REVIEW: Drowning is Inevitable by Shalanda Stanley

Title: Drowning is Inevitable
Author: Shalanda Stanley
Publisher: Random House Children's
Publication Date: September 8th 2015
Part of A Series?: No, Standalone
I Got A Copy Through: The Publisher via NetGalley

Blurb Description: Olivia has spent her whole life struggling to escape her dead mother’s shadow. But when her father can’t even look at her because Olivia reminds him of her mother, and her grandmother mistakenly calls her “Lillian,”  shaking a reputation she didn’t ask for is next to impossible. Olivia is used to leaning on her best friend, Jamie; her handsome but hot-tempered boyfriend, Max; and their wild-child friend, Maggie, for the reality check that her small Louisiana town can’t provide. But when a terrible fight between Jamie and his father turns deadly, all Olivia can think to do is grab her friends and run. 

In a flash, Olivia, Jamie, Max, and Maggie become fugitives on the back roads of Louisiana. They’re headed to New Orleans, where they hope to find a solution to an unfixable problem. But with their faces displayed on all the news stations, their journey becomes a harrowing game of hide-and-seek from the police—and so-called allies, who just might be the real enemy.

Shalanda Stanley’s breathtaking debut novel explores the deep ties between legacy, loyalty, and love, even as it asks the question: How far would you go to save a friend?

**MY REVIEW**

“She was the ghost I was always looking for.”

I still remember the day I flipped Drowning is Inevitable open…

I was sitting in the car, and my parents and I were returning from somewhere a solid hour away, and the music playing on the radio was a little too mellow for my taste and so, to deal with the boredom, I switched on my Kindle app, and the cover of Drowning is Inevitable caught my attention.

Now now, before I go any further, I understand that it is morally (for a literature lover) to judge a book by its cover, but come on – everybody does it. My own little flaw. Well, suffice to say, the cover is gorgeous - and so is that title!

But, that’s not the point. The point was that within the first minute of properly starting the book (I spent two whole ones staring at that ARC sticker on the cover, thinking for the millionth time how cool it was that I get to read Advanced Copies!) I was HOOKED. There’s just something about powerful openings that get to me – and Drowning is Inevitable definitely had that.

I’m not going to go into the actual story line of the book- because who wants to ruin all of that fun of reading something with no spoilers – but I will tell you what I loved about the book, and why I think you should definitely read it:

First of all, THIS:

“I’m sorry. I wanted to jump off a cliff, and I didn’t want to do it with anyone but you.” (EEEK)

And getting more serious now- I absolutely ADORED how Shalanda Stanley created these characters that have spent their entire lives twirled around each other, and yet somehow, are only now truly realising it – when they’re willing to put all they’ve worked for all these years at risk, just for each other. I LOVED how there was this situation that occurs so frequently and yet so covered up in the world we live in today – one that always disgusts me – but for the first time, the abuse victim wasn’t all alone, and he had this support system, that was willing to go to ends of the earth with him. I loved Jamie and Olivia – and that for the first time ever, the best friend relationship was portrayed in this unquestionable, steadfast manner that left no room for interpretation or anybody else to get in the way off!

All in all, even though the paragraph above that I spent ranting probably makes no sense, I can’t recommend Drowning is Inevitable more!