Book Review: Drowning is Inevitable by Shalanda Stanley

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Please read full disclosure for more information.

I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

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?

I’ve been reading so many amazing contemporaries this year and Drowning Is Inevitable is absolutely no exception. The story follows Olivia, who’s about to turn the same age that her mother was when she committed suicide: 18. Olivia lives with her grandmother in her mom’s old room; she even wears her mom’s old clothes and listens to her mother’s old music. Therefore, it shouldn’t be a surprise that her grandmother is constantly calling her by her mother’s name: Lillian.