Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

One Of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

119 reviews

dramagirl2003's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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

ah this was a clever plot. so many twists and turns. I loved the MCs growing relationships with each other

thoughts while rereading

p76: this poem is a stark difference from janae’s song in the show 😂

p195: i love the not-murder pact

p205: ughhh just move on from that psycho

p308: i can’t practically hear bronwyn’s panicking heartbeat

p311: i can see the chemistry forming

p312: eli 🤣

Happiness starts bubbling through me, making it hard to keep a straight face. I manage, though, because I'm not going to make things that easy on him. Nate can sit through the entire series before we leave the friend zone.

Content Warnings

oliviabennet56's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This was one of the first mystery books that I’ve read and I think this will remain my favorite. One of Us is Lying was written so beautifully and I was always at the edge of my seat when I was reading. I was 100% recommend but there are some trigger warnings.

Content Warnings

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.

Content Warnings

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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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.

Content Warnings