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

Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

You'll Be the Death of Me by Karen M. McManus

83 reviews

emily_mh's review against another edition

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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leahmaslin's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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chloek608's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I recommend this book if you like:

-YA mystery

-Multiple POV

-slight romance sub-plot

Another well planned YA mystery from Karen M. McManus. Her ability to write a plot with twists, clues and cliff-hangers is amazing. This story kept me guessing right to the end.

Boney was Ivy, Cal and Mateo’s classmate and they found him dead in an art studio. The trio try to uncover what happened to him and find clues along the way. This story involved drug dealers, high school teachers, family members and it all unfolded over the course of one day. At the very end we get to see a little bit into the future. Not everything is tied up into a nice little bow at the end, there is still a court case to happen and Mateo’s dad has a complicated plot twist.

The only reason for not giving this book 5 stars is I wasn’t as invested in the characters as I would have liked. Their voices throughout each chapters weren’t unique enough and I had to keep checking if it was Mateo or Cal speaking.

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paperpetal's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

4.25

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lewbug's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

It really picked up towards then end. I enjoyed this book a lot and it had a lot of interesting characters with complex motives. It had a lot of the intensity of a typical murder mystery while still feeling geared towards a young adult crowd. I also was pleasantly surprised that I didn’t completely predict the ending of the mystery which doesn’t always happen for me. I did feel like the book kept going longer than I expected and I didn’t really care that much about the final reveal which just seemed to be a set up for a sequel. Overall a good read

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charliecares's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.25

omg… it’s just so good !!!! the plot twists are crazyyy and karen m. mcmanus never fails to amaze me in her writing. she truely has me engulfed in all her stories and i’m on the edge of my seat trying to read as fast as i can so i can know what happens next. my favourite author i love her and her stories

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