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hrcheese 's review for:
One of Us Is Lying
by Karen M. McManus
3.5 stars
I really appreciated that this book had such real characters, who were accurately flawed. Real people who I had issues with (and hated at the beginning) but still came around to liking because they were written well and such great character development happened.
The whole book was just written well. I didn’t lose interest at any point even though we were generally reading about their mundane lives (in a complicated situation). The actual plot was fast-paced enough that it wasn’t draggy.
I 100% bought Browyn and Nate’s relationship. It was just straight-up good development and it was sweet and I loved them. A little bit cliche but gah they were cute.
As for the mystery, I had zero idea (), but I’m not too good at mysteries so that's to be expected.
Plot-wise, I felt that the ending was anticlimactic and a little too deus ex machina...
Overall the ending character and relationship-wise was actually very good though. It was real and didn’t end with happily ever after (though I wouldn’t have minded...)
Some minor points... The police were a bit incompetent and intentionally antagonistic to fit the story. But like surely that’s also a thing in real life. Also, the alternate POV’s worked really well for this story. They were annoying for all of one minute, that’s all.
To be completely honest, I was a bit annoyed throughout this book, because it bleeds stereotypical high school-ness and I just couldn’t stand it, but that just goes to show how well the atmosphere was done.
Finally, to come to the main issue... This book was pretty problematic. I can’t determine whether it was accurately depicting highschoolers or endorsing it. It really grated on me whenever it showed up, but like, we’re dealing with 1st person POV here - how do you challenge problematic things in every frame without being unrealistic? But definitely a point I looked over is that
I really appreciated that this book had such real characters, who were accurately flawed. Real people who I had issues with (and hated at the beginning) but still came around to liking because they were written well and such great character development happened.
The whole book was just written well. I didn’t lose interest at any point even though we were generally reading about their mundane lives (in a complicated situation). The actual plot was fast-paced enough that it wasn’t draggy.
I 100% bought Browyn and Nate’s relationship. It was just straight-up good development and it was sweet and I loved them. A little bit cliche but gah they were cute.
As for the mystery, I had zero idea (
Spoiler
except a vague sense that Simon might have done it himself, because of his foreshadowing comment right beforePlot-wise, I felt that the ending was anticlimactic and a little too deus ex machina...
Spoiler
I have no idea how Addy got such a lengthy confession from Janae - I do buy the in book explanation, but it's just sooo convenient.Overall the ending character and relationship-wise was actually very good though. It was real and didn’t end with happily ever after (though I wouldn’t have minded...)
Some minor points... The police were a bit incompetent and intentionally antagonistic to fit the story. But like surely that’s also a thing in real life. Also, the alternate POV’s worked really well for this story. They were annoying for all of one minute, that’s all.
To be completely honest, I was a bit annoyed throughout this book, because it bleeds stereotypical high school-ness and I just couldn’t stand it, but that just goes to show how well the atmosphere was done.
Finally, to come to the main issue... This book was pretty problematic. I can’t determine whether it was accurately depicting highschoolers or endorsing it. It really grated on me whenever it showed up, but like, we’re dealing with 1st person POV here - how do you challenge problematic things in every frame without being unrealistic? But definitely a point I looked over is that