Reviews with content warning for Child death - One of Us Is Lying

This book... when I first started it, I thought it was going to be good, I never thought it would be as good as it was. Once I started the book, I didn't want to put it down.

The author does an amazing job at making each person look as guilty as whoever the actual murderer is. Each person has their own reason for why they would have killed Simon. Throughout the book I kept changing who I suspected might be the killer, yet I was never on the dot. Currently this is one of my favorite authors. I love her ability to make you second guess everything you thought you knew.

The author does a really good job at making all the characters relatable and loveable. Out of the main four Nate has to be my favorite. The way his family life is reminds me of my own. The relationship that blossoms between him and the other three shows a lot of character growth from him.

This book had me lying in bed screaming "WHAT!" so many times. Exited for the second one!

I gave this book 5 stars when I read it, it was one of the first books I had ever read. I really think it is a good book but I don’t think it is as good as my other 5 star books. Therefore, I will be bumping it down to a 4.5 stars.

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tbs250's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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dtierra's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

If you’re a non-white person who cares about reading accurate portrayals of people of color…skip this book. There is one woman of color in this book and it is DEEPLY uncomfortably written. There was clearly no research done besides maybe google translate and one google search. Bronwyn is effectively written as a white character who has 3 lines of spanish in the book with a Colombian father who she says won’t want a drug dealing hs’er (another main character) around bc he’s hyperconscious of the Colombian drug dealer stereotype. Yeah. The Author is a white woman. The only gay character in the book is closeted for most of the book and experiences intense homophobia. Diversity win! Outside of Karen McManus’ atrocious attempt at diverse characters, the book isn’t completely awful. However the book is meant to be high stakes and often fails to deliver.

maybe the point of Simon’s death and the Bayview four’s offenses is that it’s so small in the grand scheme of things. I’m not sure. In high school, everything feels bigger than it is. That said, most of the rumors in About That about the Bayview 4 were largely inconsequential. Maybe this is a testament to Simon’s deteriorating mental state. That said, it brings the believability into question

The book is fast paced, I got through it in about a day. It does keep you guessing and some of the plot twists were solid. Others were a bit predictable. I honestly think this book could have been miles better with a few well compensated sensitivity writers and a few drafts of edits. Would not recommend.

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shiroofficial's review against another edition

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5.0

This book was very interesting and it made me want to keep reading it all the time… the story was amazing and thrilling and the situations felt very real, like it would be something we could expect in the world today and it would feel normal, but feel bad as well. It was a very interesting story to read and many secrets were unravelled in the story and it was awesome! The plot twists were really good and it kept me captivated the whole time i was reading. I absolutely love this book. However i find that the pace is a little slower than i’d have preferred, but it really doesn't bother me much so yeah. Awesome book definitely recommend love it! very thrilling would read again!

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booksbyantheia's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense 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

3.75

Como lectura en general, llenó todos los espacios requeridos para ser un libro bueno. Personajes relativamente sólidos, una trama segura, con los espacios de misterio necesarios. Quizás fue esa trama esperable la que la hace un libro bueno, pero no excelente, y no tan memorable. (Sorry, Simon)

Y quizás hasta esos puntos favorables no son tan fuertes. Solo sentí que Bronwyn estaba desarrollada al máximo. Sus pequeñas luchas consigo misma, sus motivaciones, sus secretos. Siento que el menos desarrollado fue Cooper.

Si bien su homosexualidad es algo muy importante para todo el "estereotipo" que construyó como máscara, eso no me hizo sentirlo un personaje más profundo que Bronwyn.

Addy me parece la peor desarrollada en general.

La trama es predecible. Soy estúpida y conecté todo mal, pero acerté a cada suceso (atribuyéndolo erronéamente, pero aún así).

Incluyendo el plot twist de Jake. No lo adiviné bien, pero sabía que estaba involucrado de alguna manera.

Eso muestra que fue una escritura muy cuidada y notable. Las pistas estaban ahí, pero lamento que en cierto punto se haya pasado de foreshadowing a exceso de detalles.

Es una buena lectura, recomendable para meterse en el género de misterio.

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