Reviews tagging 'Classism'

One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

26 reviews

morenareads's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Classism

Minor: Mass/school shootings

prairieraven's review against another edition

mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Outing, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

confessionsofabibliophile's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? No

4.0

🔴Might contain spoilers.🔴

Upon reading the first few chapters of this book, I was sucked in. It gave me Pretty Little Liars vibes with a splash of The Breakfast Club thrown in. Unsure if in the future when the "Bayview Four" are named the Murder Club if this was McManus paying homage to the 80s classic, even if it wasn't a little Easter Egg it made me laugh. 

The book takes place in an area of California, I know all too well. Which gave me the ability to immerse myself more into the read. We follow in the first few chapters 5 students: Bronwyn Rojas; very girl next door, top of the class and squeaky clean or so we think, she reminded me of Molly Ringwalds character in The Breakfast Club. Adelaide "Addy" Prentiss; miss popularity dating star athlete the perfect pair, everyone knows who she is by name and by who she is dating but not who ADDY is which let me tell you at the start I really didn't care too much for her she seemed like filler until her story and personal development begins to unfold. She gave me a mix of Hannah from PLL. Cooper Clay; all American golden boy, with the perfect life, grades, MLB scouts pick and the perfect girl, but Coop is hiding a secret that he is worried might end his perfect facade. He is the male counterpart to Emily from PLL. Next, we have Nathaniel "Nate"' Macauley; is the bad boy, down on his luck, guy from the other side of the tracks the only one without a squeaky clean past. He screams a hybrid of Caleb Rivers (PLL) and John Bender (TBC)! Lastly we have Simon Kelleher, he is the school gossip app specialist, secret digger and lie detector. The homecoming court prince that no one seems to think much of. Simon screams A from PLL!!! We start with 5 then someone dies and then the Bayview Four is born and our Murder Club strangers become the unlikely friends that solve the mystery behind the murder.

The characters were well written and I felt connected to them. I think Addy was one of the best character development progressions I have seen for a character set up like Addy. The plot flowed well with no holes that I could find. The story had a good pace, it felt smooth and effortless as it progressed and you begin to unravel the truth about the murder and the Bayview Four. With that being said the ending that was supposed to be a twist and shock, it was to an extent but I had thought about the possibility earlier on in the story, though it didn't change my Oh My God moment. 

All in all it was a great quick read that took about a day. Definitely going to read her other books in the series and absolutely will watch the tv show! I totally recommend this YA murder mystery/thriller with a slice of life setting!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Classism

creativeworld's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

An easy read and a fun mystery. The ending was satisfying, although I hate Nate the rest of the characters are good. Exactly the kind of book I was looking for. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Grief, Car accident, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Mass/school shootings, and Suicide attempt

jemmaisntcool's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Self harm, Suicide, Murder, and Outing

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, and Car accident

Minor: Classism

fe_aye's review against another edition

adventurous informative mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

Solid book. I almost ended up DNFing due to my lack of meshing with the characters at the beginning, but as I kept reading they really grew on me. I didn’t much care for the character to begin with but after they had some development they really got much better, especially Addy. 
It was also very well crafted and the resolution was both surprising yet grounded worked really well, I’m glad I stuck with this one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Murder, Outing, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Gun violence, Mental illness, and Classism

alexreads1023's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Stalking, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism

thebookpaiges's review against another edition

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Suicide, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, and Classism

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

renyoi's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense 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

4.75

YA fiction that simultaneously does and does not feel like YA fiction. Multiple gasp-out-loud moments and surprising subversions of popular tropes make this book one of the more sophisticated YA titles I’ve ever read. All characters feel well-rounded and representative of real teenagers—who, as the author clearly knows, are agents in their own world and not just victims of or reactions to circumstances. My main complaint? The author doesn’t actually know how Tumblr works. :P

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Outing, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Car accident, and Classism