Reviews with content warning for Racism - You'll Be the Death of Me

You’ll Be the Death of Me by Karen McManus follows three high school friends who skip school and witness the murder of one of their classmates. Slowly, they discover that their small town harbors dark secrets and that there are some people who cannot be trusted.

I thought the book was a solid young adult mystery/thriller experience. That being said, this book felt a bit forced compared to other books that I’ve read from McManus. The characters seemed to go out of their way to put themselves in the situations that they were in and because the threefold them are isolated for a good chunk of the book, there’s little opportunity for the reader to put the pieces together themselves.

I thought the ending was good, if not a bit rushed, but it wasn’t out of line for what I would expect from the genre. Overall, I give it 3 stars.

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themoodreader's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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z_thatsit's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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calamitywindpetal's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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emily_mh's review against another edition

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mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

If I was rating this solely based off enjoyment, it would be 5 stars. There were some definite issues with quality that meant I felt I should dock it a full star. But first, the positives! It was incredibly fast-paced and gripping, taking place over just a day (to this end, I thought it lived up to the Ferris Bueller’s Day Off gone wrong premise). Actual investigation took place, and the romance was actually believable (unlike the other two romances I’ve read of McManus). Finally, the situations and subsequent developments of the characters were really strong.

In terms of negatives, the character personalities (despite their diverse circumstances) were all fairly generic. More significantly, it was a little messy.

For example, it didn’t really tie up who the Coach got to kill Brian.

Finally, while I didn’t hate the resolution, I didn’t love it either.

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bella_cavicchi's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

3.5 stars !! I have not finished a book for fun in ages because ... grad school but Karen McManus' latest has everything I needed to get out of a reading rut: fast pace, a heavy dose of '80s teen movie references, and a plot that is somewhat unplausible and YET (!) still compels you to go along for the ride. Great fun.

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