Ivy – is the daughter of a power couple. Her mum has just won the Carlton Citizen of the Year and the presentation ceremony is at 6pm. Ivy is super organised like her mum and although her parents are flying back into town just before the event, Ivy feels she has everything under control. Control is how she moulds her life. It’s the only way to keep calm, as her genius younger brother Daniel constantly outshines her without even trying.

Control is a slippery slope today however, as only yesterday Ivy (Class president for the past 3 years) lost the election to the class clown everyone calls Boney. Humiliated and wanting nothing more than to hide, she intends to hold her chin high and cope with the school day.

Cal – has two dads, one who is a dean at his school, Carlton High. Cal is quiet, artistic and without many friends. His dads suggest this may be because he is always in a relationship and he doesn’t leave much room for them. He has to admit they’re probably right. The fact that his ‘sort of’ girlfriend hasn’t turned up for their breakfast date (again), spoils the school day before it even begins.

Mateo – Nearly 18 like the others, is carrying the stress and pressures of someone much older. His mum’s business folded after she was sued the previous year, just as she was hit with a debilitating illness. Mateo and his cousin Autumn do everything they can to make life easier for his pain-riddled mum, working multiple jobs between them as they also attend Carlton High.

Ivy, Cal and Mateo were close friends when they were younger, but high school has seen them drift apart. On this one day when they all have had a bad start, they run into each other in the school carpark. They decide on a whim to do what made them friends in the first place – skip school for a day and cruise around Boston. Back then Cal called it The Greatest Day Ever and his web comic about that day is still deemed by some to be his best.

But skipping school at 17 is completely different to skipping school in 6th grade. They quickly run out of things to talk about, Ivy regrets her wrecklessness and they can’t decide what to do – until Ivy sees Boney on a Boston street. He’s skipping school too? When he’s supposed to be delivering his acceptance speech as class president? Ivy is livid and she sets off after him.

If only they hadn’t seen him. If only they’d walked the other way…

These three friends get pulled into a murder, a desperate and destructive search, swinging golf clubs and pounding fists. They are held at gunpoint, accused on social media, dragged through school gossip, and personal secrets and pasts are spilt. In less than 24 hours their lives are changed forever, and their trust in people shattered.

Another twisty, thriller, whodunnit – You’ll be the Death of Me is told in three viewpoints. I enjoyed the contrasts between these three past friends and the truths that were teased out throughout the narrative. Being 17 and not wanting to face more fallout than was already coming their way, they decide to try and solve a murder on their own.

This inevitably brings triple the trouble and their own lives are suddenly under threat. The back stories and sub plots were seamlessly woven together, drawing me further into their lives, past and present hurts. So much so, when secrets (one in particular) were finally revealed I felt the stab of betrayal myself.

Great writing with a sting in the tail.

Author – Karen McManus

Age –  13+

Read more reviews of Karen McManus books (Click on a Cover)

(2021, Penguin, Action, Love, Romance, Friendship, School, Betrayal, Murder, Crime, Mystery, Secret, Genius Sibling, Sibling Rivalry, Pranks, Jokes, Class Election, Art, Teacher, Sports Coach, Citizen of the Year Ceremony, TikTok)