Author Description

Product Description An Amazon Best Book of the Month! A captivating and powerful exploration of the opioid crisis the deadliest drug epidemic in American history through the eyes of a college-bound softball star. Edgar Award-winning author Mindy McGinnis delivers a visceral and necessary novel about addiction, family, friendship, and hope. When a car crash sidelines Mickey just before softball season, she has to find a way to hold on to her spot as the catcher for a team expected to make a historic tournament run. Behind the plate is the only place she s ever felt comfortable, and the painkillers she s been prescribed can help her get there. The pills do more than take away pain; they make her feel good. With a new circle of friends fellow injured athletes, others with just time to kill Mickey finds peaceful acceptance, and people with whom words come easily, even if it is just the pills loosening her tongue. But as the pressure to be Mickey Catalan heightens, her need increases, and it becomes less about pain and more about want, something that could send her spiraling out of control. Review Compassionate, compelling, and terrifying...A cautionary tale that exposes the danger of prescription medications by humanizing one victim of America's current epidemic. --"Kirkus Reviews (starred review)" McGinnis creates fully dimensional characters. Even the drug dealers have complex and interesting back stories. There's also no romanticized happy ending, just the realistic portrayal of how easy it is to develop an opiate addiction and the very real consequences of addiction. A timely and important message for teens everywhere. --"Booklist" About the Author Mindy McGinnis an Edgar Award-winning author and an assistant young-adult librarian. She graduated magna cum laude from Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio, with a BA in English literature and religion.