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matilde66's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Outing and Death
Moderate: Bullying, Violence, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, and Suicide
Minor: Chronic illness, Alcohol, Cancer, Eating disorder, Car accident, Addiction, Self harm, and Mass/school shootings
janahy55's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Murder, Bullying, Death, Outing, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Stalking, Cursing, and Drug abuse
Minor: Racial slurs
renpuspita's review against another edition
- 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
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!
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Homophobia, Alcoholism, Bullying, Outing, Mental illness, Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Abandonment, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Infidelity, and Alcohol
Minor: Mass/school shootings, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, and Vomit
anwenpullenxx's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Suicide, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Cursing, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, and Violence
potatoetree's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Moderate: Homophobia, Mental illness, Outing, and Suicide
Minor: Mass/school shootings, Toxic relationship, Self harm, and Toxic friendship
tgreene507's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexism, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Suicidal thoughts
carissa_93's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Bullying, Gun violence, Toxic friendship, Infidelity, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Physical abuse, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Death, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
_corrin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Suicide, Death, Outing, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Alcohol, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Mental illness, Cancer, and Mass/school shootings
annaspeckien's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Violence, Toxic relationship, Homophobia, and Suicide
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Death, Mass/school shootings, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Bullying
Minor: Terminal illness, Abandonment, and Cancer
stungbythewood's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
I really enjoyed this book on my first read through and still enjoy it just as much on my second although I do have a few minor complaints.
There are a few points of misogyny that are just :/
And after rereading the ending, it all felt way too convenient.
I get that it was supposed to mainly be focused on the bay view four as suspects in Simon’s murder but Jake’s involvement felt too out there within the whole story.
I was not anticipating the twist outcome on my first read through so I was genuinely surprised by that.
I thoroughly enjoyed Nate and Bronwyn’s storylines as well as Addy’s. Cooper’s was fine but I’m not all that interested in sports so his storyline didn’t interest me for the most part.
Bronwyn and her desire to fix things head on as they come along in her relationship with Nate is so relatable that I genuinely felt as if I lived their story (without being accused of murder, of course) and I think their relationship is very realistic, especially toward the end when Nate ducks out of Bronwyn’s life because things got too real for him. It’s an experience I know all too well, but luckily, Nate gets his act together and realizes that self isolating isn’t the solution to what he’s feeling.
He actually listens to advice given to him by Addy and attempts to make things work with Bronwyn and COMMUNICATES HIS FEELINGS!!!!!!!!
Thank you Karen M. McManus for writing men that actually work on improving themselves for the women in their life.
Her finding her footing and place in this world is something that I relate to a LOT myself.
All in all, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it if you’re looking for a quick but fun mystery to read.
I’ve already read the second book and am not sure if I’ll be going a reread of it but I am looking forward to reading the third installment!
Graphic: Physical abuse
Moderate: Homophobia, Outing, Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Misogyny