Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

113 reviews

cara_nm's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Suicide, and Violence

Moderate: Bullying and Infidelity

Minor: Alcohol, Cancer, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Outing, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Medical content, Mental illness, Car accident, Mass/school shootings, and Homophobia

melodyseestrees's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Suicide

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Drug use, Alcoholism, and Alcohol

Minor: Mass/school shootings

emabelle's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Outing and Violence

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Infidelity, Murder, Suicide, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Addiction, Mass/school shootings, and Alcohol

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

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

Minor: Death of parent

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

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

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

bexthewriter's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Homophobia, Death, Violence, Outing, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Suicide

Minor: Addiction, Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Cursing

So basically (spoilers ahead like a big one)

Simon, the person dies, commits suicide by triggering his own allergic reaction and then tries to pin it on the four main characters. Nates dad is also an alcoholic and his mom abandoned him bc of drug addiction and she is bipolar as well.

proudtobeabookaholic's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Fem elever på Bayview High får kvarsittning, men bara fyra av dem kommer därifrån levande. En nörd, en sportkille, en bad boy och en skoldrottning. Samtliga har hemligheter de inte vill ska komma ut. Hur långt är de beredda att gå för att skydda dem?

Stereotypa karaktärer, som tagna ur en ungdomsfilm från 80-talet - kan det verkligen bli bra? Ja, faktiskt! Vi har plugghästen Bronwyn, basebollstjärnan Cooper, bråkstaken Nate och Addy, en av skolans populäraste tjejer. Sedan har vi mordoffret, Simon. Han är killen som vill passa in, men lyckas aldrig bli del av någon grupp. Istället skapar han en app där han publicerar skvaller om eleverna på skolan. Dessa "rykten" visar sig oftast vara sanna och det finns många som skulle vilja att Simon försvann. Eller åtminstone hans app. När Simon dör under kvarsittningen och det visar sig att han blivit förgiftad så blir förstås de andra fyra misstänkta och deras liv förvandlas till en mardröm. 

Berättarperspektivet skiftar mellan de fyra huvudkaraktärerna och eftersom jag lyssnade på boken (i utmärkt uppläsning av Ella Schartner) så hade jag vissa problem med att hålla reda på vems perspektiv vi följde. Det blev lite lättare när man lärt känna karaktärerna bättre. På ytan må de vara klichéer, men alla har förstås mer än en sida. Jag gillar hur de fyra, som egentligen inte umgåtts tidigare, sakta blir vänner och börjar beskydda varandra. Upplösningen listade jag ut innan den avslöjades, vilket jag egentligen inte gillar, men eftersom slutet var tillfredsställande så accepterar jag det!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Outing, Alcohol, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

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

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

dhutton1997'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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Outing, Physical abuse, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Bullying, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Classism, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Drug use, Grief, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, and Drug abuse

medini_l's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Suicide, Sexism, Bullying, Outing, Misogyny, Mental illness, Mass/school shootings, Homophobia, and Drug use

Minor: Violence, Alcohol, Cancer, and Abandonment