Reviews with content warning for Racism - One of Us Is Lying

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

34 reviews

caitlinastrid's review against another edition

3.0

dark 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

Content Warnings

scvqa's review

3.5

mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

emminkirjakasa's review against another edition

4.5

emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Viihdyttävä high school mysteeri! Kaikilla on salaisuutensa jota ei halua julki. Kaikilla oli syy murhata Simon. Who did it?? 👀

➕ Nopeatempoinen juoni, joka liikkuu eteenpäin kokoajan.
➕ Hahmoja on sopivasti ja pääsemme näkemään kaikkien 4 näkökulmat.
➕ Kirjan romanssi oli ihanasti sivujuoni, eikä ajanut kokonaan mysteerin yli.
➕ Vaikka osittain osasin arvata lopputuloksen, tykkäsin silti siitä miten kaikki tuntui sekä mahdollisilta että mahdottomilta murhaajilta.
➖ Käännöksessä oli pari kohtaa / sanaa, jotka häiritsi niin, että flow katkesi.

Siirryn ehdottomasti seuraavaan osaan pian! 🙂‍↕️

Content Warnings

mcintyre's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous emotional 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

THIS IS NOT A SPOILER-FREE REVIEW.
Romance: ❤️❤️
Here's a plot rundown: Simon Kelleher just died due to a cup of water spiked with peanut oil, and only four people were around when it happened; Bronwyn, Nate, Addy, and Cooper. Since they were the only ones in the room where it happened (If you get the reference you get it), they are all under suspect for the murder as

Tumblr posts start coming out, stating that

this wasn't an accident (I mean, who thought it was; how else does peanut oil get into tap water?). So the book is all about figuring out who did it

while they also deal with a post on their school's gossip app, About That, that has basically ruined their lives.

Now, this premise is really interesting, especially since we see all four of their perspectives throughout the novel. I also like the themes of acceptance and mental health issues, which felt very down-to-earth and realistic.

Personally, my favourite storyline was with Cooper, having to come out as gay and deal with the hate that comes with it, even though he's an incredibly talented baseball player.

This is very much a classic closed-circle Whodunit, and I am all here for it! My thoughts on who did it changes almost every 20 pages, which is pretty abnormal for me in mysteries, and I really liked the dynamic with the press. The only reason why this isn't four-five stars for me is because it wasn't as good as other YA mysteries and thrillers like Five Survive and Rachel Price. This is still a worthwhile read, though, and I recommend it for anybody who is a fan of whodunits and mystery!

Content Warnings

badflowerbee's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I enjoyed this mystery a lot and it wasn't predictable, but I was disappointed by the way the characters would "realize" the significance of things we as the audience were never told about. We are given no chance to put things together along with the cast and instead told about important things only after they have been figured out. Like when

they read the Tumblr post where Detective Wheeler eating donuts is mentioned - what Tumblr post? We read others, but the first time we read this particular post is when they're reviewing evidence they seemingly already have.

And when

Addy remembers that Jake carried her backpack for her in the morning

- that's the kind of innocuous detail that would have been awesome to look back on and see as stellar foreshadowing without being obvious upon first read. I enjoyed the premise, and the romances never felt forced, but I would have liked a shot at figuring out the mystery too.

Content Warnings

danilo_syrtis's review against another edition

4.25

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

[Fair warning: This review contains some (major) spoilers that I will tag as such.]

Everything starts when Simon – admin of the Gossip Girl-esque app About That – dies during detention due to anaphylactic shock. The only people there with him are straight A student Bronwyn, popular girl Addy, baseball protegé Cooper, and bad boy Nate. Soon after, a tumblr emerges whose user claims to be the murderer. And as if that is not bad enough, police uncover an About That post that would have been published a day after Simon’s death, revealing secrets the four of them would not have wanted to come out …

There are so many things I really enjoy about this book!

I bought the UK paperback and I am so happy with it – not only has the spine no visible breaks even after I read the book (admittedly carefully) twice, I also love the minimalistic cover and the sprayed edges.

The story captivated me both times I read it! When I started my reread, I was a little afraid that I would be bored, since I had vague memories of the plot and the ending. But there were so many plot points and details I forgot about, so I enjoyed it just as much as the first time! I especially love how cleverly some details are set up that turn out to be important in the end.

For example, it feels natural for Addy to think about her ringtone and how she would have to change it one of these days after Jake broke up with her, but I never would have guessed that it would become as important as it did right at the end of the story.

I also like how the switching POV allowed me to get to know all four main characters. They are fleshed out very well, and it was especially nice to see them not only interact with each other, but also spend a significant amount of time with other characters who are (more or less) important to them.

For example, Bronwyn spends much of her free time with her sister Maeve, which does not only lead to some very sweet moments, but also shows how tight-knit the family is. Obviously, these scenes serve a purpose, e.g. giving important background information on other characters, but to me, they do not feel like a pretense to get that done.

An interesting thing to see is the difference between the main characters regarding dysfunctional family dynamics. They range from almost non-existent (

for example, Bronwyn’s family is very supportive, although it is clear that her parents’ hope for her to get into Yale feels more like an expectation/pressure to her

) to pretty severe (

the obvious example is Nate, whose mother is presumedly dead and whose alcoholic father does not seem to care about his son at all

). These dynamics are not only there to give them a little depth, but they actively shape their experiences during the investigation.

For example, while Bronwyn’s family gets an expensive lawyer who is very involved, Nate is basically on his own – and he is, coincidentally, the only one of them to actually get arested and spend time in jail.

When it comes to the ending, I think that the twist is very well prepared – yet, it managed to surprise me the first time I read the book. (Although I am notoriously bad at guessing the ending of stories, so that may not say too much.) The ending is satisfying to me (

especially since the main characters seem to be in a much better place than at the beginning of the story, without their problems being solved over night in an unrealistic way

Besides the aspects I enjoyed very much, there are some details that I do not like.

A minor annoyance is the division into three parts. It seems a bit unnecessary to me, since there are no big scene changes/time jumps associated with them. Also, not all of the titles work for me.

For example, »Truth or Dare« sounds like the students should have to choose between telling their secrets and doing something/suffering a consequence, e.g. staying a murder suspect. But Addy, for example, already told her secret at the end of »Simon Says«.

Although most details are – as I said above – handled very cleverly in how they are set up and then revealed as important, there is at least one that gets mentioned and then disappears until turning out to be super important, which feels a bit awkward.

I am talking about how Kris’ calls to Cooper are marked as significant, with his girlfriend Keely being confused and him clearly being uncomfortable. Yet, Kris does not really get mentioned after, not even to say that Cooper texted him after school or anything – up until it is revealed that he is Cooper’s boyfriend(?). I understand why this had to stay a secret, even from the reader, for some time – but it just feels awkward.

Lastly, the characters – although, as I said, fleshed out very well – sadly seem stereotypical in some aspects. It only annoyed me in one case

– when Cooper turned out to be the secretly gay high school athlete who hides his sexuality from his homophobic father and teammates. I would have loved for his father to behave more like his grandmother, or for his friends to turn out more supportive. In fact, maybe it would not have annoyed me as much if there was no Homophobic Cafeteria Scene after his forced outing, obviously instigated by his popular former athlete/mean girl friends. I hope this would not happen in real life (anymore?), but I feel like I have read several dozen of these scenes in books and fanfictions already – it just feels very cliché at this point

. Other than that, I think it is fine.

All in all, I think the book is highly enjoyable (although the content warnings should be taken seriously). So, definitely a recommendation from me!

Content Warnings

oceanbluetay's review against another edition

4.5

dark emotional mysterious sad 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

Content Warnings

azileotulp's review against another edition

4.75

dark 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

I'm gonna say right now that this was soooooo close to being a 5-star read for me. In all honesty, it probably should be because I only had one minor issue that is totally petty and that no one else probably cares about, but I personally can't overlook it. (I'll be discussing that under the spoiler tag later though.)

I do have to say that this was such an engaging mystery. Sadly, I did have part of the ending spoiled for me because one of the reviewers here doesn't know how to use spoiler warnings, but even with that spoiler, I was still able to enjoy it. It was just as much fun to try to figure out why the person responsible did what they did.

I also loved the characters so much. Usually in books with multiple perspectives, there's always that one character's POV that I'm just trying to get through before I can get back to the more interesting characters. This book wasn't like that at all. Even the characters I originally didn't like at first (who I did grow to love throughout the story, by the way) had such compelling perspectives that I was always excited to read them. And I have to say, I am such a Bronwyn and Nate fan...

Which brings me to my only problem with this book. Like I said... it's petty, but I don't even care. Yes, Bronwyn and Nate do end up together in the end, which I'm so happy about, don't get me wrong. But that little period of time at the end when it seemed like they went their separate ways? That hurt. Especially when I started reading the epilogue set 3 months later and saw that Bronwyn was dating Evan??? I actually bursted into tears. That period of uncertainty just went on too long for me, especially after having read another mystery novel where the protagonist and her love interest do actually go their separate ways. I won't say which book that was, but it genuinely made me sick, and I was so scared it was going to happen again. So, like I said, petty reason for not giving the book 5 stars, but amazing author should have thought about that before scaring me like that.

I do also want to talk a bit about my baby boy Cooper.

I had no idea this book had a prominent LGBTQ+ character, but now I'm happy I decided to read it during Pride Month. Y'all, I feel so connected to Cooper and I'm going to be thinking about him for months. We're both southern gays and we have such similar queer experiences. What really got me was that ride home with his father before he came out to his family. When I came out to my mother, I was also fretting over it while in the car with her, and as soon as we parked, I told her. His story just resonated so deeply with me, and I'm so sorry I was hating on him at the beginning for being a cheater. (Yes, he did still cheat, but I favor gay people and his ex seemed to forgive him by the end. Leave me alone.) I love you, Cooper, and I'm sorry I ever doubted your good nature.

All in all, I truly adored this book. I was captivated the entire time I was reading, but especially those last seventy or so pages. I was gasping, shrieking, throwing up (okay, slightly exaggerated on that last one, but I did gag once). I can't recommend it more.

Content Warnings