Name: Drowning Is Inevitable
ISBN: 9780553508291

Shalanda Stanley

After seventeen-year-old Olivia and her friend Jamie accidentally kill Jamie's abusive father, two other friends, Max and Maggie, join them in running away from St. Francisville, Louisiana, to hide out in New Orleans while they try to figure out what to do next.

Drowning Is Inevitable

Lisa ✩ @lifeinlit

4.5 stars!

Drowning is Inevitable utterly and completely shocked me. I suppose it's because of my strict routine of not reading the synopsis immediately before reading the book. I had NO IDEA what this book was about, but just assumed I was getting a light and sweet YA contemporary. Um, no. It's not light. It's not sweet. It IS a contemporary, but that's as much as I had correct as far as my expectations were concerned. I was shocked by this book, in more ways than one... but it was such a good shocked. A fantastic one, actually. Though I didn't expect this book to go the way it did, I found myself thoroughly and completed invested in the story 100 percent, Kindle gripping until my fingers hurt. This one was such a great surprise.

What really stood out for me in this book was the gorgeous writing. I was so impressed with this debut from Shalanda Stanley. It read as if this was her hundredth book. The flow was also impeccable. There was never a dull moment, never a point that dragged or that didn't have purpose. And lastly, the messages weren't just waiting at the end for when you finally got there... they were spread throughout the entire story. Far too often we find book that just don't seem to have a purpose, until we get to the very bitter end and finally find out what their purpose was. With this story, there were actually several times where I had to put the book down because I was reeling and my mind was going haywire with SO MANY THOUGHTS! I don't find that much in books, so for that reason I found this story to be quite unique and astoundingly well written. 

There is one thing that I had hoped to get more of, and that's the backstory on Max and Olivia. I felt as though their "relationship", if we can call it that, was a very shaky on-again-off-again type of relationship from the first page, yet I never really understood why. (view spoiler)[ I could tell the love was there. Olivia was struck with butterflies several times when Max was around. But all I could get out of their story was that their relationship ended when Max drove drunk and got into an accident. But since then, Max has refrained from drinking entirely and is proving himself, accepting that he made a mistake. I just couldn't figure out if that was the ONLY reason why they weren't together, or if there was more? Olivia was obviously upset by what happened... but did they break up for that reason, and that reason alone? I would have really liked to have seen a bit more of their past and what led to their current situation, romantically.  (hide spoiler)]

I have a fear that with so many 5 star ratings, this book will scare people off. They will get this impression in their head, and then go into this story and feel almost disappointed in it. But this is the type of story that really and truly needs to be read blind, with no preconceived notions. No idea what the story is about. No expectations. Just go in with an open head and feel the story. I know that's next to impossible to make happen, but I really hope more people are able to enjoy this story to its fullest, like I was fortunate enough to.

There were so many messages in this story. It packed a punch and definitely made me think. This story isn't just about four teens on the run to New Orleans. Yes, that's part of the story... but there's SO MUCH MORE. It's about friendship, first and foremost, everlasting love, the vast differences in parenting, living life without hesitation, coming into oneself, and so much more! I can't even express how much I felt this book had to show, and I really hope more people read it. I feel this book will impact many different people for many different reasons, and I adore finding that in a book. Almost anyone can relate to one aspect or another in this book. It's a hidden gem that I'm so happy to have stumbled upon.


  


(Thanks to Knopf Books for Young Readers for the review copy!)

Find this review and others like it at Lost in Literature!

Drowning Is Inevitable

Reviews

Highlights