Heroine

 McGinnis, Mindy. Heroine. 2019. 419p. ISBN 9780062847195. Available at FIC MCG on the library shelves.

Mickey Catalan doesn't know her birth parents, doesn't know why her adoptive father left her family and started a new one, and doesn't know why she never seems to fit in a crowd. She does know that she's the best softball catcher there is, and with her friend Carolina at the mound, they are an unstoppable team. Mickey breathes and lives softball, and she's looking forward to her senior year season and the scouts that will come and recruit her to a college scholarship. 

Returning from picking up pizza, the two of them are in a car accident that flips the vehicle over. Carolina's pitching arm is injured, and Mickey's hip is crushed. At the hospital, emergency surgery patches Mickey up, but the prognostic is not good. With 12 weeks left before the start of softball, it's highly improbable that she will find herself behind the plate. Mickey is dedicated and stubborn, however, and she will do anything to speed up recovery. Prescribed oxycontin to control her pain, she soon first herself under the influence of the drug, always seeking a higher dose. Having gone through her entire supply, Mickey's not sure how she will get her next pill, and her doctor refuses to help. A nice old lady offers her a few pills outside the clinic, and provides her with her phone number if she wants more.

At Edith's home, Mickey meets Josie, who loves oxy too, and unlike Mickey Josie has money to burn. The two of them settle in a friendship of sorts where they do drugs at Edith's, and soon two boys from Josie's school join them. Mickey's physical condition improves, and she slowly begins to work out with Carolina, who's also suffering through her own recovery. With the softball season about to start, Mickey gets the all clear to play, and her doctor and physical therapist are impressed with her progress. Mickey wants to keep her secret safe, and doesn't consider herself an addict, but when her source of oxy runs dry, she makes the switch to heroine and begins injecting herself. 

As the season progresses, Mickey's lies and actions begin to catch up with her, and even though she realizes that she no longer needs the drug for her pain, she can't let it go. With everything on the line, including a softball championship and her relationship with her parents, Mickey will find herself with no choice at all ...

Mickey's descent into addiction is slow and progressive, and demonstrates how a reasonable person can fall into the pits of addiction despair. She continues to make bad decisions, her judgement affected by what the drug does to her and always chasing that elusive high that will make her forget her difficulties. Fans of realistic fiction and those who know someone in the throes of addiction will appreciate the powerful descriptions of Mickey's slow descent into drug hell, and how she eventually comes out of it.