Reviews with content warning for Self harm - One of Us Is Lying

I must say I enjoyed reading the book and I thought I'd rate it 4 stars, that was until the ending. I expected a part of the twist but the other part of it was, in my opinion, too far stretched.
Another things is : I hatred most of the characters, the only one I liked was Nate and I didn't like him anymore at the end, it was the other way around for Addy, I hatred her the most and liked her at the end, as well as Cooper, but overall throughout the book I did not like them and I don't know what gave me the want to keep reading, maybe the mystery and me trying to solve it.
I felt like the epilogue and the bonus chapter were really not necessary.
It's a shame because I really liked the book but the ending ruined it for me.

SPOILERS FROM NOW ON

So the ending : I was not surprised to learn that Simon killed himself HOWEVER the fact that Jake was involved in it and his attitude at the end was way too cliché and over the top and that is the reason why the book went under the 4 stars rating for me.
The romance between Bronwyn and Nate felt a bit forced, breaking news : you don't Always need romance in a Book, and this situation would never happen if you're convincted of murder, you have other things to deal with.

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matilde66's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious reflective medium-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

4.5

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renpuspita's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

Cuma bisa bilang: GILA!!

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!

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ezrahattrick's review

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emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

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ireaddaily's review

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funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes

I Love the fact that Bronwyn and Nate caught feelings for eachother.
I Ioved the plot twists in the book was on my toes the whole book

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potatoetree's review

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challenging dark emotional funny mysterious 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

4.75

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stungbythewood's review

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medium-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

4.0

This was a reread after my first time read around the same time in the beginning of last year.

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 do find Jake being an accomplice to be a LITTLE suspect even if he was controlling of Addy. I do not like the guy at all but he never gave any signs of being so upset with Addy that he’d stoop to setting her up for murder. Though I suppose that’s the point of it being a murder mystery.

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.

Also did Jake not recognize Cooper’s car in front of Janae’s house? You’d think if he was looking out for her parents car, that’d be something he’d notice.

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.

Nate and Bronwyn’s relationship hits home as someone who’s felt the same high academic achievement expectations and have been interested in guys like Nate.

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.

Their relationship is so sweet and I love seeing their love and care for each other grow!

The good girl x bad boy trope is my beloved.

I love love loved seeing Addy grow and find herself after her relationship with Jake and realizing that he actually wasn’t good for her and isn’t the end all be all of her 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!

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