Rx
- By Tracy Lynn
- Genre: Coming of Age
Common Sense Media says
Heavy look at prescription drug abuse for teens.
- By Tracy Lynn
- Genre: Coming of Age
What parents need to know
Educational value
Positive role models
Violence
Sex
Language
Consumerism
Drinking, drugs, & smoking
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that this book is about a teen girl's addiction to Ritalin. Almost every character in the book -- parent and teen -- takes drugs (prescription or recreational), and the protagonist becomes a popular dealer at her high school. There's also swearing, drinking, casual sex (a character thinks she's pregnant), and a suicide. But this is a cautionary tale full of facts and storylines meant to raise awareness of prescription drug abuse.
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Kids say
What's the story?
An overachieving high school student decides she has ADHD and starts taking Ritalin (stolen from a friend). Soon she's hooked, diagnosing her peers so she can deal to them -- and keep supporting her habit. Teens will never forget that this book has a message: to educate kids -- and parents -- about the dangers of prescription drugs. Narrator Thyme not only details her own addiction, but also documents the drugs' prevalence by including bits of drug talk heard in the halls of her high school and by weaving facts about the drugs into her story. Her mom even trades Xanax with her co-workers.
Is it any good?
QUALITY
This is a dramatic story -- Thyme deals with withdrawal, having her stash stolen (and found by police), and even a teen client's suicide. But it's a timely book, too. The author is definitely didactic, but she connects the dots well, showing how the pressure to succeed combines so dangerously with the prevalence of pills, prescriptions, and self-diagnosis, creating a serious culture of dependency for both teens and parents. Parents are encouraged to read along -- and discuss -- this book with their teens.
Families can talk about...
Families can talk about the book's relevance. Do they have friends -- or classmates -- who use prescription drugs, legally or illegally? What have they heard about "study drugs" like Ritalin and Adderall?
This book shows both kids and parents taking lots of prescription drugs; are we too drug-dependent as a society? Do TV ads that promise dramatic weight loss or the end of depression have an impact on our culture's drug use?
Book details
| Author: | Tracy Lynn |
| Genre: | Coming of Age |
| Book type: | Fiction |
| Publisher: | Simon Pulse |
| Publication date: | March 16, 2006 |
| Number of pages: | 272 |
| Read aloud: | 15 |
| Read alone: | 15 |
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QUALITY
good book
I loved this book.
especially the ending when she doesn't throw the two riralin pills in the toilet. Whic means she has not fully left her high school habit behind.
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every teen should read
I like this book so far and i do know kids like this that use ritilin and atterol just to use it. I lost one of my best friends cause he was crushing up these meds and snorting them like coke. i have not done that but i have taken oxycodone just to feel good. but it made me sick cause kept doing it and i had to end up taking 9 1/2 of them just to feel good because my body got used to them and i had to be rushed to the hospital. so i do believe that all teens that want to take drugs should should read this and think of the consequences.
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QUALITY
Hits the real issues facing teens
This book talks about the real world. Kids at my highschool are addicts and it was helpful to me and my friends to read this. it was totally appropriate, because it's what actually is going on.
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