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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
Captivating and addictive! So many twists and turns you will never see coming! Such a creative and intricately woven story. Couldn’t put it down and flew though it!
Fav Quotes:
- Things'll get worse before they get better.
- I know what it's like to tell yourself a lie so often that it becomes the truth.
- If I'm not thinking about one shit storm, I have to think about another.
- Are we friends, or just a couple of people without better options?
- It concerns me you're avoiding a promise not to murder me.
- You're not going to wither up and die from this. He doesn't get to erase you from the world.
- There are some things you can't undo no matter how good your intensions are.
- Cheating isn't a mistake. It's a choice.
- I don't know why it's so hard for people to admit that sometimes they're just assholes who screw up because they don't expect to get caught.
- A couple of words is all it'll take to make everything in my life before and after.
- You'll find out who your real friends are when stuff like this happens. Turns out I don't have any.
Fav Quotes:
- Things'll get worse before they get better.
- I know what it's like to tell yourself a lie so often that it becomes the truth.
- If I'm not thinking about one shit storm, I have to think about another.
- Are we friends, or just a couple of people without better options?
- It concerns me you're avoiding a promise not to murder me.
- You're not going to wither up and die from this. He doesn't get to erase you from the world.
- There are some things you can't undo no matter how good your intensions are.
- Cheating isn't a mistake. It's a choice.
- I don't know why it's so hard for people to admit that sometimes they're just assholes who screw up because they don't expect to get caught.
- A couple of words is all it'll take to make everything in my life before and after.
- You'll find out who your real friends are when stuff like this happens. Turns out I don't have any.
MA CHI SE LO ASPETTAVA
no vabbe, non ci credo
non ci ero arrivata neanche lontamente!
okay effettivamente non sono il tipo di persona che individua il colpevole, ed avevo immaginato ci sarebbe stato un colpo finale che avrebbe ribaltato i giochi, ma non immaginavo sarebbe successo questo!
Questo libro è un thriller ya che è un genere che, per quanto mi piaccia, non leggo quasi mai, e devo dire che questo mi ha piacevolmente sorpresa!
la trama, lo svolgersi e il risolversi del mistero mi sono piaciuti molto, fino all'ultimo ho dubitato su chi fosse il colpevole. Ma essendo un thriller immaginavo o almeno speravo che questo aspetto fosse ben riuscito e così è stato. Ma non mi aspettavo che mi sarebbero piaciuti così tanto anche i personaggi.
Sono tutti estremamente dinamici e variegati nelle loro identità. Ci sono i punti di vista di tutti e quattro i sospettati, che all'inizio del libro sono degli stereotipi viventi. Ma poi il trama continua e loro si svelano per ciò che sono davvero. Ed è stato uno splendido processo da seguire, perchè ho apprezzato tutti, nelle loro differenze, nelle loro paure e nei loro errori. Ma soprattutto nel loro imparare ad essere se stessi. E anche i personaggi lievemente più in secondo piano sono, chi più chi un pò meno, tutti ben costruiti e ugualmente importanti per la storia. Ogni punto, ogni idea e ogni persona è fondamentale per lo svolgersi della storia e ho adorato l'importanza che quindi viene data a ognuno, anche se solo per un secondo.
Alcune volte tocca anche dei temi importanti e per quanto magari non siano proprio apprefonditi, sono portati avanti nel modo giusto
Lo stile è scorrevole e l'inglese semplice. Forse l'ho trovato un pò lento all'inizio perchè la storia vera doveva ingranare, ma dalla metà in poi è volato via come l'acqua e le ultima 100-150 pagine l:ho lette tutte d'un fiato perchè non riuscivo a staccarmi!
Non do più di quattro stelle perchè questa è stata una lettura d'intrattenimento molto interessante e nuova ma non mi ha lasciato grandissimi sentimenti, però nonostante ciò lo consiglio molto, anche a chi è esitante ad approcciarsi al genere!
no vabbe, non ci credo
non ci ero arrivata neanche lontamente!
okay effettivamente non sono il tipo di persona che individua il colpevole, ed avevo immaginato ci sarebbe stato un colpo finale che avrebbe ribaltato i giochi, ma non immaginavo sarebbe successo questo!
Questo libro è un thriller ya che è un genere che, per quanto mi piaccia, non leggo quasi mai, e devo dire che questo mi ha piacevolmente sorpresa!
la trama, lo svolgersi e il risolversi del mistero mi sono piaciuti molto, fino all'ultimo ho dubitato su chi fosse il colpevole. Ma essendo un thriller immaginavo o almeno speravo che questo aspetto fosse ben riuscito e così è stato. Ma non mi aspettavo che mi sarebbero piaciuti così tanto anche i personaggi.
Sono tutti estremamente dinamici e variegati nelle loro identità. Ci sono i punti di vista di tutti e quattro i sospettati, che all'inizio del libro sono degli stereotipi viventi. Ma poi il trama continua e loro si svelano per ciò che sono davvero. Ed è stato uno splendido processo da seguire, perchè ho apprezzato tutti, nelle loro differenze, nelle loro paure e nei loro errori. Ma soprattutto nel loro imparare ad essere se stessi. E anche i personaggi lievemente più in secondo piano sono, chi più chi un pò meno, tutti ben costruiti e ugualmente importanti per la storia. Ogni punto, ogni idea e ogni persona è fondamentale per lo svolgersi della storia e ho adorato l'importanza che quindi viene data a ognuno, anche se solo per un secondo.
Alcune volte tocca anche dei temi importanti e per quanto magari non siano proprio apprefonditi, sono portati avanti nel modo giusto
Lo stile è scorrevole e l'inglese semplice. Forse l'ho trovato un pò lento all'inizio perchè la storia vera doveva ingranare, ma dalla metà in poi è volato via come l'acqua e le ultima 100-150 pagine l:ho lette tutte d'un fiato perchè non riuscivo a staccarmi!
Non do più di quattro stelle perchè questa è stata una lettura d'intrattenimento molto interessante e nuova ma non mi ha lasciato grandissimi sentimenti, però nonostante ciò lo consiglio molto, anche a chi è esitante ad approcciarsi al genere!
one of us is lying - but it's the author, in the title. (spoilers in the whole review)
⭐⭐½ /5
this was enjoyable, but i did read it in one day so that does influence the feeling in my opinion, since if you take longer it might not hold up the same way.
the core idea and vibe was cool, including the idea of using very stereotypical character tropes; it felt like breakfast club with a murder mystery, but unfortunately didn't
go far in terms of doing something interesting with the stereotypes - which as other people said too ends up problematic, too, aside from being less interesting than what it could've been.
what would've been coolER is if these four characters were unreliable narrators & had more involvement in the murder than they did, as well as breaking the stereotypes more in the story. I was in for the ride and liked the initial basis of starting with these stereotypes & tropes, they're fun!
First of all, Cooper being gay was placed in the story at a time and in a way that was a bigger plot twist than the actual reveal of the murder mystery, while his story is also an example about discrimination and how coming out can harm someone, as well as how bad being forced out is.
Bronwyn's stereotype and character was actually done well in the sense that it felt realistic and fine - nothing much to say about that so far really. I like the idea of her dealing with the fact that the prestige of Yale and trying to get there for the sake of her image and family's legacy. And that she then either deals with it by starting to let go of the importance (which is stated), and we move away from that with her character - OR that she falls back into the trap. not both?? I am not going to read the rest of the books but upon looking it up I saw that she doesn't get into Yale (even though they tweeted at her in this book - I'd think Yale would take her even just for publicity, realistically) and that she then lies about it. I really don't like this trope cause it's always a lazy lie and not actually done well, I wish she'd either not learned the lesson fully in this book, or have her learn the lesson that she needs to cover up lies better. it's a bit sad, just cause I feel there are more interesting paths to take this kind of character on.
Nate as a character is the one I liked most and was interesting and nicely written enough, even with the tropes being there, he felt three dimensional, real. The romance between him and Bronwyn was cute and also felt real, I thought it was a well-written teenage relationship, it was cute, with good chemistry between them.
The point made with Addy's character about how a mother can push her insecurities onto her daughter was cool for the "bimbo" trope, and it was explored decently well. Addy had a cool development throughout the story which was cool to read, and I like that the stereotype of this character was used to show this. I was rooting for her and she felt real too.
Simon..
Simon was a weird character. I see the point that others noticed as well; which is that the only two characters that were depressed were the ones that were a part of the murder plot. Thing is, it's okay for an antagonist to be mentally ill, but when the only mentioned mentally ill ones are the antagonists, i get that it looks suspicious. The others were struggling with things too, and treating mental struggles as simplified is not great.
I wish that if mental illness were going to be mentioned, they'd have leaned into it more and pointed out more of how teenagers can be isolated in their problems, different kinds of struggles, and not just two characters in the extreme and nothing else.
What's weird about his character is that the writing seems to want to sympathise with him in the sense of seeing him as just a confused, mentally ill teenager - just a person (which I think is great!) while trying to make him grey in the sense of him writing on forums that cheer on school shooters and acting like he wanted to be one. it's two directions that aren't done,
I would've thought it better to either lean into the school shooter direction by making him a character that the reader does not sympathise with, but that as a character is used to showcase the broken system of the police being incompetent and not trying to solve the case, protecting the wrong people, and being clearly willfully ignorant and prejudiced.
What in my opinion would've been best, is to lean away from the school shooter mentality, and into the complexity of a teenager going through being isolated, depressed, and dealing with it badly. That the forums are him trying to be edgy, that his struggles and background make him not appreciate what he has and lead him down a path of destruction. That he is a douche still, and does objectively bad things with his platform, but that it is not just some simplified "school shooter mentality" with depression and asshole as a label on it. I really like the line that I believe Cooper says, which is that in the moment of Simon's death he looked like he regretted it, didn't want it. I believe that moment could've been so much more heart wrenching if this entire concept and his character were more emphasised.
The idea of this situation where an unwell person who is calling for help and attention in any way except outright, makes a decision that he has removed all possibility to undo or step back from, and then we find out that looking back, he realised he didn't want in the moment it was too late, could've hit so much harder if he weren't simplified and vilified.
All in all this book had a good basis/idea and I believe it had a setup for so much more, but then fell short of what it could've been.
It was a fun read to just speed through, I see the appeal of it, but I think if I hadn't designated a day to just read it, I might've lost interest faster and not enjoyed the ride as much, I would've not had the momentum and enjoyed the reading as much as I did (to be fair...I did think that one of them was actually going to be lying, but as the story went on, I realised the lie was going to be the title).
⭐⭐½ /5
this was enjoyable, but i did read it in one day so that does influence the feeling in my opinion, since if you take longer it might not hold up the same way.
the core idea and vibe was cool, including the idea of using very stereotypical character tropes; it felt like breakfast club with a murder mystery, but unfortunately didn't
go far in terms of doing something interesting with the stereotypes - which as other people said too ends up problematic, too, aside from being less interesting than what it could've been.
what would've been coolER is if these four characters were unreliable narrators & had more involvement in the murder than they did, as well as breaking the stereotypes more in the story. I was in for the ride and liked the initial basis of starting with these stereotypes & tropes, they're fun!
First of all, Cooper being gay was placed in the story at a time and in a way that was a bigger plot twist than the actual reveal of the murder mystery, while his story is also an example about discrimination and how coming out can harm someone, as well as how bad being forced out is.
Bronwyn's stereotype and character was actually done well in the sense that it felt realistic and fine - nothing much to say about that so far really. I like the idea of her dealing with the fact that the prestige of Yale and trying to get there for the sake of her image and family's legacy. And that she then either deals with it by starting to let go of the importance (which is stated), and we move away from that with her character - OR that she falls back into the trap. not both?? I am not going to read the rest of the books but upon looking it up I saw that she doesn't get into Yale (even though they tweeted at her in this book - I'd think Yale would take her even just for publicity, realistically) and that she then lies about it. I really don't like this trope cause it's always a lazy lie and not actually done well, I wish she'd either not learned the lesson fully in this book, or have her learn the lesson that she needs to cover up lies better. it's a bit sad, just cause I feel there are more interesting paths to take this kind of character on.
Nate as a character is the one I liked most and was interesting and nicely written enough, even with the tropes being there, he felt three dimensional, real. The romance between him and Bronwyn was cute and also felt real, I thought it was a well-written teenage relationship, it was cute, with good chemistry between them.
The point made with Addy's character about how a mother can push her insecurities onto her daughter was cool for the "bimbo" trope, and it was explored decently well. Addy had a cool development throughout the story which was cool to read, and I like that the stereotype of this character was used to show this. I was rooting for her and she felt real too.
Simon..
Simon was a weird character. I see the point that others noticed as well; which is that the only two characters that were depressed were the ones that were a part of the murder plot. Thing is, it's okay for an antagonist to be mentally ill, but when the only mentioned mentally ill ones are the antagonists, i get that it looks suspicious. The others were struggling with things too, and treating mental struggles as simplified is not great.
I wish that if mental illness were going to be mentioned, they'd have leaned into it more and pointed out more of how teenagers can be isolated in their problems, different kinds of struggles, and not just two characters in the extreme and nothing else.
What's weird about his character is that the writing seems to want to sympathise with him in the sense of seeing him as just a confused, mentally ill teenager - just a person (which I think is great!) while trying to make him grey in the sense of him writing on forums that cheer on school shooters and acting like he wanted to be one. it's two directions that aren't done,
I would've thought it better to either lean into the school shooter direction by making him a character that the reader does not sympathise with, but that as a character is used to showcase the broken system of the police being incompetent and not trying to solve the case, protecting the wrong people, and being clearly willfully ignorant and prejudiced.
What in my opinion would've been best, is to lean away from the school shooter mentality, and into the complexity of a teenager going through being isolated, depressed, and dealing with it badly. That the forums are him trying to be edgy, that his struggles and background make him not appreciate what he has and lead him down a path of destruction. That he is a douche still, and does objectively bad things with his platform, but that it is not just some simplified "school shooter mentality" with depression and asshole as a label on it. I really like the line that I believe Cooper says, which is that in the moment of Simon's death he looked like he regretted it, didn't want it. I believe that moment could've been so much more heart wrenching if this entire concept and his character were more emphasised.
The idea of this situation where an unwell person who is calling for help and attention in any way except outright, makes a decision that he has removed all possibility to undo or step back from, and then we find out that looking back, he realised he didn't want in the moment it was too late, could've hit so much harder if he weren't simplified and vilified.
All in all this book had a good basis/idea and I believe it had a setup for so much more, but then fell short of what it could've been.
It was a fun read to just speed through, I see the appeal of it, but I think if I hadn't designated a day to just read it, I might've lost interest faster and not enjoyed the ride as much, I would've not had the momentum and enjoyed the reading as much as I did (to be fair...I did think that one of them was actually going to be lying, but as the story went on, I realised the lie was going to be the title).
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The flicking between characters every few pages left me bored unable to keep up if I'm honest, I did get past the 39 pages I've put but can't remember how many. I ended up watching the TV show instead ... And that didn't live upto expectations either 🫤
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-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
adventurous
funny
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
Eu meio que não sei qual a minha opinião sobre esse livro ainda. Eu gostei, mas ao mesmo tempo, não gostei tanto do plot. Os personagens são bons, gostei do desenvolvimento deles, gostei mesmo. Principalmente da Bronwyn e do Cooper. E apesar de ter achado o plot meio fraco, acho que o resto da história compensou. Ainda não sei se vou ler os próximos livros, porém.
I gave this one 4 stars because it was such a fun and twisty read. It gave me total “high school meets murder mystery” vibes, and I was here for it. I love a good whodunnit, and this one had me flipping pages, trying to figure out who was lying and who I could trust. Every character had secrets, and it made the whole thing feel juicy and dramatic in the best way.
What I really liked was how each character had their own voice and storyline. It’s not just about solving the mystery, it’s also about watching them grow and deal with their own stuff. The mix of suspense, drama, and a little bit of romance made it super entertaining. The writing’s easy to get into, and it moves fast, so it’s perfect if you want something bingeable.
The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is because I kind of guessed the twist early on, but it still kept me engaged and entertained the whole time. If you’re into YA thrillers with a Breakfast Club vibe and a dark twist, definitely check this one out.
What I really liked was how each character had their own voice and storyline. It’s not just about solving the mystery, it’s also about watching them grow and deal with their own stuff. The mix of suspense, drama, and a little bit of romance made it super entertaining. The writing’s easy to get into, and it moves fast, so it’s perfect if you want something bingeable.
The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is because I kind of guessed the twist early on, but it still kept me engaged and entertained the whole time. If you’re into YA thrillers with a Breakfast Club vibe and a dark twist, definitely check this one out.