Reviews with content warning for Cancer - One of Us Is Lying

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One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

140 reviews

mikathereviewer's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

2.0

This review is in two languages at the same time as I read it in German, highlighted scenes that were translated into German, added English notes and have an English audience and due to the length I decided not to translate it it in two different languages and kept it in it's original form.

I know that most like this book and that's totally fine for me. I just think honestly I might shouldn't have read it as I usually don't read teenage thrillers and tend to stay in thrillers were the characters are already adults. So one could say the book was out of my comfort zone.
My opinions down below aren't intended to insult or hurt anyone, they are just my personal opinion and my experience while reading.

How to summaries the book perfectly based on Sam's words: "»Addy ist das Prinzesschen und du bist die Sportskanone«, sagt Simon zu mir. Er deutet mit dem Kinn auf Bronwyn und danach auf Nate. »Du die Intelligenzbestie und du der Outlaw. Ihr seid allesamt wandelnde Teenie-Film-Stereotypen.«"

Liked

• Even though the plot twists were obvious I liked that 1 of them was show than tell (all the others were tell only)

• Like how the 4 people not know eachother. Is more realistic if they have their own friend group and barely or just a few know eachother.

• Addy has a great character development. From being obedient to being independent.

• Even though I hate how cliché everything is, the whole bullying and teenage phase think is actually realistic.

Disliked

• Don't know about you, but if I would be the people in the book I wouldn't bully the people who are suspects about a murder case.
In the end they kill ME 🤷
(also the whole 'In the end I never really had any friends' thing is too often used now)

• Also not sure if you really can call anything of this a plot twist as these aren't secrets that are revealed but actual personal and privat stuff that is totally normal not to tell everyone.

• Way too many clichés and the whole puberty thing was so annoying (especially when Addy cut her hair and didn't like it in the end, and built her personality and connections only based on Jake)

• I don't know if it's my translation as I read it in German but I saw it so often now. Not knowing the difference between 'outing' and 'coming out'.
The word 'Zwangsouting' (forced outing) makes no sense as outing means:
"Outing," a term used for making the sexual orientation and/or gender identity of another public, when they would prefer to keep this information secret.
And 'coming out' means:
Coming out refers to the process that people who are LGBTQ go through as they work to accept their sexual orientation or gender identity and share that identity openly with other people.
So using outing and forced in front of it just makes it have a double meaning.

• The whole happy ending. In reality at least one thing wouldn't turn out like one would like it to be. That is what life is. Unrealistic.

• All flat characters. Sam was the closest of being three-dimensional, but all the others? Except what we know of the blurb about them we barely get to know about them anything else. Yes maybe a few 'secrets' or rather private information, but nothing like quirks, favourite something, more backstory that isn't based on their profession and more. We barely know them. Yes, Addy had a character development but it was still all about her relationship, how she was some kind of beauty princess and not queen (which is so bad, not) and that she had her 'I cut my hair to show that I'm independent now' phase (which she by the way regretted as soon as she saw Jake)

• The whole 'you aren't borinf 'cause you drink, do drugs, sex, etc..' thing is so damaging to say and even this book said it. I get it they are teens, they want to have fun and stuff, but please never tell someone that in real life. You just put pressure on someone and everyone can be interesting without doing such stuff.

• From my point of view, every female character was having the hots for lots of boys and I also disliked how some (even though irrelevant characters) just touched one of our male protagonists.
Here is the scene where Mallory touched Nate without allowance: "Sie kichert noch lauter und streicht mir über den Bauch."
And: "Mallory fummelt weiter an mir herum und ich trete einen Schritt zurück."

• We get once again the muscules and just being extraordinary hot cliché.
Oh and one apparently can ONLY like sporty people
Reference: "Ehrlich gesagt weiß ich nicht, was Simon sich dabei gedacht hat. Keely steht nur auf Sportler. Bei jemandem wie Bronwyn hätte er vielleicht mehr Chancen gehabt."

• Everyone flirts with everyone or even becomes a h0e
Reference: "Gott, meine Mutter. Die Frau hat tatsächlich den Nerv, mit Officer Budapest zu flirten"
Reference 2: "Und auf einmal habe ich ihn geküsst und vorgeschlagen, zu ihm nach Hause zu gehen.
Nichts von dem, was passiert ist, ist also seine Schuld." (The scandal scene)
Example 3: "»Dann hattest du gleichzeitig was mit mir und mit Nate?«
»Würde dir das was ausmachen?«"
Example 4: "Sie hat sich übrigens SOFORT Luis geangelt, nachdem Cooper mit ihr Schluss gemacht hatte. Wenn sie den Pitcher nicht haben kann, reicht ihr wohl auch sein Catcher. Luis hat Olivia für sie sitzen gelassen"

• THIS
"»Typisch Mann. Du hast keinen Schimmer, wie schwer es ist, ein Kostüm zu finden, in dem man sexy aussieht, aber nicht wie eine Nutte.«
Luis wackelt vielsagend mit den Brauen. »Dann geh doch einfach gleich als Nutte«,"
Ist so
wieso sexy aussehen wollen wenn Halloween eigentlich eh für Kinder ist und sexy man nur für bf oder gf sein sollte und nicht für alle Welt

• No research done what a sociopath is
"»Wer weiß, vielleicht bin ich ja ein Soziopath. Die sollen wahre Meister darin sein, ihre Umgebung zu täuschen.«"
Nein, das sind Psychopathen, sie wissen ganz genau wie sie charmant zu sein haben während Soziopathen noch empathie besitzen und auch impulsiver handeln

• Here is the example why I said earlier that Addy's whole personality and persona is based on Jake:
"Wenn ich nicht Jakes Freundin bin, wer bin ich dann?"
Eine Individuelle Person? kannst mir nicht sagen, sie denkt sonst sie existiert nicht nur weil sie mit Jake nicht mehr zusammen ist
Reference 2: "»Fällt dir wirklich nichts ein, was du gerne machst und was nichts mit Jake zu tun hat?«"

• Sexistic
"»Er hat kein Recht, dich aus der Welt zu radieren. Gott, du hast einen dummen Fehler gemacht. Aber es ist schließlich nicht so, als hättest du jemanden umgebracht.«"
Ach wirklich aber wenn ein Typ es macht heißt es wieder aLlE mÄnNeR sInD sChLImM
Example 2: "»Jemanden zu betrügen ist kein Fehler. Man entscheidet sich dafür«, gibt Jake aufgebracht zurück und klingt einen kurzen Moment vollkommen nüchtern."
Hat er vollkommen recht. man entscheidet sich. man kontrolliert auch sein eigen Körper und dementsprechend auch Entscheidungen

• It makes NO sense
Erst so 'Ich will nie wieder mit dir reden' auch Jake:
"»Wie geht es dir so?«, fragt er.
Ich muss beinahe lachen. »Oh, na ja, du weißt schon. Nicht so gut.«"

• No talking, just expecting others to solve your issues??
"»Tja, dann … man sieht sich.«"
So translated you do the usual girl move by not talking and expecting him to solve it himself even though its a US issue

• "Geht die Polizei zu weit, wenn private Informationen preisgegeben werden, um in einem Fall weiterzukommen?"
Ja, dürfen die in real life nicht mal
Genauso wie die Polizei weiß wenn eine Datei geschnitten wurde egal wie sehr man rumtrickst

• Addy's mum. Don't know if I need to explain but just her move that one NEEDS to have a bf to be happy. And pressuring her to get a new one.

• Cringe
"Addy dreht sich so schnell zu mir um, dass ihre blonde Mähne wie in einer Shampoo-Werbung um ihre Schultern schwingt."

• That haircut thing
"Ich habe mich an den Schnitt gewöhnt und MANCHMAL mag ich ihn sogar, aber es ist unmöglich, meine Haare über Nacht fünfundvierzig Zentimeter wachsen zu lassen, und es gibt nichts, was ich tun kann, damit sie in Jakes Augen besser aussehen."

Wrote the review: 26. July 2024

Content Warnings

slimepuppy's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.0

The book starts out wrong just by how unrealistic it is that a kid would run that sort of app for years without ever getting any repercussion. The app would get taken down after the first post made anyone get hurt, or Simon would have gotten the whooping of his life and that would be IT.

If you manage to suspend your disbelief past that start, the book still doesn’t make it worth your time. The main characters are flat - them having made mistakes in the past doesn't change the fact that they're still the only nice, normal people in a school filled with assholes.

So, one main character is experiencing prejudice and the only person in the entire school willing to stand up for him is ANOTHER main character? Great. No character is allowed nuance, not our heroes or our villains. Simon was the only one who could have been three dimensional, and he was in it for a second, never to return, not even through flashbacks, which would have been a great way to explore his psyche and his motivations for the terrible things he did.

He's our killer and we barely get to meet him.

The pacing was... exquisite. Halfway through the book Addy's arc is basically concluded while Cooper's is just starting to unravel. It makes for a bumpy, uneven read, when you go from reading a character that kind of has nowhere left to grow to one just starting his journey, then to a hamfisted romance between two of the least interesting main characters.

Finally, the ending felt very rushed. The final confrontation was fun! The resolution of the mystery was well done and there was even an important detail that had been foreshadowed earlier, which was satisfying to see coming back. But following that scene, the book seems to be dying to be over.

We don't get to see Nate face life outside of jail and him reconnecting with his mom, we don't get to ever see Cooper interact with his family again, nothing. We're just told things are happening, all so we can have more time devoted to a stupid break up that makes no sense and feels extremely forced. So you spent the entire book telling me that Bronwyn is headstrong and willing to fight tooth and nail for what she wants, and at the first cold shoulder she just gives up? Great characterization, LOL.

Ok, so to mention the things I actually liked for posterity: Cooper was a good character. He was consistent and his actions made sense with what he was going through. He had internal and external conflicts to deal with - you very much get the sense that Cooper could lose his chances of being a pro player because of the scandal, while Browwyn never gets so much as a glare from a teacher for having cheated on multiple tests for an entire semester (?!).

Anyways, Cooper's outing made me feel genuinely sick - the police station scene was well written, I could feel the dread that Cooper was feeling as he realized what was being done to him.

A lot of it had to do with their inner lives - Cooper's friends and family felt the most realistic of the four, people with flaws and qualities and their own lives going on - Bronwyn's parents were just like every other YA parent. Her two friends might as well be cardboard cutouts. Addy's mom is an ugly caricature that fails to ever develop a single trait that might make her seem like a real person. Nate's mom is not flat, but she's barely there - we could have gotten so much more out of their relationship.

That's the basic TLDR of this book, I guess: it could have been waay better, but the author was just not interested in fleshing out characters or situations beyond the the surface level.

Also, the synopsis is just kind of misleading!

The Bayview 4 don't really join forces to try and solve the case until 70% of the book.

"One Of Us Is Lying?" Yeah, whoever wrote that blurb.

Content Warnings

jessanicolesingh's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

I would describe this thriller as a breakfast club turned murder mystery, centering on a modge podge of stereotypes in detention; a brain, beauty, criminal, athlete and an outcast who ends up dead! The victim had plenty of enemies, as he ran the school’s infamous gossip blog, and was prepared to out the aforementioned classmates on some pretty juicy stuff before his untimely death.

The book was written in multiple POVs, giving you a glimpse into each of the main characters' high school lives throughout the investigation. I actually kept notes on all suspects, determined to figure it out. I had to put the book down and tell my husband my guess at who the killer was around the 75% mark, and I was right!!! That's not to say the book wasn't good enough to surprise me, I'm just really proud of myself for figuring it out AND not skipping to the end to spoil it for myself (I have admittedly very little self control sometimes).

Albeit this book is about murder, be warned there are some additionally heavy triggers with some warnings at the expense of ruining the ending, so keep that in mind if you decide to pick this one up!

Content Warnings

mnasr's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

It's an incredibly fast paced, edge-of-the-seat thriller. So 5/5 for that. But since it is centered around teens often I felt that cerya aspects felt slightly unrealistic for that age group. But I think that's quite subjective tha every might not resonate with. I enjoyed the book masive despite that. So 4.5/5.

Content Warnings

kirstencholewa's review against another edition

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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.

Content Warnings

tabby09's review against another edition

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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.

Content Warnings

azileotulp's review against another edition

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dark 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

4.75

I'm gonna say right now that this was soooooo close to being a 5-star read for me. In all honesty, it probably should be because I only had one minor issue that is totally petty and that no one else probably cares about, but I personally can't overlook it. (I'll be discussing that under the spoiler tag later though.)

I do have to say that this was such an engaging mystery. Sadly, I did have part of the ending spoiled for me because one of the reviewers here doesn't know how to use spoiler warnings, but even with that spoiler, I was still able to enjoy it. It was just as much fun to try to figure out why the person responsible did what they did.

I also loved the characters so much. Usually in books with multiple perspectives, there's always that one character's POV that I'm just trying to get through before I can get back to the more interesting characters. This book wasn't like that at all. Even the characters I originally didn't like at first (who I did grow to love throughout the story, by the way) had such compelling perspectives that I was always excited to read them. And I have to say, I am such a Bronwyn and Nate fan...

Which brings me to my only problem with this book. Like I said... it's petty, but I don't even care. Yes, Bronwyn and Nate do end up together in the end, which I'm so happy about, don't get me wrong. But that little period of time at the end when it seemed like they went their separate ways? That hurt. Especially when I started reading the epilogue set 3 months later and saw that Bronwyn was dating Evan??? I actually bursted into tears. That period of uncertainty just went on too long for me, especially after having read another mystery novel where the protagonist and her love interest do actually go their separate ways. I won't say which book that was, but it genuinely made me sick, and I was so scared it was going to happen again. So, like I said, petty reason for not giving the book 5 stars, but amazing author should have thought about that before scaring me like that.

I do also want to talk a bit about my baby boy Cooper.

I had no idea this book had a prominent LGBTQ+ character, but now I'm happy I decided to read it during Pride Month. Y'all, I feel so connected to Cooper and I'm going to be thinking about him for months. We're both southern gays with homophobic fathers, and we have such similar queer experiences. What really got me was that ride home with his father before he came out to his family. When I came out to my mother, I was also fretting over it while in the car with her, and as soon as we parked, I told her. His story just resonated so deeply with me, and I'm so sorry I was hating on him at the beginning for being a cheater. (Yes, he did still cheat, but I favor gay people and his ex seemed to forgive him by the end. Leave me alone.) I love you, Cooper, and I'm sorry I ever doubted your good nature.

All in all, I truly adored this book. I was captivated the entire time I was reading, but especially those last seventy or so pages. I was gasping, shrieking, throwing up (okay, slightly exaggerated on that last one, but I did gag once). I can't recommend it more.

Content Warnings