Drowning is Inevitable Literary Elements

Young adult, contemporary fiction

Modern-day St. Francisville and New Orleans, Louisiana

First-person point of view from the perspective of Olivia Hudson, a seventeen-year-old girl living in the small town of St. Francisville.

Blunt, emotionally charged, anxious, tense

Protagonist: Olivia Hudson, a seventeen-year-old girl who must help her friend Jamie after he accidentally kills his father. There is no one real antagonist, save for the horrors of human nature that conspire to put the main characters in their predicament. Louis, a minor character but one who orchestrates the betrayal and Jamie's ultimate death, could also be considered the antagonist.

Jamie, Olivia's best friend, kills his father when he threatens and abuses his mother, him, and Olivia. Olivia, Jamie, Max, and Maggie must flee the city, trying to survive and protect Jamie from the consequences of his actions while avoiding the police.

Maggie's mother, Vicky, is taking them to meet Louis, the guy who sells fake passports, when she tells them that she sold them out to pay off her debts. In the ensuing chase and standoff with Mark, a drug dealer, Jamie is killed. The rest of the novel describes the aftermath of Jamie's death in the lives of the surviving three friends.

When Beth, talking to Olivia, says, "Last times are funny things, because you rarely know it's a last time until it's too late," it's foreshadowing for Jamie's sudden death and Olivia's similar introspection that occur later in the novel.

“'I want to be a kite flier.' That was what he told me when he was a little older and had become slightly more realistic.” (Ch. 15)

Olivia and Jamie make references to various celebrities as part of a game they play when they can't fall asleep, such as David Letterman, Carly Simon, Selena Gomez, George Harrison, and many others. Music from The Smashing Pumpkins, Janis Joplin, and Patsy Cline.

The imagery of water is prevalent throughout the novel, even in the title: Drowning is Inevitable. Olivia's mother, Lillian, committed suicide by drowning, and water takes on a special significance for Olivia. She feels the pull toward the water as well, and much of the language she uses reflects this preoccupation (drowning, flowing, dripping, etc.).

Olivia helps Jamie run away from the consequences of his actions, which certainly would have included prison and possibly the death penalty, but in New Orleans, he gets killed anyway.

Olivia's cliff diving with Max parallels Lillian's cliff diving when she was also seventeen. It was a reckless decision for both of them, and being underwater for so long makes Olivia realize how much she loves being underwater, a trait that might have led to Lillian's death.

“Fine, but it’s too hot for flannel.” - Olivia (Ch. 1)

“I heard the song coming from the river again, its lullaby sound snaking its way through the streets to find me, and I hummed its tune.” (Ch. 13)