Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus

8 reviews

neliadiedenise's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Stalking, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Gun violence, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders

lilith_hmr's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

This like the 'One of Us is Lying' series was an easy read. The flow was smooth and the plot twists were unpredictable. But McManus could have increased the tenseness a little more in the last act because I didn't find it all that satisfying. Although a little flimsy, the conclusion wasn't too horrible. The book's final sentence had such a shockingly unexpected conclusion. At first, it wasn't very apparent, but once I got it, it was good enough to state that Karen McManus is a plot-twist genius.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death of parent, Vomit, Murder, Mental illness, Car accident, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Stalking, Pedophilia, and Gun violence

Moderate: Gun violence, Alcohol, Grief, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child death, Emotional abuse, and Vomit

Minor: Blood, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, and Alcohol

halfbloodprincess_hogwarts's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

Ugggggghhhh, the end was so fucked up🤢🤮 def a great read in time for the spooky month with a ton of suspense🤍

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Death of parent, Infidelity, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Death, Gun violence, Car accident, Alcohol, Body horror, Child death, Grief, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, Stalking, Vomit, and Sexism

shiroofficial's review against another edition

4.0

first things first, THIS BOOK HAS SUCH AN INCREDIBLE TWIST oh my god… towards the end there were such big plot twists and oh my lord- the last line of the book makes your hair stand. Like of all  the twists you would’ve expected, this would not have been one of it (at least for all the countless ones i thought about.) SO I AM SUPER IMPRESSED WITH THE PLOT TWIST. What an incredible idea, twist and story line. But i found the book rather slow paced or, like draggy… so i found myself kinda bored at the start and not as captivated. But the ending was bomb man. Awesome! Loved the ending and the plot twist… really REALLY IMPRESSED with the plot twist and end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Car accident, Death, Murder, Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence

Moderate: Vomit, Gaslighting, Adult/minor relationship, Injury/Injury detail, and Stalking

Minor: Cursing and Blood

livampiz's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Mental illness, Kidnapping, and Abandonment

Moderate: Biphobia

familiar_diversions's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious fast-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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, and Death

Minor: Child death, Drug abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Vomit

gamora_zen1's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Car accident, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Stalking

spearly's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

“You might want to tell that sister of yours to lie low for a change. Doesn’t seem like a great year to be homecoming queen, does it?”

Someone in Echo Ridge has it out for prom queens. First, a girl named Sarah disappears on Homecoming night 20 years ago. Then, Queen Bee Lacey disappears 5 years ago. When Ellory and Ezra's mother - who also happens to be Sarah's twin - is admitted to rehab, they are shipped off to live with their Grandmother in Echo Ridge. That's when the threats start showing up; I'M BACK. PICK YOUR QUEEN, ECHO RIDGE. HAPPY HOMECOMING

Honestly... I've been spoiled. A Good Girl's Guide to Murderhas set the bar for YA mysteries, and unfortunately, Two Can Keep a Secret just fell short.

Told in dual POV, the story follows Ellory, whose aunt disappeared from town 20 years prior, and Marcus, the brother of the guy everyone thinks killed Lacey 5 years ago. Which is all fine and good, except their voices were so similar, I had trouble remembering whose chapter I was reading.

The side characters felt weak, indistinct, and honestly, kind of pointless. The only one who ended up mattering to the story was Officer Rodriguez. I was disappointed to see that even Ellory's twin Ezra was relegated to c-character status. You'd think he'd play a larger role, given that all that familial trauma (of not knowing their father, of losing their aunt, of their mother having a drug problem and needing to go to rehab) that affects Ellory on a daily basis should alsoaffect Ezra. And yet, we barely see him.

I had a large issue with pace, too. It's more than halfway through the book by the time any real investigating goes on. For a murder mystery, readers never really get that satisfaction of clues falling into place, of solving the crime alone with our MCs, of rushing to put the puzzle together before it's too late. Ellory is a self-declared true-crime aficionado, and yet we're barely following her and Malcom solve the mystery because every theory of theirs is wrong. The only real sleuthing they do is when

they dig through the recycling to find what Brooke was looking for

. I never felt the stakes. Again, I'm spoiled by Holly Jackson's whodunits, and now nothing holds a candle.

That aside, I still feel that One of Us Is Lying is the stronger mystery from McManus. More intrigue. More teen detective work. Better reveal. Better characters.

But credit where it's due. You seldom read a mystery where the antagonist doesn't spell everything out for the MCs in some forced villain speech (even A Good Girl's Guide to Murder does this), but that is not the case here. Our villain reveals very little, and readers don't find out the whole story until after the climax. Which is a nice reprieve from the expected.

Overall, not the best teen mystery I have ever read, but a quick, easy read that kept me turning the page nonetheless.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Child death, and Violence

Moderate: Grief, Infidelity, Bullying, Car accident, and Blood

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Drug abuse, and Vomit