What is the book about?
Ivy, Mateo and Cal used to be the best of friends, an unbreakable trio – or at least that was what they thought. Despite their close friendship, they grew apart when they went into high school, but still had some dormant feelings between each other. So, when they run into each other in the school car park and Cal suggests they skip school, they are all happy to ditch for their own reasons. Completely unaware of the day that they have ahead of them, they believe it is just like old times and they will be able to recreate the Greatest Day Ever, from when they first ditched together in middle school. But, they aren’t the only ones with the idea of ditching school and they end up spotting their classmate Brian ‘Boney’ Mahoney acting suspiciously. They follow him into an empty building and accidentally walk into a murder scene. Now they are all involved with the murder whether they like it or not and they must try the truth before all of them end up in more trouble than they thought they would be. Their day of freedom has turned deadly and they know that it’s only a matter of time before all comes out and everyone knows what really happened…or what they want to believe.
What were your initial thoughts on the book?
As I have already read the other 4 Karen M. McManus books, as soon as I found out that You’ll Be the Death of Me was available for pre-ordering on Amazon, I knew that I needed. My friend, who has also read all the Karen M. McManus, had also pre-ordered You’ll Be the Death of Me, so we decided that we would read the book at the same time so we could discuss what had happened and our thoughts so far. Unfortunately, the book was actually released when we were both revising for our GCSE exams, so we had to make the choice to leave this book until after our exams. So, by the time the exams ended, I was dying to read the book (no pun intended). As soon as I laid eyes on the pristine white cover with the gorgeous purple lettering and paper edges, I knew that I was going to love the book just as much as the others. What I love the most about Karen M. McManus books is that all of them are designed in the same style and have the same covers and lettering, which really satisfies my strange OCD where everything has to be matching. The blurb only encouraged my ultimate love for the book and my friend agreed that she was very excited to start reading the book. We had both finished it in 3 days and both agreed that the book was just as incredible as we thought, with a few minor comments.
Who was your favourite character and why?
When I first started the book in Ivy’s point of view, I thought that I was going to come out thinking that Ivy was my favourite character because she seemed organised and prepared like I always am, but after the first couple of chapters I began to think that Ivy was a bit too jealous, spoilt and annoying to be my favourite character. My friend then told me that, after reading the first chapter in Cal’s perspective, she thought Cal was going to be her favourite character because he seemed to have a very good sense of humour and the most chill out of the bunch. However, we ended up both agreeing that Mateo was probably the best one and he was our favourite. Mateo seemed to be the most normal at one point and the one who could be sympathised with the most and whose problems weren’t petty and pathetic. He had really suffered but he chose not to give up and instead he got 3 different jobs to help his family. He took responsibility and grew up; while Cal and Ivy probably never had to work to help their family and probably had their parents buy most of their things. One thing he could have been better at was asking for help when he needed it, but I understand that he was stubborn and didn’t want to seem desperate and preferred to prove that he could do it by himself. He was never selfish and did all he could to help his family and friends no matter what.
What was your favourite part of the book and why?
Strangely there wasn’t really any part that actually stood out to me as my favourite part as the book was so hectic and crazy and full of death and mystery. However, if I had to pick, my favourite part would probably be near the end when some of my questions started to get answered and the truth was beginning to be uncovered. I chose this part because one of the things that Karen M. McManus has always done really well in all of her books so far is the way she uses the different points of view to build tension and keep her readers on edge and You’ll Be the Death of Me was no exception. The book bounced back and forth between characters and kept me on the edge of my seat for the majority of the last third of the book. I found it completely exhilarating and my friend completely agreed with me. This is definitely one of the things that I love the most about Karen M. McManus books and I hope to find that she continues to use this in her next books.
What was your overall impression of the book?
Overall, the book really was absolutely incredible and I loved the majority of it. One of the things that I adored (which I mentioned above) was how Karen M. McManus used the different points of view to build tension and keep her readers on edge. My friend completely agreed with me and said that she was flipping through perspectives so fast. The reason I loved it so much was because all of a sudden the character narrating would change just as one of the characters was going to uncover a new clue that would help uncover the truth. This meant that it was always just there but out of reach and it kept me desperate to read on. It was a very good technique to keep the readers hooked and Karen M. McManus used it perfectly in You’ll Be the Death of Me. Another thing that I really enjoyed about the book was how all of the main characters were relatable in different ways and, despite their differences; they were all able to work together. I liked all three of them (Ivy, Mateo and Cal) for different reasons, but what I liked best was how easily they got back to talking after being apart for so long. Although it seemed very unrealistic, I thought that it was sweet and it gives me hope that, even if I lose contact with some of my friends as we are going to different colleges, we will still be able to reconnect, as all of my friends mean the world to me and I wouldn’t want to lose our strong friendship. One last thing that I want to mention is the ending and how it could have been a bit better. The truth was uncovered and everything seemed to be in order, however, the way that the book ended left me with some questions that – unless another book is written – will remain unanswered. My friend was actually the first one of us to mention it and the way she put it was that the ending should have been more drawn out and with that I completely agree because I felt like we weren’t given enough closure. However, in conclusion, I adored the book and I am quite glad that I waited until after my exams because I wouldn’t have wanted to read it with the stress of them looming over me.
Would you recommend this book?
I would 100% recommend this book to absolutely anyone who wants to dive into a standalone murder mystery that you can devour in one sitting. I particularly recommend it to readers over 12 who love reading murder mysteries and books filled with action and adventure.
Summarise the book in one sentence. (Verdict)
A mysterious standalone novel that will keep you on your toes.
Reviewed by Jimena Gutierrez Reviriego
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