Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

153 reviews

kyahs's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad 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

3.5

A great easy page turner that I enjoyed a lot more than I expected. Not sure if I'll read the rest but if I dont then I'll miss the characters.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Murder

hafsa08's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Car accident, Death of parent, and Abandonment

classicpseudonym's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

3.75

again, writing this immediately after finishing the book so i don't forget anything so i'm still sort of in shock. i read two can keep a secret by mcmanus a few  years ago so i've had this on my to read ever since (but never particularly wanted to read it until i didn't have time to find another option at the library). but woah that was definitely something.

i feel like i was more hooked than i'm willing to admit because this was a typical ya book about high school and murder (except by peanut oil i guess), but i still wanted to read on even though this doesn't exactly align with my book tastes. and the build-up of everything was pretty well executed, so props to mcmanus on a thrilling debut.

on the other hand, i'm looking back immediately after and i feel like i didn't really get anything out of it? if that makes sense. i wasn't a big fan of the hold that romance and relationships had on the plot and the book overall, but that's just how high school is portrayed in general, and i'm not a big romance person so i'm probably just biased. me saying "i didn't get anything out of it" isn't to say that the psychological themes and the perspectives/narration of each of the characters wasn't interesting, but i just feel like i wouldn't want to read this book again. like the case with two can keep a secret (which i don't remember anything about, then again its been years) i don't think i'd remember anything about the book besides the ending (which will haunt me even though i felt it coming) in a few months.

now that i'm thinking about it, simon's character is going to haunt me for the rest of my life. from the reference to the omniscent narrator at the beginning of the book, to the way he planned on dictating "his story" even from the grave... chilling. god.

so if you want fast paced, thrilling, and haunting in a ya sort of way read, i'd recommend. there are a lot a lot of trigger warnings though, so i'd recommend that people keep that in mind if they read. if you tend to stay away from ya thriller/mystery books like i do, maybe still give it a read if you're bored because i feel like it's decently well done, but it wasn't my favorite book personally and it might not be yours either. then again, i think it's just because i think too much and i gravitate towards books that are really deep and get my mind all jumbled on the issues of society. but that's a me problem. pretty good book overall though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Infidelity, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Mass/school shootings, Outing, and Alcohol

Minor: Death of parent

joselyn475's review against another edition

sad 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Suicide and Suicide attempt

quillify_'s review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Suicide attempt, Outing, and Gaslighting

taylorsevalia's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Self harm, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Confinement, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Vomit, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, Pregnancy, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail

adiisbookland91's review against another edition

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

3.5

CAWPILE: 3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 Really enjoyed this story. Fast paced. Would of like to see hardcore secrets. But kept me guessing and didn't want to stop reading. Gav e me Pretty Little Liars vibes. Loved the romance part.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Addiction, Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Gun violence, Mental illness, Mass/school shootings, and Abandonment

tanvi45's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Homophobia, and Suicide

Moderate: Alcoholism and Drug abuse

Minor: Mass/school shootings and Suicide attempt

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

junowo's review against another edition

dark funny lighthearted 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

4.75

This book was just…fun! The plot is a great framing device for both mystery and character growth. I definitely rolled my eyes a bit with the Breakfast Club reference at the beginning, but I was surprised to find that this book played off of the idea of teenage stereotypes in a way that felt new and interesting.
I think the highlights of this book are 1) the roundness of every single character and 2) the agency the teenage characters had. YA books can often contain flat characters, and their protagonists can feel like teenagers that things are happening to, rather than teenagers doing things. This book gave depth and dimension to every one of its characters, as well as giving them a chance to make their own choices and stand their ground. I’m very impressed!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Violence, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Mass/school shootings, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

Minor: Cancer