Reviews with content warning for Panic attacks/disorders - Truly Devious

Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson

133 reviews

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

4.75

I thought this was so much fun, and the author seems extremely cool. I loved how realistic the characters seemed, and I'm such a fan of a puzzle. I'm really looking forward to reading more in this series.

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carefulfearanddeaddevotion's review

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adventurous funny mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

biiiiig fan of Stevie. what a cutie nerdy little weirdo <3

the writing annoyed me at the beginning, felt like she was trying too hard with the flowery language. if i've said it once, i've said it a million times, not everything needs to be a danged metaphor, people!!! i liked everything else about the writing, though. not sure if i just got used to it, or if she stopped trying to make everything a metaphor, but it def got better as the book went on.

i love a fun little mystery, and this was def that. already picked up the next one!

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inkysplodge's review

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challenging mysterious slow-paced

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

3.25

when Stevie and Janelle were talking about Vi and Stevie said "she", Janelle corrected her with "they" but the rest of the narration uses she/her for Vi... good job, author /s

anyway the main reason it got a 3(.25)⭐ is because i use CAWPILE and atmosphere and logic got high ratings. the characters were very flat and "trope-y" and i could not tell you a single thing about their personalities except maybe Nate and Ellie. there didn't seem to be an actual plot until about 75% in and i get it's a trilogy but not a single thing was solved which implies to me that book 2 won't give anything to leave it all to be solved in book 3 and i frankly don't care about the characters enough (or at all really) to want to continue

less of a "contemporary mystery" and more "a contemporary with a bit of mystery" which is fine if that's what you want/expect, i just want my mysteries to be happening from the first few chapters or to at least care about the characters. the majority of this book i just had completely neutral feelings for (and when i did feel something, it wasn't enjoyment😅)

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tanvi45's review

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

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patsonprozireads's review

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adventurous mysterious 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

4.0

CAWPILE rating: 7 out of 10 (nearing 3.75 stars)

5.5/10 for Characters because there were certain moments where it felt like the narrator's voice was more like the main character Stevie's voice instead. Stevie as a MC is okay, and I could identify and distinguish well the secondary characters closest to her. Some secondary characters I had to look back to the beginning to see who they were, but I guess it is understandable since there are a lot of names and characters. I did not care much about what happened to many of these secondary characters, though.
For example, Hayes' death did not matter to me.
8/10 for Atmosphere because the book was pretty immersive! I could picture in my head most scenes and settings. I did not give it 9 or 10 because that is reserved for books I feel like I could NOT put down. Also, some characters I could not really put a face to. An 8 is a pretty good rating tho :)
7.75/10 for Writing: the book was well-written, very readable, and very easy to follow. I liked the balance between descriptions and dialogue, and the letters and "documents" inserted in between here and there made the reading experience pleasant. I reserve 8-10 for books that are readable while also having beautiful prose.
7/10 for Plot: the plot felt entertaining and I did want to know what had happened and what will happen, and the pacing was good. Some things were not as realistic (or maybe felt a bit more "ridiculous"?
like the Truly Devious letter that is projected onto Stevie's bedroom
) but this was rare. A few things felt like they needed more explanation or background:
for some time i was a bit confused about Flora, Iris Ellingham's friend, and who she was, I pictured Alice as older than 2 years old, i was a bit confused when Ellie and David popped up and suddenly seemed important, i wanted more background on Janelle and Nate, i felt like i needed to know more about Albert Ellingham's fortune because of the fact that the school was completely free for students and also the mention of anarchists who hated him...
7/10 for Intrigue because, as mentioned, I did feel like I wanted to continue reading and find out what happened. The book was consistent in holding my attention but it did not deliver in some cases because the main mystery will probably be resolved in the second book.
6.5/10 for Logic: most things made sense, but I found some things that did not add up 100%.
why did police not question this famous girl that Hayes was photographed being affectionate with? I mean, I vaguely remember her being mentioned before, and I do not even remember her name and how she was firstly brought up, but what she said to Stevie was crucial in her finding out Hayes was not the one who accessed the workshop with Janelle's ID card to get the dry ice... I guess police not questioning her would not be the first time they are incompetent in researching murder cases, but still...
7.5/10 for Enjoyment: the vibes were good! I enjoyed reading it and the story was entertaining. It's not a higher rating because I wasn't stuck to the book.