Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

119 reviews

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

kirstencholewa's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense medium-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

4.5

This story draws you in and keeps your attention to the last page!
At times it did feel a bit forced from a diversity perspective. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

Minor: Body shaming, Gun violence, Sexism, Sexual content, and Mass/school shootings

tabby09's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Enjoyable. A little silly sometimes. I was at least moderately invested in the characters. I guessed who it was about halfway through the book, but there was something at the end that I was surprised by. Good mix of a fun plot and characters. 

I listened to the audiobook format. Narrators were good- Bronwyn annoyed me a little and at first Addie sounded robotic, but she gets better. Cooper and Nate were good. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship and Outing

Moderate: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Violence, and Abandonment

Minor: Cancer and Toxic friendship

Can't really warn about this one without giving away some of the plot.

suicide warning

Cheating

cararowen's review against another edition

dark emotional funny 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Homophobia, Stalking, Outing, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Cancer, Chronic illness, Confinement, Eating disorder, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racism, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, and Alcohol

margaretwaltemath09's review against another edition

adventurous 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death, and Homophobia

Moderate: Drug use, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Car accident

sydtheogreadingkid's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

THIS BOOK IS AMAZING I JUST FINISHED IT AT 2:29 IN THE MORNING BUT I REGRET NOTHING I LOVE THIS BOOKKKKKKK ❤️ ❤️❤  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Their was no other option for it but by schizophrenia/psychosis it was the best choice for Bipolar

kalla's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Murder, Outing, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

renpuspita's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

 Cuma bisa bilang: GILA!!

Gue ga mau bandingin One of Us is Lying sama A Good Girl's Guide to Murder aka AGGGtM yg gue udah baca dulu padahal gue dah punya buku ini duluan sejak lama, hahahaha. Meski sama - sama YA dengan unsur misteri, thriller & suspense, keduanya beda dari segi tema dan eksekusi, tapi menurut gue keduanya SAMA BAGUSnya dengan cara yang berbeda. AGGGtM lebih kental sisi whodunnit dan investigasinya, sementara One of Us is Lying lebih menguak ke sisi kelam dunia remaja sekolah Amrik dengan segala lika likunya.

Dari segi karakternya sendiri emang typical film remaja, seperti yang dibilang oleh si korban, Simon Kelleher. Bronwyn itu cewe cerdas di sekolah, Nate cowo bandel yang lagi dihukum masa percobaan karena jadi pengedar narkoba, Addy cewe populer dan putri prom, sementara Cooper atlet dengan masa depan yang cerah. Keempatnya bersama Simon disatukan di ruang detensi yang berujung pada tewasnya Simon karena alergi yg dideritanya dan nasib para remaja ini berubah 180 derajat hanya dalam sehari. One of Us is lying, salah satu dari mereka bohong. Masalahnya, siapa yang BERBOHONG? 

Buku ini ditulis dari PoV Bronwyn, Nate, Addy dan Cooper, semuanya pakai 1st PoV. Dari pemilihan 1st PoV aja gue udah nyadar, ceritanya bakal bias & subjektif karena pakai sudut pandang masing - masing. Tapi jangan khawatir, alur ceritanya sendiri lurus bak jalan tol, bukannya maju mundur, mengingat baca empat PoV orang pertama aja udah mayan harus konsen ya. McManus sendiri dengan lihai membuka sedikit demi sedikit fakta - fakta yang berhubungan dengan Simon dan aplikasi gosipnya, About That. Keempat remaja ini dicurigai dan punya motif semua, tapi dari sudut pandang mereka pun, gue juga dibuat bertanya - tanya, siapa yang BOHONG? Mereka berempat emang ada kebohongan yang dimana nantinya mereka terpaksa harus jujur dan menerima konsekuensinya, tapi apa hubungannya kebohongannya mereka dengan meninggalnya Simon? Di sinilah menurut gue cukup plot twist dan mindblown meski gue cukup bisa menebak kenapanya, karena red herringnya jelas terpampang nyata tapi gue malah nyari2 siapa yang bohong dari keempat tersangka XD.

Untuk ukuran debut, buku ini cukup rapi ditulisnya (dan ya, mau ga mau jadi inget Holly Jackson sama AGGGTM yang juga debutnya). Awalnya menarik dan tegang, tapi mayan kedodoran di bagian kedua sebelum akhirnya mencapai momentum di akhir. Menurut gue, ketimbang sebagai kasus misteri whodunnit, McManus lebih ingin menjabarkan kebobrokan dunia remaja yang tidak melulu berfokus sama sex dan narkoba. Segala permasalahan remaja, utamanya yang berhubungan dengan nilai pelajaran, prestasi olahraga yang cemerlang, interaksi dengan orang tua dan juga pencarian jati diri (termasuk preferensi seksual) dibahas dengan cukup tuntas dan thought-provoking. Pembaca bakal diajak mikir dan bersimpati sama tokoh - tokoh di buku ini. Plus, bahwa sesuatu yang kamu lakukan, yang menurut kamu harmless, bisa aja bikin orang lain sakit hati dan akhirnya berlaku desktruktif

Dari keempat remaja ini, gue paling salut sama Addy. Addy yang awalnya cewe penurut dan bergaul sama cewe2 populer lainnya, setelah dicampakkan sama pacarnya bernama Jake, jadi cewe yang akhirnya mandiri dan tidak mempedulikan pendapat orang. Sementara untuk Nate & Bronwyn, walau mereka akhirnya dapat jatah hubungan romantis, gue udah pernah baca hubungan serupa antara cewek cerdas dan cowo bandel di Perfect Chemistry jadi ga menawarkan sesuatu yang baru, hehe. Walau gue sendiri menikmati membaca interaksi Nate dan Bronwyn. Untuk Cooper, dilema terkait seksualitasnya cukup menarik dibaca tapi menurut gue spotlightnya juga agak2 kurang dibandingkan Addy dan yang lain. Eniwei, terkait dengan si korban yaitu Simon, gue jujur ga terlalu simpatik meski tahu alasan dibalik pembuatan aplikasi About That. Apa yang dilakukan Simon itu selain bullying, juga tanda - tanda power syndrome. Gue tahu Simon "ingin dilihat" dan karenanya dia bikin About That. Tapi, apa hak Simon buat menghancurkan hidup orang lain, apalagi remaja yang masa depannya masih lama. 

Endingnya sendiri mengesankan kalau masalah udah selesai dan ceritanya selesai. Tapi ternyata ada buku 2 dan buku 3 (yang belum diterjemahkan). Gue penasaran, bakal ada kejadian mengerikan apalagi yang menimpa siswa - siswa SMA Bayview? Yang jelas, kalau kamu suka YA misteri tapi lebih fokus ke interaksi tokoh - tokohnya, One of Us is Lying ini bener2 gue rekomendasikan! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Murder, Outing, and Abandonment

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Confinement, Vomit, Mass/school shootings, and Injury/Injury detail

annaspeckien's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Mental illness, Mass/school shootings, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Cancer, Terminal illness, and Abandonment

itsjadenbaby's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

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

2.5

The epilogue was so pointless. Other than that, this wasn’t a super memorable book for me. It definitely wasn’t bad, I just wasn’t super impressed. I’m glad that so many other people liked it though!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Death, Homophobia, Infidelity, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Outing, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Abandonment, and Classism

Minor: Sexual content