Reviews with content warning for Classism - Nous les menteurs

This absolutely tore me into pieces. It was so beautifully written and I didn’t expect the ending at all. The characters felt so real. Some of the metaphors confused me, though, which took away some of the shock factor for the first plot twist for me because I found myself going back trying to figure out if it was real or not. The middle also slows down just a bit, but after the ending I realized why so many of the seemingly unimportant details in the middle were actually so important. This is one I would totally go back and reread to try and find all the clues I missed—

How they never went to dinner, they didn’t want Cady to jump off the rocks, the kids seeing ghosts, none of them receiving her gifts or responding to Cady’s emails, Aunt Carrie walking around at night, the lie about the donut shop, why Grandad kept calling her Mirren, etc etc.

I don’t think a book has ever made me cry as hard as this one did.

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pumpkinbread02's review against another edition

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mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

the dogs.

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ashleyvharris's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-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

1.0

This was not fun. I only finished this book because I heard promises of a great twisty ending. It left me feeling meh. Not shocked or outraged or slighted. Just underwhelmed. The whole story felt super pretentious and unrelatable, more like watching an episode of The Kardashians where they’re bitching over shoes that cost more than a tropical vacation. Genuinely do not understand the hype.

The one thing I will give this book is the RARE representation for chronic illness. I appreciated the portrayal of chronic pain via Cadence’s migraines.

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mattiedancer's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Writing: 5⭐️/5

Hmm. How to discuss this without spoiling it or ruining the fun of reading it? I think, very plainly, I’ll say it’s some of the most technically controlled and interesting writing I’ve read in a YA novel.

Characters: 4.75⭐️/5

Again, I’m going minimal with this review. Don’t expect anything, but do understand that the characters will jump off the page.

Plot: 4.5⭐️/5

No way to talk about this one. Take the mark as it is, but go in expecting nothing.

Post-Reading Rating: 5⭐️/5

Stunning.

Who Should Read This?

Fiction fans
Fans of gossip girl vibes, but looking for more serious themes
Someone looking for a well-balanced book with virtuosic writing control, well-developed characters, and an interesting plot

Final Rating: 4.75⭐️/5

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sarah1026's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

2.75

This book was very confusing. There were many times where it just seemed like the book was lying to me, which makes sense I guess with the title. It was also never clear which timeline we were currently in. The plot twist that I had heard was great was pretty good, the book did get better at the end. <Spoiler> the plot twist was very good. It had me rather shocked, and I liked how we came to realize it with the main character. I am still rather confused on how it worked. How she was interacting with the characters, even kissing them, when they were dead. I also very much did not enjoy the addition of the dogs dying and the description of them waiting for help. I do wish I had heard about that before reading, because it was really rough to read. I also still do not know how she ended up naked in the water. <Spoiler>

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