You'll Be the Death of Me

Ivy Sterling-Shepard is an anxious high school student, and one of the three main protagonists of You’ll Be the Death of Me. McManus describes her as having an “unusual brown eyes-blond hair combination” (25) and wearing her hair in an “ever-present ponytail” (25). Ivy lives with her mother Samantha, her father James, and her younger brother Daniel. She is characterized by her anxious nature and her tumultuous relationship with Daniel. Ivy’s anxiety causes her to fixate on other people’s opinions of her and embarrassing moments in her life. At the beginning of the novel, she struggles to think about anything but the “debacle” (3) of the senior class president elections, which she lost the day prior. Ivy believes that her classmates “started thinking of [her] as a joke” (10) the previous spring when Daniel replaced a speech she wrote for the junior class talent show with “a page from Aunt Helen’s latest erotic firefighter novel, The Fire Within” (10). Ivy’s anxious fixation on the speech mishap and her election loss triggers her impulsive decision to cut school with Mateo and Cal, setting the plot in motion. Her desperate desire to win her mother’s approval drives her to clear her name before her parents arrive home from their trip.

Ivy’s relationship with her brother Daniel changes dramatically throughout the novel. At the beginning of the story, Ivy feels “low-simmering resentment” (3) for her brother, which is partially explained by her lingering embarrassment over the speech prank. However, she also admits that their sibling dynamic changed when Daniel “began outpacing [her] at school” (145), and that their antagonism is “built on him usurping what [she] thought was [her] rightful position in the family” (145). However, her experience being kidnapped and her fears that Tom Kendall hurt Daniel cause her to reassess these old rivalries and place them in perspective. By the end of the novel, she and Daniel have “agreed to try being less horrible to one another” (294). Ivy’s relationship with Daniel distinguishes her from Mateo, who has a much closer sibling-like relationship with his cousin Autumn.

Mateo is a moody, romantic high school student, and one of the three main protagonists of You’ll Be the Death of Me. He is the romantic interest of Ivy Sterling-Shepard, and the novel ends with the two of them dating. McManus describes him as a “tall, dark-haired guy” (29) with a “dark and brooding thing girls were swooning over in sixth grade” (25). Mateo’s “dark eyes” (38) are described as having a penetrating gaze, “like he’s staring into depths of your soul you didn’t know existed” (38). Mateo lives with his cousin Autumn and his single mom, Elena. At the beginning of the novel, he is estranged from his father; at the end of the novel, his father is trying to rebuild their relationship.

Throughout the story, McManus defines Mateo through his dedication to his family. At the beginning of the novel, Mateo works two jobs in addition to attending school in order to help financially support his household after his mother’s business fails. His cousin Autumn also works two jobs and begins selling the opioids that Brian Mahoney and Charlie St. Clair found to make more money for the family. Although Mateo does not approve of Autumn selling drugs, he is willing to do anything to support his mother and their family, telling her that “we have to take care of our own” (20). This statement echoes the motto of Mateo’s mother Elena, who instilled in him the belief that family should be his priority. Although they are not blood relatives, Elena took in Autumn, her ex-husband’s orphaned niece, because she believed that “we have to take care of our own” (13). Mateo’s dedication to his family, especially Autumn, drives his actions in the novel, as he goes out of his way to ensure her safety. The only reason he agrees to meet with his estranged father at the end of the novel is to try to please his mother.

Lara Jamison is a young, attractive art teacher at Carlton High School. She is the love interest of protagonist Cal O’Shea-Wallace and the fiancé of Tom Kendall. She is described as “crazy-hot” (85) with blonde hair, and approximately 24 years old. Lara’s depiction shifts dramatically throughout the novel, moving from a high school art teacher to an outright villain. Because the reader’s first introduction to Lara is through Cal’s perspective, she’s initially presented as a suitable replacement for his ex-girlfriend Noemi since he doesn’t include the problematic context of their teacher-student relationship. While Noemi broke up with him at a vegan restaurant, Cal’s “new girlfriend likes the same things [he does]: art, comics, and calorically dense breakfast food with zero nutritional value” (24). This description of Lara hides the fact that she is his teacher; the references to comics and donuts suggest she is a high school student like Cal and Noemi. When she cancels plans with Cal, she sends her apology “with a string of sad face emojis” (24), another indication that she is a teenager. The novel’s depiction of Lara through Cal’s eyes in these early chapters indicates he views (or has been led to view) her as his peer.

As the narration shifts from Cal’s point of view, the perspective on Lara shifts to that of a teacher in a position of authority manipulating her student. As soon as Mateo and Ivy learn that Cal has been spending time with Lara, they explicitly tell him that their relationship has “crossed a line” (103). Cal’s father directly refers to Lara as a “predator,” and considers “bringing corruption-of-minor charges or something similar” against her (307). Through these characters, the novel offers a strong condemnation of the abuse of power inherent in romantic student-teacher relationships that contrasts Cal’s early belief that Lara truly cares about him. The novel’s cliffhanger ending reveals that Lara is engaged to Mateo’s father, solidifying her characterization as a manipulative villain.