Heroine

The Female of the Species and Edgar Award–winning author Mindy McGinnis delivers a powerful exploration of the opioid crisis through the eyes of one girl, creating a visceral and necessary story about addiction, family, and friendship. Now in paperback.

Mickey Catalan’s life has been littered with struggles—from the scars that tell of past injuries, to her parents’ divorce, to the daily complexity of finding the right words to fit in socially. Mickey is no stranger to pain, emotional or physical.

When a car crash sidelines her months before softball season, Mickey 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 back 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.