Reviews with content warning for Transphobia - One of Us Is Lying

This was a very good book, and probably the first book where I have actually been interested in every single POV.

In the beginning, I loved how she set it up so that you didn’t know what each of them were trying to hide and no one trusted anyone. This made it interesting when you got to read it from all of the different perspectives.

At the end, Jake make me want to throw the book…but I guess that’s expected.

All of the stories pulled together very nicely, and I like how much the characters developed by the end of the book. Very excited to read the next book!!

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syd991's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I’m not sure how I feel about this book. The concept is interesting, but the writing didn’t sit right with me. I know there’s lots of people who enjoy this book, and I can understand why, it’s just not my personal cup of tea.

Each of the main 4 characters felt like a typical high-schooler cliche, you have the brains, the jock, the criminal, and the popular one. It’s part of the story, but it almost felt superficial for me.

I enjoyed the mystery aspect, although I feel like I could guess at it from the first few chapters. It almost felt too obvious.

I don’t know if I’ll pick up the sequel just yet, but I’m intrigued enough to watch the TV show adaptation. Overall, it was okay, I just didn’t love it.

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allyhoo811's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

3.0

From a pure reading enjoyment factor One of Us Is Lying should have been given a 4 star rating, but because of my background in mental health counseling/education I felt like I had to lower it to a 3 because of the handling of a couple of issues which I'll list at the end of this review.

Overall, I found this to an engaging YA mystery. The characters and their secrets/motives were pretty cliche and easily guessed, but the overall character development (especially with Addy) was wonderful and I would definitely recommend this one to most people. It gave me huge Breakfast Club vibes and I think fans of 80s/90s teen movies would especially enjoy the nostalgia factor even though it has a contemporary setting.

I did not love the ending/epilogue,

it was just too cheesy teen rom-com for me and I don't think it really fit with the rest of the book. But I understand that it probably is what was expected in a YA novel.

My 2 Big Issues (contain major spoilers):

1. Simon killing himself was a really interesting (if somewhat predictable) twist, but the portrayal of Simon as someone suffering from depression was unfortunate. Many people (teens included) suffer from depression, but they don't create elaborate, evil revenge plots to take out everyone who ever looked at them funny. Most people with depression have a hard time getting out of bed. And Simon had been destroying people's lives for years, portraying him as someone who was depressed and felt like an outsider when he was actually probably suffering from some severe personality disorders puts a bad light on depression, especially in a YA book.

2. Jake's character arc. This is a thriller trope I hate, and I hate it even more in a YA mystery. Jake the "perfect" boyfriend with some controlling tendances turns into a psycho killer at the end of the novel. This is just so overdone and not logical. Yes, people who attempt to control their partners are more likely to engage in emotional and physical abuse. But Jake had gone months without the slightest indication that he was escalating after he found out about the cheating (and kept it to himself). His mask didn't even slip once. And by the end we have a crazy action sequence where he is trying to kill two people without any hesitation. It felt forced, and I think Addy's character arc would have been better served without the killer boyfriend trope.

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andie_jk's review against another edition

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dark lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
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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brendaxxo's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Nate watches them for a few seconds, tilts his chair back, and looks at Officer Budapest. "Everybody's got secrets," he says. "Right?"

my library was sick of me. i kept borrowing the book and letting the loan lapse. for months, something kept me from picking this up. when i finally did, i read this in one sitting. my friends thought i died. three and a half stars.

i loved so much about this book: the premise, the characters (for the most part), but above all, the MESS. whoever said secrets weren’t fun was a damn liar. despite all of this, i have some major qualms with one of us is lying. based solely on my enjoyment, this would have been a four star read! it stirred up the right feelings and kept me curious until the end. however, the writing and the book in general left a lot to be desired.

the ending, the reveal, and the entire mystery was so underwhelming! the bayview four's secrets were honestly not that deep and the reveal was predictable. not that it's a bad thing; i don't think that knowing the outcome ruins a book but the way mcmanus reached the destination felt far fetched, clumsy, and contrived. a character was outed and the author touched upon topics like depression and suicide, all of which were not handled carefully in my opinion.

the romance between nate and bronwyn was a highlight at the start of the book. there was just enough romance to keep you hooked* but not so much that it eclipsed the overarching story... until we reach the end and mcmanus loses the plot. (what the hell was up with the epilogue and that epi-epilogue??)

*we do not acknowledge the cafeteria kiss in this household. i pretend i do not see it.

additionally, i would’ve loved it if mcmanus went the extra mile and actually made one of the four we’d come to trust and care about become the murderer or directly involved in the aftermath of simon’s suicide. i never felt tense or questioned if i could truly trust any of the bayview four. that would’ve elevated the story, but she never goes there.

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ekmoore11's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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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agoldendear's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This book wasn't exactly what I expected--I was thinking it would be more mystery-heavy. Not that it didn't involve people trying to solve a murder case, but it was much more focused on the personal lives and character development of the book's main characters than I was hoping for. That was a little disappointing, but I still ended up liking the book for the most part. The main characters had depth, and I didn't hate anyone aside from the characters I was supposed to hate. Overall, this wasn't my favorite mystery I've ever read, but I did end up enjoying it for the most part.

Parts that did annoy me (a bit more spoilery, so I'm sticking them all in a spoiler warning):

1. This book basically portrays the police as useless--they can't find any evidence except for incredibly shaky stuff and generally seem pretty incompetent. Of course, I know that police aren't perfect in real life (or even good a lot of the time) but they should be able to conduct an investigation better than a bunch of teenagers in a fictional setting. They literally put someone in jail due to a bit of falsified evidence that these teenagers rightfully point out as being incredibly suspicious. I feel like this is a common thing in teenage-focused mystery novels.
2. Man, those teenagers were horny. They were often either making out with someone or thinking about making out with someone. I mean, that's probably realistic to teenagers, I guess? Not that it took away from the rest of the plot, it's just not something I am particularly interested in, so take my frustration with a grain of salt. I did like the main relationship in the book, though. Those two were fun together.
3. I did not like the breakup at the end. To clarify--I understood why Nate wanted to do it, but it was frustrating because it felt tacked onto the end of the book and he was tuning out everyone who was trying to be on his side. And then we don't get to see any of his perspective from the time he broke up with her to the time when they got back together, so I'm not sure why he decided to fix things. He just got convinced to do it...somehow.

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joylynnreads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

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