Tuesday, March 1, 2022

Teen Tuesday and Audiobook Review: You'll Be the Death of Me by Karen M. McManus

You'll Be the Death of Me by Karen M. McManus. Unabridged e-audiobook, ~10 hours. Read by Rachel L. Jacobs, Anthony Rey Perez, Max Meyers and Malik Rashad. Listening Library/ Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group, November, 2021. 9780593208359. (Review of e-audiobook borrowed from the public library.)

Happy Tuesday! Teen Tuesday features You'll Be the Death of Me by Karen M. McManus. The queen of YA mystery/ thrillers is back with another whodunnit that will thrill her many fans at my school. High-strung, over-achieving Ivy Sterling-Shepherd has just lost the student council election to slacker Brian, Bony, Mahoney and she just can't bear to face attending the assembly where he will accept the position. She runs into her two former best friends in the high school parking lot and the three decide to skip school for the day to drive into Boston. They are going to try and recreate "The Best Day Ever," when they ditched a school field trip to hang out in seventh grade. They remained fast friends until high school, where they drifted apart. Cal is bummed that his "maybe girlfriend" stood him up and Mateo is beat from having to work three jobs to help support his ailing mother. The three are cautiously reconnecting in Boston when they spy Bony, or someone who looks just like him crossing the street. Ivy decides to confront him and gets up to follow, leaving the boys wondering what to do. When they finally catch up to her in an abandoned building, she's frozen in shock, staring at a dead body. It's Bony. The police are coming. The three are in the wrong place at the wrong time, and each has something to hide, so they run.

The pace is pulse-pounding as the POV shifts between Ivy, Cal and Mateo, leaving the reader guessing until the very end. As with all of Ms. McManus' books there is a high creep factor making this suitable for more mature teen readers. The audio performances were well-paced, with each performer nailing the teen voice and attitude. 

No comments:

Post a Comment