Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

47 reviews

lisa_m's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, Outing, Alcohol, and Classism

pajamasamm's review against another edition

emotional inspiring 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

4.0

Very light easy read. If pretty little liars met the breakfast club met

thirteen reasons why

. I really enjoyed it & would recommend it with the caveat that this isn’t a literary classic. The writing is fine but it was more fun solving the mystery and didn’t take long to read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, and Violence

abbyreadsbigbooks123's review against another edition

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Outing, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

melissaslibraryy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

applecider's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

2.5

The characters were a little ridiculous, but they had to be for things to work out the way they did. I think it really fell apart in the ending, with how the case resolved and then everyone becoming one big trauma-bonded family in the aftermath. That alone has dropped my rating quite low.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, and Murder

renpuspita's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

 Cuma bisa bilang: GILA!!

Gue ga mau bandingin One of Us is Lying sama A Good Girl's Guide to Murder aka AGGGtM yg gue udah baca dulu padahal gue dah punya buku ini duluan sejak lama, hahahaha. Meski sama - sama YA dengan unsur misteri, thriller & suspense, keduanya beda dari segi tema dan eksekusi, tapi menurut gue keduanya SAMA BAGUSnya dengan cara yang berbeda. AGGGtM lebih kental sisi whodunnit dan investigasinya, sementara One of Us is Lying lebih menguak ke sisi kelam dunia remaja sekolah Amrik dengan segala lika likunya.

Dari segi karakternya sendiri emang typical film remaja, seperti yang dibilang oleh si korban, Simon Kelleher. Bronwyn itu cewe cerdas di sekolah, Nate cowo bandel yang lagi dihukum masa percobaan karena jadi pengedar narkoba, Addy cewe populer dan putri prom, sementara Cooper atlet dengan masa depan yang cerah. Keempatnya bersama Simon disatukan di ruang detensi yang berujung pada tewasnya Simon karena alergi yg dideritanya dan nasib para remaja ini berubah 180 derajat hanya dalam sehari. One of Us is lying, salah satu dari mereka bohong. Masalahnya, siapa yang BERBOHONG? 

Buku ini ditulis dari PoV Bronwyn, Nate, Addy dan Cooper, semuanya pakai 1st PoV. Dari pemilihan 1st PoV aja gue udah nyadar, ceritanya bakal bias & subjektif karena pakai sudut pandang masing - masing. Tapi jangan khawatir, alur ceritanya sendiri lurus bak jalan tol, bukannya maju mundur, mengingat baca empat PoV orang pertama aja udah mayan harus konsen ya. McManus sendiri dengan lihai membuka sedikit demi sedikit fakta - fakta yang berhubungan dengan Simon dan aplikasi gosipnya, About That. Keempat remaja ini dicurigai dan punya motif semua, tapi dari sudut pandang mereka pun, gue juga dibuat bertanya - tanya, siapa yang BOHONG? Mereka berempat emang ada kebohongan yang dimana nantinya mereka terpaksa harus jujur dan menerima konsekuensinya, tapi apa hubungannya kebohongannya mereka dengan meninggalnya Simon? Di sinilah menurut gue cukup plot twist dan mindblown meski gue cukup bisa menebak kenapanya, karena red herringnya jelas terpampang nyata tapi gue malah nyari2 siapa yang bohong dari keempat tersangka XD.

Untuk ukuran debut, buku ini cukup rapi ditulisnya (dan ya, mau ga mau jadi inget Holly Jackson sama AGGGTM yang juga debutnya). Awalnya menarik dan tegang, tapi mayan kedodoran di bagian kedua sebelum akhirnya mencapai momentum di akhir. Menurut gue, ketimbang sebagai kasus misteri whodunnit, McManus lebih ingin menjabarkan kebobrokan dunia remaja yang tidak melulu berfokus sama sex dan narkoba. Segala permasalahan remaja, utamanya yang berhubungan dengan nilai pelajaran, prestasi olahraga yang cemerlang, interaksi dengan orang tua dan juga pencarian jati diri (termasuk preferensi seksual) dibahas dengan cukup tuntas dan thought-provoking. Pembaca bakal diajak mikir dan bersimpati sama tokoh - tokoh di buku ini. Plus, bahwa sesuatu yang kamu lakukan, yang menurut kamu harmless, bisa aja bikin orang lain sakit hati dan akhirnya berlaku desktruktif

Dari keempat remaja ini, gue paling salut sama Addy. Addy yang awalnya cewe penurut dan bergaul sama cewe2 populer lainnya, setelah dicampakkan sama pacarnya bernama Jake, jadi cewe yang akhirnya mandiri dan tidak mempedulikan pendapat orang. Sementara untuk Nate & Bronwyn, walau mereka akhirnya dapat jatah hubungan romantis, gue udah pernah baca hubungan serupa antara cewek cerdas dan cowo bandel di Perfect Chemistry jadi ga menawarkan sesuatu yang baru, hehe. Walau gue sendiri menikmati membaca interaksi Nate dan Bronwyn. Untuk Cooper, dilema terkait seksualitasnya cukup menarik dibaca tapi menurut gue spotlightnya juga agak2 kurang dibandingkan Addy dan yang lain. Eniwei, terkait dengan si korban yaitu Simon, gue jujur ga terlalu simpatik meski tahu alasan dibalik pembuatan aplikasi About That. Apa yang dilakukan Simon itu selain bullying, juga tanda - tanda power syndrome. Gue tahu Simon "ingin dilihat" dan karenanya dia bikin About That. Tapi, apa hak Simon buat menghancurkan hidup orang lain, apalagi remaja yang masa depannya masih lama. 

Endingnya sendiri mengesankan kalau masalah udah selesai dan ceritanya selesai. Tapi ternyata ada buku 2 dan buku 3 (yang belum diterjemahkan). Gue penasaran, bakal ada kejadian mengerikan apalagi yang menimpa siswa - siswa SMA Bayview? Yang jelas, kalau kamu suka YA misteri tapi lebih fokus ke interaksi tokoh - tokohnya, One of Us is Lying ini bener2 gue rekomendasikan! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Murder, Outing, and Abandonment

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Confinement, Vomit, Mass/school shootings, and Injury/Injury detail

anwenpullenxx's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

This book is so good! Loved it so much! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Car accident, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

itsjadenbaby's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

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

2.5

The epilogue was so pointless. Other than that, this wasn’t a super memorable book for me. It definitely wasn’t bad, I just wasn’t super impressed. I’m glad that so many other people liked it though!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Death, Homophobia, Infidelity, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Outing, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Abandonment, and Classism

Minor: Sexual content

julia_jojo17'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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Outing

Minor: Addiction and Alcoholism

beccaleigh99's review against another edition

hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Bullying, Mental illness, Mass/school shootings, and Murder

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, and Toxic friendship