Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

307 reviews

regina_1's review against another edition

mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

"One of us is Lying" is the tale of four high schoolers suspected of murder. Five of them earned detention for having their phones out in class. By the end of the detention, one of them is found dead. The story jumps through time as you learn about the four students and start to question, who actually committed the crime? 

Personally, I thought this book was okay. I figured out most of the story way before we hit the ending. I love a strong YA suspense story that keeps you guessing all the way until the end. For me, it just wasn't there. It took me awhile to fully understand the four students and be passionate about their story. One thing this story does bring to light is the struggles students face daily. These topics are important for society to talk about and I think this book would be a good starting point for some communities. This story even shows that there is so much more to a person than what meets the eye. That is the most important lesson, and I feel the book really did a great job emphasizing it. However, the mystery piece wasn't there and just really effected the rest of the story for me. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Death, and Mental illness

jessanicolesingh's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I would describe this thriller as a breakfast club turned murder mystery, centering on a modge podge of stereotypes in detention; a brain, beauty, criminal, athlete and an outcast who ends up dead! The victim had plenty of enemies, as he ran the school’s infamous gossip blog, and was prepared to out the aforementioned classmates on some pretty juicy stuff before his untimely death.

The book was written in multiple POVs, giving you a glimpse into each of the main characters' high school lives throughout the investigation. I actually kept notes on all suspects, determined to figure it out. I had to put the book down and tell my husband my guess at who the killer was around the 75% mark, and I was right!!! That's not to say the book wasn't good enough to surprise me, I'm just really proud of myself for figuring it out AND not skipping to the end to spoil it for myself (I have admittedly very little self control sometimes).

Albeit this book is about murder, be warned there are some additionally heavy triggers with some warnings at the expense of ruining the ending, so keep that in mind if you decide to pick this one up!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Outing

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Drug use, Gun violence, and Mass/school shootings

suicide

catiecat2_5's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Homophobia, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

snitcheye177's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, and Murder

Minor: Torture and Gaslighting

abbyreadsbigbooks123's review against another edition

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Outing, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

kalefactory's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Drug use, Mental illness, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

melissaslibraryy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

dandilion_'s review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Homophobia, and Violence

Moderate: Bullying, Self harm, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

readbycarina's review against another edition

mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Stalking, and Murder

Moderate: Bullying, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Sexism

Minor: Mass/school shootings, Car accident, and Abandonment

mnasr's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

It's an incredibly fast paced, edge-of-the-seat thriller. So 5/5 for that. But since it is centered around teens often I felt that cerya aspects felt slightly unrealistic for that age group. But I think that's quite subjective tha  every might not resonate with. I enjoyed the book masive  despite that. So 4.5/5.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Sexual content, Suicide, and Violence

Moderate: Toxic relationship and Outing

Minor: Bullying, Cancer, and Toxic relationship