Reviews with content warning for Addiction - Nine Liars

Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

Nine Liars by Maureen Johnson

11 reviews

bookb1itch's review against another edition

challenging mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

I really adore Stevie Bell and want to get students in my library to read her stories. I disappointed myself by getting into this one before I realised I'd missed "The box in the woods", which i now need to go back to. This one ends on a surprise cliffhanger, so I hope Maureen Johnson has more cases for Stevie to solve in the near future. Loved that Stevie and her friends were tourists in London for part of this book - some great references to tourist hotspots. Also lovely that part of the book was set during the Brit Pop War of 1995 between Blur and Oasis. Nostalgia for me, but something that might interest today's teens(?). These books talk the reader through the clues which help solve the crime and in my opinion are a better introduction to the genre than "A good girl's guide to murder" series, which is all over TikTok etc. I feel some of the content of "AGGGTM" is too adult for its target audience.

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bella_cavicchi's review against another edition

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funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

I love the Truly Devious series. The books don't always hit the mark, but I don't really mind. Give me teen detectives solving cold cases! Why not! That said, I felt that the murder of the 90s far surpassed the present-day narrative here, and so my one complaint (if big) is that I wanted to spend the whole book in the Nine's company. It may also be my Cambridge/London bias...

A delight to devour all the same.

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agiraffereads's review against another edition

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Okay, so I'm probably gonna get a lot of hate for this. But I'm gonna say it anyway because this is my opinion on the book.

I liked the general idea, the mystery is intriguing.
But I was so annoyed with the details. This is supposed to be a young adult book, but the main people being investigated by the MC, which are the nine liars, are all sleeping around with everyone in their group, which the book clearly states. Also there are multiple gay/lesbian couples, no hate on that in general, just it gets quite a bit of attention (yes I knew there was one lesbian couple from the main series) and then at some point one of the other side characters has this whole talk with the MC that he is asexual and is like explaining it, etc. I just hate that it has to take up so much of the story that the mystery is just on the background. This is a young adult book for petesake. Idk in my opinion a ya book does not need this much attention on stuff like that. It felt like propaganda for the lgtbq+ community and not like the mystery book it claims to be. Hate me all you like for being honest but I was excited for the mystery, and it did not deliver.

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guessgreenleaf's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
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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mariposa517's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

I really enjoyed this. It was going to be 4.5 stars, and then the ending.

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theoriginalbookdragon's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny mysterious sad medium-paced

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

2.25

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kenzaett's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional lighthearted mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.25

Oh wow. This book made me feel so much! Whilst book 4 in the series wasn't my favorite, felt too rushed and obvious - this one, with the setting in London, so many new characters, and a deep exploration into the real personalities of our favorites, was a much better "sleuths abroad" Version than A Box in the Woods (I might be biased though because I, too, studied abroad in England😅)
The mystery was hard to solve, I couldn't get behind it until 80% of the book, which might have just been because we didn't know the characters as well... But I love how they were all fleshed out, had different identifications... I loved how Stevie and Izzy grew together, and I understand why people have been hating David for the past 4 books (I didn't, I just found him very... ambiguous). This book was very emotional. More so than the mystery focused, thrilling, scary triology - there was a current threat and danger, this one just explored an older case and there wasn't much danger posed to the kids. There were many more mature themes, which I liked, as the characters grew up along the readers over the course of the books. And I got annoyed by Stevie. A lot. I understand Janelle. I understand Nate. She still needs a lot of maturity, a lot of growth. She's still processing who she is and who she wants to be, and can't make peace with the idea she has to go to an actual school and not just rely on solving whatever mystery finds her during her adult years. All the other ones have something to their own, rube Goldberg machines whilst having good grades, a book out whilst still applying to 71 colleges, even David, who's doing "as little as possible" and feels inadequate next to Stevie... But she doesn't seem to want to move on from her successes, and that might just inevitably become her downfall. But I don't think there's another book planned to explore that. And that's okay. I feel like Stevie's chapter is over - I thoroughly enjoyed the series over the past few weeks, but I'm okay not continuing, and letting my own imagination run for what happens next.
I'm not as "trapped in this universe" as I've felt with other triologies, and I definitely find that this is also a good standalone, without having to read everything in order and beforehand. Thank you, Maureen, for this adventure.

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huntress's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

1.0

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skyfluff8's review against another edition

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mysterious fast-paced

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

3.0

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sar_i's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

I would not call this book a standalone. It does deal with its own mystery that is solved by the end of the book but there are many things left unfinished and it ends on a cliffhanger.

There are ten new characters that are well developed and all have unique personalities and intricate relationships. This book heavily focuses on David and Stevie's relationship which almost takes precedence over the mystery over the course of the story and I wish that there was more plot that involved Vi, Jennell, and Nate.

The plot felt very well planned and the atmosphere was wonderful. It truly felt like you were inside Stevie's head.

Would recommend if you have read the first three books of Truly Devious.

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