One of Us is Lying Review

Synopsis from Edelweiss:

In this story of what happens when five strangers walk into detention and only four walk out alive.

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.

About: One of Us is Lying is a young adult thriller written by Karen M. McManus. It was published on 5/30/17 by Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House, 368 pages. The genres are young adult, contemporary, thriller, and mystery. It is intended for readers ages 14 and up, grades 9 and up. This book is the author’s debut. Please see below for more information about the author.

My Experience: I started reading One of Us is Lying on 9/13/17 and finished it on 9/16/17 at 1am. This book is an excellent read! I couldn’t put it down! This book wakes me up at 4AM and nudges me to read more even though I had to force myself to put it down at 11:15pm earlier to sleep. I love the stories of the individuals and the pace the secrets are being revealed. Their individual lives are interesting to read. I enjoyed the plot and the characters a lot! I really like probation officer Lopez and her always looking at the bright side. I like Addy’s sister Ashton. I like how she encourages Addy to move on.

This book is told in the first person point of view, starting out with 5 students meeting each other at the high school’s detention room. They all believed they were being set up. The school has a no cell phone policy in the classroom and each of them were caught with a cell phone in class. The five are Nate Macauley who has been in trouble with dealing drugs, Bronwyn is the nerd in the school who had to skip her mathlete to attend detention, Addy Prentiss is the homecoming princess who doesn’t make her own decisions, Cooper Clay is the baseball star at the school, and Simon Kelleher who is a creator of the gossip app called About That. All the students in the school either feared or hated Simon because he exposes their secrets on About That. The secrets are known to be truth even without proof. Few minutes into detention, 4 students walked out of the classroom and 1 was driven away by an ambulance. Police investigation reveals that Simon was targeted one day before he was to post on About That an entry that will expose all 4 students’ deepest secrets. This concludes that all 4 students has motive to hurt Simon.

This book is very well written and easy to read. I love the diversity of each character and their individual backstory. I feel sad for Nate’s childhood. I like Addy’s story because it exposes how women can lose themselves when they rely on their men too much. I used to be jealous of those girls with boyfriends like Jake who treats Addy like a queen, but after reading this book, I’m not jealous anymore haha.. Maybe it’s better I buy what I like for my birthday instead of getting what the guy chooses haha.. Cooper’s view is interesting and he’s so mysterious with his secret. Bronwyn’s view is okay. Her secret is not even that bad. I was thinking she did something worse. I love the humor in this book as well as the fast paced. I highly recommend everyone to read this book! It’s definitely a fun thriller to read!

Pro: cover, diversity, fast paced, page turner, couldn’t put down, suspense, secrets, humor, adrenaline rush, romance

Con: none

I rate it 5 stars!

Buy here for free shipping: Book Depository

About the Author:

Karen M. McManus earned her BA in English from the College of the Holy Cross and her MA in journalism from Northeastern University. When she isn’t working or writing in Cambridge, Massachusetts, McManus loves to travel with her son. One of Us Is Lying is her debut novel. To learn more about her, go to her website, karenmcmanus.com, or follow @writerkmc on Twitter.

***Disclaimer: I borrowed this ebook from my library and my opinions are honest.

xoxo,
Jasmine