Month: May 2024

Starting this term, I began reading Roxy by Neal and Jarrod Shusterman. Though not very far in, I’m already starting to find a lot out. The main characters include brother Isaac and sister Ivy Ramey and Roxy and Addison. Issac is the younger of the two, only a year behind, and he tries his best to keep Ivy out of trouble, even going so far as to bring her home from a party after she snuck out. Ivy is the party head. She’s constantly trying different things out and rebelling against their parents. Roxy and Addison are the humanized adaptations of two drugs, Oxycodone and Adderall.

The most memorable scene so far is the prologue of the book, titled Naloxone, gives us a mystery look into the potential future for one of the Ramey kids. We are currently being talked to by the personified version of the drug Naloxone, a drug that is supposed to help with overdose. The scene is in a run-down house, a crack den of sorts. We aren’t told much, only that the victim underdosed, their toe tag reading Ramey, I. meaning either of them will fall to Roxy and/or Addison.

So far, the book is good. All the characters we meet have quirks and flaws, accurately showing that no one is perfect. Not even Issac’s girlfriend, Shelby. The character I despise the most is Ivy’s boyfriend, Craig. He’s a no-good, drug-fueled asshole. (Sorry for the language). He’s only fueling Ivy’s addiction, getting her into deeper trouble. When Issac comes to get Ivy from the party, Craig beats Issac up, ruining his (Issac’s) ankle. Issac then thinks he has to hide his injury, otherwise he could risk losing his soccer scholarship.

I believe that Issac will be the one to “join the party”. It just seems like the most obvious plot point, and it would give Ivy a new arc to overcome life without her brother. It would bring to ideal of a dystopia more into the book.

Lennie & George-

These two travel together, have been for years. They are the best example of polar opposites working together. They rely on each other for the not-so-simple task of survival.

Candy & His Dog-

Candy has had his dog for years, since the thing was just a pup. They are inseparable. Candy always mentions how his dog used to be this great herding dog, but now it has a sliver of life left in it. They neither really seem to hugely benefit except for the idea of loneliness.

Overall- Lennie and George and Candy and his old dog are similar. Both relationships are respected by the partnership and have lasted for several years. Both work or have worked side by side for these years and share mutual feelings, at least for the most part. They both seem to be made up of a “dumb” and a “smart”, a “big” and a “small”, an “irresponsible” and a “reasonable”. Both partnerships seem to be something in which if one were to go, the other wouldn’t know what to do or how to move on.