Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - One Of Us Is Lying

Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

One Of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

370 reviews

ashley_sapp's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

I really enjoyed this book. I didn’t like the ending. It felt rushed or something was missing (if that makes sense). I really like Bronwyn’s and Nate’s character development l-especially at the end. It fit the characters.

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s3ag0at's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

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lisa_m's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes

3.25

I will start this off by saying I am not the target audience for this book and that is a big reason for my rating. Even though I personally didn't like it, I do see the appeal, especially for younger people. I know this book often gets read in school classes and I understand why.

Now for my personal opinion:
I thought the book was fine, but I was bored for big parts of it. I don't even have really strong opinions about it either way. The characters were interesting but I didn't feel connected to any of them. The story wasn't very captivating, even though it's about secrets being revealed and a murder being solved.

I didn't like that it turned out to not have been a murder at all (even though it was the only thing that makes sense). That Jake was involved too was fine..? I really disliked him from the start and I kind of thought his character felt very exaggerated towards the end. Bronwyn and Nate were cute and it's a trope I will always fall for but like everything else it didn't really capture me.

I love multiple POVs in books but I think for this one it was its downfall. Because off all the different stories and perspectives I was just overwhelmed with all of it and that kept me from caring much either way.

So my final opinion is that the book was fine but not great. I don't think I will read the next books in the series because the story felt finished enough for me and I don't need more.

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angelo_vossen's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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

Karen M. McManus’ „One of Us Is Lying“ is a mix of mystery and young adult drama, offering a modern take on the classic “whodunit” style. The story revolves around five high school students—Bronwyn, Addy, Nate, Cooper, and Simon—who all end up in detention together. However, things take a dark turn when Simon, the creator of a notorious gossip app, suddenly dies during their detention, leaving the remaining four students as prime suspects. Each character has a secret they desperately want to keep hidden, and Simon was about to expose them all.

The novel is told through multiple points of view, which gives readers insight into each character’s mindset and backstory, allowing for an engaging, character-driven plot. McManus does an excellent job of weaving together these different perspectives while maintaining suspense. Each student is a well-rounded character with their own motivations and flaws, which makes it harder to pinpoint who could be responsible for Simon’s death.

At its core, „One of Us Is Lying“ explores themes like high school cliques, social pressures, identity, and the lengths to which people will go to protect their reputations. The writing is accessible and keeps you hooked with its fast pace and twists, although seasoned readers of the genre might find some of the plot points predictable. Nonetheless, the novel keeps its energy high and delivers some genuine surprises along the way.

While the central mystery is the book’s driving force, the character development is what gives it staying power. Each of the suspects undergoes significant growth, and the ending is both satisfying and thought-provoking, offering a commentary on the impact of gossip, rumors, and hidden lives in the digital age.

Overall, „One of Us Is Lying“ is a fun, engaging read for fans of young adult fiction and mystery. It combines the tension of a murder mystery with relatable teen struggles, making it a solid choice for anyone looking for a suspenseful and entertaining story.

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danilo_syrtis's review against another edition

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dark 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

4.25

[Fair warning: This review contains some (major) spoilers that I will tag as such.]

Everything starts when Simon – admin of the Gossip Girl-esque app About That – dies during detention due to anaphylactic shock. The only people there with him are straight A student Bronwyn, popular girl Addy, baseball protegé Cooper, and bad boy Nate. Soon after, a tumblr emerges whose user claims to be the murderer. And as if that is not bad enough, police uncover an About That post that would have been published a day after Simon’s death, revealing secrets the four of them would not have wanted to come out …

There are so many things I really enjoy about this book!

I bought the UK paperback and I am so happy with it – not only has the spine no visible breaks even after I read the book (admittedly carefully) twice, I also love the minimalistic cover and the sprayed edges.

The story captivated me both times I read it! When I started my reread, I was a little afraid that I would be bored, since I had vague memories of the plot and the ending. But there were so many plot points and details I forgot about, so I enjoyed it just as much as the first time! I especially love how cleverly some details are set up that turn out to be important in the end.

For example, it feels natural for Addy to think about her ringtone and how she would have to change it one of these days after Jake broke up with her, but I never would have guessed that it would become as important as it did right at the end of the story.

I also like how the switching POV allowed me to get to know all four main characters. They are fleshed out very well, and it was especially nice to see them not only interact with each other, but also spend a significant amount of time with other characters who are (more or less) important to them.

For example, Bronwyn spends much of her free time with her sister Maeve, which does not only lead to some very sweet moments, but also shows how tight-knit the family is. Obviously, these scenes serve a purpose, e.g. giving important background information on other characters, but to me, they do not feel like a pretense to get that done.

An interesting thing to see is the difference between the main characters regarding dysfunctional family dynamics. They range from almost non-existent (

for example, Bronwyn’s family is very supportive, although it is clear that her parents’ hope for her to get into Yale feels more like an expectation/pressure to her

) to pretty severe (

the obvious example is Nate, whose mother is presumedly dead and whose alcoholic father does not seem to care about his son at all

). These dynamics are not only there to give them a little depth, but they actively shape their experiences during the investigation.

For example, while Bronwyn’s family gets an expensive lawyer who is very involved, Nate is basically on his own – and he is, coincidentally, the only one of them to actually get arested and spend time in jail.

When it comes to the ending, I think that the twist is very well prepared – yet, it managed to surprise me the first time I read the book. (Although I am notoriously bad at guessing the ending of stories, so that may not say too much.) The ending is satisfying to me (

especially since the main characters seem to be in a much better place than at the beginning of the story, without their problems being solved over night in an unrealistic way

Besides the aspects I enjoyed very much, there are some details that I do not like.

A minor annoyance is the division into three parts. It seems a bit unnecessary to me, since there are no big scene changes/time jumps associated with them. Also, not all of the titles work for me.

For example, »Truth or Dare« sounds like the students should have to choose between telling their secrets and doing something/suffering a consequence, e.g. staying a murder suspect. But Addy, for example, already told her secret at the end of »Simon Says«.

Although most details are – as I said above – handled very cleverly in how they are set up and then revealed as important, there is at least one that gets mentioned and then disappears until turning out to be super important, which feels a bit awkward.

I am talking about how Kris’ calls to Cooper are marked as significant, with his girlfriend Keely being confused and him clearly being uncomfortable. Yet, Kris does not really get mentioned after, not even to say that Cooper texted him after school or anything – up until it is revealed that he is Cooper’s boyfriend(?). I understand why this had to stay a secret, even from the reader, for some time – but it just feels awkward.

Lastly, the characters – although, as I said, fleshed out very well – sadly seem stereotypical in some aspects. It only annoyed me in one case

– when Cooper turned out to be the secretly gay high school athlete who hides his sexuality from his homophobic father and teammates. I would have loved for his father to behave more like his grandmother, or for his friends to turn out more supportive. In fact, maybe it would not have annoyed me as much if there was no Homophobic Cafeteria Scene after his forced outing, obviously instigated by his popular former athlete/mean girl friends. I hope this would not happen in real life (anymore?), but I feel like I have read several dozen of these scenes in books and fanfictions already – it just feels very cliché at this point

. Other than that, I think it is fine.

All in all, I think the book is highly enjoyable (although the content warnings should be taken seriously). So, definitely a recommendation from me!

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faerynthecat's review against another edition

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emotional 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

5.0

I bought this on a whim to make up the total in an online order so I qualified for a discount, but of all the books I bought it was the one I read first in the end because the premise sounded fun! Breakfast Club murder mystery, what's not to love.

I liked all the characters way more than I expected to, especially Bronwyn, and even though I had an inkling of the ending before it happened I wasn't disappointed that I'd guessed correctly because it was so much fun to read!

I look forward to reading all the other books in the series!

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mahi_nad's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

2.75

2.75 stars

REVIEW:
This was a marvelous, delectable read. There was something incredibly addicting about this book; to the point where I read it in one day (granted, I didn't have anything else to do). But that being said, there are a couple of issues that I had with it. Namely the harmful depiction of sexuality and depression.

The rest of this is going to be labeled as "spoilers", since these are major reveals and are crucial to the plot. I personally don't think of these as spoilers, but this is how the book depicts them so this is how I'm writing this review.

As I said before, there are incredibly harmful depictions of sexuality and depression to people in the real world. I would have LOVED to rate this at least 4 stars, but by the end, I felt it shouldn't have been published as it's ignorant and damaging.
All the characters in this book have secrets that eventually come to light, and the first red flag that arose was Cooper's sexuality. It was written as though the author expected us to be scandalized and join right alongside the other students in the book jeering and treating it as a HUGE scandal. The icing on the cake? The twisted reasoning for this is that we were led to believe he had been flirting and going out with girls.
As I'm saying this, I feel it necessary to point out that I'm not gay. I have no experience with this whatsoever, and so you should take my words with a grain of salt. But, the way the author revealed Cooper's sexuality was absolutely mind-blowing. And not in a good way. Cooper's reasoning for wanting to stay closeted is completely valid and realistic, and might even connect with some readers. It's not as though I think that his storyline and character is useless to the story, I just think that the "shocking revelation" of sexuality should be used as a plot twist.
What makes this even worse is that Cooper was FORECFULLY outed. This could DEFINITELY cause anxiety and fear within those who are closeted or have been through the same experiences.

If you feel differently and think this is fine, that's ok. I just wanted to warn people who this MAY harm.

Secondly, depression. The way mental illness is handled in this book is... just not it. There are a couple of characters who are said to be depressed, and Simon, the boy that was killed, was one of them. The finale to this book is the revelation that Simon wasn't murdered, but rather killed himself. Once again, I definitely think Simon's death could be relatable to teenagers, but I had some issues as to how his depression was portrayed. The main problem I had was how depression was essentially villainized in this book. Simon is portrayed as terrorist. His main motivation for his elaborate plan is wanting the infamy of a school shooter and cause the same amount of damage, but wanting to do it more creatively and "better". Heres the problem: depression does not equal terrorist acts. Mental illness being portrayed as evil and the driving "villain" for everything is such a tired depiction. A side character was also depicted to have mental illness. Guess what she did? Helped Simon and framed the Bayview Four. Once again, DEPRESSION IS VILLAINIZED.
I'm not saying that horrible mental health can't lead someone to do these things. But it being the driving motive? It reinforces harmful stereotypes about depression and other mental health issues, implying that they can lead to violent or malicious behavior. And that can lead to REAL LIFE PEOPLE never finding help, burying it inside just because they have the stereotypical thinking running through their head that "Oh! Depression is bad? It's looked down upon? I'll just hide it away and never deal with it cause boy, I sure don't want to end up like Simon".
Also. Stop treating suicide as if it's a mystery that needs to be solved. Don't use it as a basis for your book. It just adds to the harmful and WRONG reputation of mental illness that we have today.

So yeah, there's that.

Also, did anyone else think that they REALLY leaned heavily into the "drug-dealing bad boy" stereotype?

And Bronwyn and Nate? It felt so... forced.

BOTTOM LINE:
Horrible portrayals of depression and sexuality, would not recommend unless not affected

AGE RATING:
15+

Content Warnings

ajg022's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious fast-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

4.0

An enjoyable page-turner, with enough variance of character perspectives to keep me hooked. The plot itself is a little predictable, but isn't necessarily the focus of the story as much as the characters and their relations to others.

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byrdy's review against another edition

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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? No

5.0

Everything about this book worked for me. I thought for having a pretty hefty cast of characters they were all well-written and fleshed out. The structure of the story kept my interest. The mystery was intriguing, and the themes of the book felt timely. All around, I thought this was really well executed and would be great for a book club especially if you are a fan of murder mysteries and high school dramas like The Breakfast Club. Do check the trigger warnings if you are sensitive to certain topics/themes :)

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pam_simpson06's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious 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

4.0

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