Drowning Is Inevitable

Gr 9 Up—Seventeen-year-old Olivia and her friends are bound together by love, loss, and their refusal to follow the path that fate seems to have chosen for them. Olivia's mother, Lillian, committed suicide on her 18th birthday, just after Olivia was born. Olivia lives in her mother's shadow, in her room, in her clothes; she resembles her mother so much that her grandmother calls her Lillian and her father avoids her. She gains her strength from her soul mate, Jamie, who lives with a violent, alcoholic father; her sometime-boyfriend Max, who is expected to follow in his lawyer-father's footsteps; and the multitalented Maggie, who is ready to escape Louisiana for the artistic possibilities of New York City. The limits of their friendship and loyalty are tested when Jamie and his father clash. Tragedy strikes, and the foursome prove just how far they will go to help those they love. The teens take off for New Orleans, dodging the police and planning their ultimate escape, never knowing who they can or should trust. Although there is plenty of action and suspense, including scenes of drug use and sexual encounters, this is truly an emotional book of family bonds and teen relationships, the power of parental influence, and of fate.