Reviews

One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

mylittllibrary's review against another edition

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3.0

The plot was interesting and well written but I didn't get attached to any of the characters.

solluna's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

lazyliterature's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny 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? It's complicated

5.0

this book didnt want to leave my head and neither will the plot. every chapter i thought i knew what was happening, turns out i was wrong, so wrong. I am so looking forward to buying the series of this emotional rollercoaster!!!

margii's review against another edition

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3.0

The book isn't bad, just not really impressive, like, it wasn't hard to find the murder, I knew from the beginning... But the writing wasn't bad and I liked the characters. So yeah, I can't recommend this book but I also can't say that you shouldn't real it... You will have to figure it out for yourself I guess.

literielle's review against another edition

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mysterious tense 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? Yes

3.0

it was an enjoyable read, but i think the climax was kind of eh and it was more of tell than show, but i do think the mystery was so good and the plot twists threw me off. 

i appreciate the four characters and their secrets aren't that bad, and i think this whole book was about jealousy and envy, but i can't help but feel bad for simon and jake as well since everything could have been so different had high school hierarchy just not exist, where reputations and popularity aren't the main source of our pride, but that's what it's like being a teenager, where we just want that slither of attention and crumble when we don't. 

the character development of all four characters were fun to read, but i appreciated addy's development the most, on a personal level, where she really broke free from her shell. i did NOT like jake from the start because it was just icky, and i was so glad they broke it off. in terms of relationships, i loved bronwyn and nate's, it's a cute cliche that i will always eat up and i appreciate that epilogue, but i do think it was kind of rushed especially after everything? and don't get me started on cooper, my fav of all, the absolute saint who did not deserve any of that homophobic treatment! 

i think this book was a fun light-hearted ish murder mystery that's a good way to enter the genre, but the dual povs are kind of hard to keep track and obviously there was bias with who i wanted to read the most, but i think the multiple povs made the mystery fall flat? i would have preferred if it was in third pov, but nonetheless it was still enjoyable. i just had a hard time with the dozens of characters in the book. 

obvious there's another book after this, but the ending was just kind of cut short for me and as much as i adored nate and bronwyn's cute little blooming relationship, i think cooper and addy deserved a litttle bit more justice rather than that bittersweet acceptance of bare minimum endings. although, generally it was still kind of bittersweet, but not a lot that i feel like it was total injustice. 

overall, i'd recommend this book to my friends who're starting out their ya murder mystery journey! pretty decent read and it was fun!

meinir's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious tense 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? Yes

5.0

izzys_internet_bookshelf's review against another edition

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3.0

3.5/5

Whoo hoo I finally read this book. I didn’t enjoy it as much as other books written by Karen M. Manus but it was still a good read. I found it similar to the breakfast club but make it a murder mystery.

tahliadowns6's review against another edition

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adventurous informative mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

3.0

chaotically_katie's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious reflective tense 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

4.0

m4rierose's review against another edition

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4.0

I read this book because I loved the TV series. The book and series are very similar, with the ending being slightly different but mostly the same.

I love the characters,
Spoiler I love Nate and Bronwyn’s romance, I love Addy’s growth and Cooper’s coming out story.


I’m excited to read the next one and see where it goes!