Reviews with content warning for Terminal illness - One of Us Is Lying

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.

Content Warnings

taylorsevalia's review

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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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likeactualsoulmates's review against another edition

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mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

This book would have been so much better if I hadn't gotten the twist spoiled for me. So I will review it like I didn't know the ending at all.

This was freaking enjoyable. Where the clues to the mysteries were very obvious -and I'll go more in-depth on that- how interesting all the characters were stepped up to meet it. I didn't continue reading this book because I wanted to solve this mystery, I read this because I liked all of the characters and was invested in their story. All of the four main characters had something unique and relatable about them, a struggle they were going through. And even the side characters were great. By halfway into this book I was more invested in their lives going well than in the mystery being solved.
The clues weren't that greatly hidden, at least for me. I think maybe they were meant to be obvious, and the characters were so distressed they couldn't easily connect them.

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