While I believe the stakes could have been higher and some reveals seemed to come out of nowhere, I did enjoy listening to this on audio, and I think the main characters and side characters were interesting, so I'll rate it 4/5 stars!

Karen McManus has been an auto buy author of mine for years! She consistently puts out fantastic books that are bingeworthy and that always leave me on the edge of my seat. I really enjoyed this new cast of characters and was excited for the premise of Ferris Buellers Day Off *with murder*. I mean... who wouldn't be excited about that? Well, I guess Ivy, Cal & Mateo might not! Like her other novels, this is told from the perspectives of the three friends. I always love this because you get to see the situation and slowly learn information through each chapter. You're never quite sure who to trust or what is actually going on. This one felt a little more predictable than the rest of her novels. It also seemed to focus more on the secondary plots (romance, parenting issues, etc.) than the actual murder. it was certainly a fast & fun read!

Karen McManus does it again. Think Ferris Bueller's Day Off but with murder. Three former friends reconnect in the school parking lot and decide to skip for the day. Which starts out as a great idea - until they run across the murder of one of their classmates. What follows is a wild ride with a twist ending that I didn't see coming. I will recommend this to my students.

I want to inject teen mysteries like this one straight into my veins. High school drama mixed with high-stakes secret-keeping makes for a great book in my mind. I don't have a lot of bad things to say about the book. The characters? Realistic and likable. The plot? Unpredictable and exciting. The ending? Not disappointing at all. Another hit from McManus.

If you pick a day to skip you should not pick the day when someone gets murdered who was the one who just bet you for class president. Three old friends who haven't talked in several years ran into each other in the parking lot and decided that they really didn't want to go to school that day. They decided to try to relive the best day ever they had in middle school when they ran out on a field trip and ended up seeing a parade. Instead of being able to relive the day they end up having one of the worse days ever. With the whole school talking and thinking you are a killer can you manage to find the real killer before you go down for the murder.

Always love a mcmanus mystery. Thus does not disappoint and cannot wait for her next book that comes out summer/fall 2022

Estranged friends Ivy, Mateo and Cal run into each other in the school parking lot one morning before school on a day all of them are dreading for different reasons. They used to be a tight trio and their friendship inexplicably dissolved at the beginning of high school. Each of the three played a part in this dissolution, and has a secret they have been keeping from the other two. As they stood in the school parking lot, they were reminded of a skip day they took when they were still good friends, and Cal suggests they do it again. The three pile into Cal's car and head to Boston in an effort to recreate their skip day and have one more day of the lost friendship. Their plans are upended when they stumble across the body of a classmate and Ivy is implicated in his death. The day of fun turns into a day of sleuthing and as they try to clear Ivy's name and find out what really happened, their secrets are stripped away one by one.

I am a huge Ferris Bueller fan, so this book immediately appealed to with the skip-day scenario. I enjoyed this slightly macabre version with situations facing teens today.

This is a McManus book through and through; murder, suspense, and plot twists that leave the reader guessing the entire time.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest review.

This was probably my least favorite McManus book. It still had some good parts but I found myself skimming quite a bit, which is too bad because I really liked the Cousins. The twist at the end was just kinda weird and I wasn't really invested in the mystery.

I’ve read and loved every Karen M. McManus book…that is until this one.

This book suffers from several issues: a convoluted and often overly cliched plot, boring characters that are hard to care about, pages and pages of boredom broken up by underwhelming “twists” and conflicts. Ultimately, this book feels very much like someone bored One of Us is Lying, took out all the good stuff, changed some details, and said that’ll work.

One of the biggest let downs was the secrets that Cal, Ivy, and Mateo were hiding. In particular Ivy’s childish prank that ruined an entire family’s livelihood because she was jealous of her brother. Once it finally came out, I found myself rolling my eyes. I’ve really enjoyed her other books, but even religious mystery/McManus readers should just skip this one.

I've really enjoyed all of Karen M McManus' mysteries and this one was no exception. Engaging, highly readable, and some twists and turns that will keep readers guessing until the end.

Before I get into the book itself I just want to talk about the cover design and the amazing job that the artist has done to embody the McManus theme in each of her books. You can always point out a McManus book from a mile away with its tell-tale reds and scratched out faces and I’m here for it! Now to the subject at hand:

As a McManus Stan I think I came into this book expecting too much. The premise was there after all, three old friends briefly reunite to play hooky, only to become murder suspects when they witness the death of a classmate that they all had a personal connection to. Sign me up!

The truth is there was some disconnect between the actual plot and the synopsis and it almost felt like I was reading a story based on the synopsis rather than the other way around. The stakes didn’t seem as high in this book as they should have been and the revelations as to what happened felt…lacking. The murder mystery part of this high school drama wasn’t as strong as McManus’ previous novels and it showed in the slow plot and tacked on ending.

That being said the characters were prime McManus as we really got to see the relationships each of the characters had to one another and to their families. It is what McManus arguably does best: the development of characters and their connections within the context of a mystery. My only caveat is that not all MCs are made equal and Cal’s storyline and development seemed to take a backseat to Mateo and Ivy’s. At times I even forgot he was along for the ride.

Now was this the best McManus book? No. I’d probably rate it 3rd behind One of Us is Lying and The Cousins especially since it took me awhile to actually get into it. That being said if you’re a McManus fan or love a fun high schoolers try to solve a murder plots I’d definitely give You’ll be the Death of Me a try!

Thank you to Netgalley, Karen M. McManus, and Random House Children’s Books for the advanced read of You’ll be the Death of Me in exchange for an honest review.

Received a digital ARC of this book via NetGalley.

Ferris Buller meets murder mystery. Had suspicions of who the suspects could have been. I was wrong on most. It’s a shame like zero adults were involved in helping the teens. Wish there was more justice. God the ending seems like there could be a sequel. That ending! Another McManus book that has blown me away.

I have enjoyed Karen McManus's other novels so when I saw You'll Be The Death of Me on NetGalley, I requested it right away and really enjoyed reading this book. Ivy, Mateo, and Cal were friends years ago, but since they have been in high school they have gone their own ways not able to get over hurt feelings, misunderstandings, and changes in interests.. But as the story opens, they are suddenly back together and in a Ferris Buehler type of move, they head to the city together, however, unlike Ferris, they have to solve a murder.

This is a great YA novel with mysterious, authority figures you don't know if you can trust, and a little romance thrown in. I will highly recommend this to students!

3.5/5 Stars

After high-strung Ivy looses the student council election to someone who ran as a joke, she is humiliated and doesn't want to return to school the next day for her competitors victory speech. In the parking lot, she runs into her old childhood friends, Mateo and Cal who agree to a day in Boston instead of attending school. As they're walking down the street, they spot another student skipping, and decide to follow him to see what he's up to. They quickly realize this may not have been the best idea, when they stumble upon the crime scene of a murder. All three are connected to the dead body in some way, and all are hiding secrets that end up coming out in the end.

I liked how this was told over the span of one day, it was a lot of fun trying to solve the murder along these three characters. I liked the alternating POVs between the three, it was interesting to learn about their backstories, and how they became, and ultimately stopped being friends. I like how they all had their own issues they were trying to deal with alongside the mystery. I felt that the pacing was a bit slow in the beginning, but it did pick up a bit around the half way mark.

I was able to guess the killer pretty early on, so that was a bit disappointing... I still had a fun time reading, but I don't think this is one I will ever revisit.

The latest Karen McManus book is..... fine. Definitely not her strongest work. I felt like it was a throwaway story. The biggest problem is that this book takes place over 24 hours. So the relationships between the characters don't have enough time to develop. There are also decisions made by characters in this book that just made no sense. While teens will like it, it felt sloppy to me. There were some good compelling sections, but then it was surrounded by blah.

This face-paced thriller for teens centers on three former close friends named Ivy, Mateo, and Cal. Ironically, all three of them run into each other one morning and decide to skip school. Their reunion leads to them coming across a dead body. One of them is mistaken as the possible killer and the book chapters mainly have the reader watching them going from one scary situation to another. The varied families in the story are present and supportive, helping to balance out the choices of the teens and their consequences.
This novel is for teens who like quick transitions and snarky conversation. There is a social media element in which two fellow school members run a YouTube channel and sensationalize the crime. A roller coaster of a "second chance romance" is present in the book, but is not key to the main plot.

I mainly listened to the released audiobook of this title. The three friends are betrayed by three main voice actors and another creates the voices for the YouTube excerpts. I recommend the audiobook as a supplement or alternative to the physical novel. Thank you to Random House Children's Books and NetGalley for the
e-galley. My ratings and reviews are my own.

TW/CW: murder scene; mentions of a possible harmful student and teacher connection; discussion of selling and use of drugs; physical assault on page; scene with a gun

I cannot get enough of Karen McManus! My students cannot get enough of Karen McManus! You'll Be the Death of Me is the perfect amount of thriller and suspense for high school and upper middle school students.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy to preview for my library.

Another classic Karen McManus mystery! Extremely fast paced and you won't want to put it down! A must purchase and a must read

First line: I respect a good checklist, but I’m beginning to think my mother went overboard.

Summary: Ivy lost the student council election for senior class president to the class clown, Brian “Boney” Mahoney. She is desperate not to go to school after her loss. And when she runs into two of her friends from middle school, Mateo and Cal, they reminisce over the best day of their lives. The day that they skipped school together and became friends.

With the bright idea of trying to rekindle that day, the three decide to head into Boston. But as visit an unfamiliar neighborhood they spot none other than Boney Mahoney. Ivy, angered that he would skip the assembly for his election, she decides to confront him. As they follow him into an empty building they suddenly find him dead on the floor in an upstairs room. Before they can decide what to do the sound of sirens comes to their ears. Rather than being caught with the dead body, they flee the building.

However, as more information about Boney’s death emerges they find that they may have stumbled into something that will be very hard to get out of.

My Thoughts: As with McManus’ other books, this one takes the reader on a wild ride. I enjoyed all the twists and turns throughout the story. It gave me a Ferris Bueller’s Day Off vibe mixed with Pretty Little Liars. It was a quick read and/or listen. I flew through the story, needing to know what happened next. Part of me guessed at the ending but I felt it was a reach so I did not consider it too strongly. But when it was revealed it made lots of sense.

I don’t know about anybody else but the donut shop that Cal takes the group to sounds delightful. It reminds me the Voodoo Donuts with their quirky combinations and experiments with flavor. If you haven’t experienced Voodoo then definitely add it to your list of places to eat before you die!

FYI: Trigger warnings: death and drug use.