry while reading/listening but this one had me tearing up at the end. How easily it happened for the protagonist and how wholly the addiction consumed her. A very gritty read, 5 stars based on how it made me feel while listening