Books On Our Radar: Drowning is Inevitable
by Shalanda Stanley
It was originally the cover that stopped me when perusing Goodreads for upcoming releases but then I read the description and I was hooked. An intriguing contemporary tale of four friends on the run in the back woods of Louisiana that’s also being touted as a” literary knock-out with the loudest of beating hearts” if that doesn’t sell you I don’t know what will. Even better, you will not have to wait long for this one as it releases next week, so be sure to pre-order it now!
“A literary knockout with the loudest of beating hearts.”
John Corey Whaley, Printz Award winner of Where Things Come BackOlivia 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?
