“Heroine” by Mindy McGinnis is not just a deeply effective cautionary tale, but a direct and multi-layered examination of how quickly addiction takes hold and the deeply emotional and lasting toll it takes on a family, a community, and a young person in its grips. Gritty and alarmingly realistic, “Heroine” is careful to make the point that addiction, especially addiction to opioids, can and will claim anyone – wealthy and poor, white and black, young and old. Fentanyl overdoses are claiming young Americans at an unprecedented rate. According to the CDC, fentanyl has largely fueled a more than doubling of overdose deaths among children ages 12 to 17 since 2020. Statistic after statistic, study after study, shows the same thing: we are in a crisis. “Heroine” has been removed from library shelves and classrooms for “glorifying” drug use. But if you read this book, you know the opposite is true. “Heroine” is harrowing and hard to read – but necessary. One way to protect your children from the very real and present danger of opioid addiction is by offering them safe exploration – a book. Sept. 7, 2024