One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus

Today I’m blogging about One of Us is Lying. Now I will warn you—it’s YA, which I know turns off some of my reading friends. But there are some YA books that I really love including Pretty Little Liars (okay, maybe I’ve just watched the show), 13 Reasons Why and basically any book by John Green.

Who doesn’t identify with teenage angst and misdirection? These characters and their stories are just so relatable because we were all there once–even if I was there half a lifetime ago.

From the Publisher:

Pay close attention and you might solve this.
On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention.
    Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule.
    Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess.
    Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing.
    Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher.
    And Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High’s notorious gossip app.
 
Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention Simon’s dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn’t an accident. On Monday, he died. But on Tuesday, he’d planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder. Or are they the perfect patsies for a killer who’s still on the loose?
 
Everyone has secrets, right? What really matters is how far you would go to protect them.

My Review:

I really liked the characters. I felt like I got to know them all, not only hearing the story from each of their perspectives throughout the book, but also learning their backgrounds and the types of lives they led at home. As teenagers, who we are is very linked to what is going on (or not going on at home.) As we become adults things get more complex, but it made sense where each character was coming from.

The premise was also compelling. The idea that one of these characters was lying and one of them was a murderer. The interesting thing was that even as I neared the end of the book, I really didn’t know who was lying. And it almost felt like if I found out it was someone I didn’t suspect, I was going to feel betrayed.

I definitely did not see the resolution coming. It was  bit a of a surprise to me. I don’t feel cheated, but I think there might be readers who do. I think my only complaint on the book was that it all seemed to wrap up nicely, which I’m not sure is entirely believable if we are hearing this story through teenaged eyes. Because when did everything just work out in high school?

I definitely recommend this book to adult fans of YA and of course teens who liked the books and authors I mentioned above. There wasn’t too much in there that is scandalous for younger readers, but the book wouldn’t be appropriate for anyone younger than 14 or 15 as there are some mature themes and sexual situations.