Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

One Of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

6 reviews

angelo_vossen's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Outing

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Gun violence, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol

Minor: Infidelity, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Blood, Police brutality, Car accident, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Classism

ajg022's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Outing, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, and Car accident

Minor: Drug use, Gun violence, Mental illness, Police brutality, Mass/school shootings, and Gaslighting

catiecat2_5's review against another edition

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

tetedump's review against another edition

emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Suicide, Police brutality, Mass/school shootings, Murder, and Outing

severe allergy reaction

dhutton1997's review against another edition

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Grief, Medical trauma, Outing, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

allyhoo811's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Murder, Outing, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Moderate: Child death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Cancer, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Transphobia, Police brutality, Mass/school shootings, and Stalking