One of Us is Lying - Karen M McManus

One of Us is Lying (One of Us is Lying #1) – Karen M. McManus

The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars, One of Us Is Lying is the story of what happens when five strangers walk into detention and only four walk out alive. Everyone is a suspect, and everyone has something to hide.

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 of One of Us is Lying

It’s been a while since I read a YA book. Not sure why exactly I was drawn to this one. I enjoy a bit of drama, and the premise sounded fun. However after the end of it I am not sure exactly how I feel…

Five kids get detention, four of them leave alive. Is one of them a murderer? Or were they framed? Who is in on it? Who is not? Is there anyone they can trust?

I did enjoy this YA teen drama. The characters were awesome. I loved how in depth the author delved into their lives. It really took me back to my teenage years and took me right back to high school at times, which was not always a good thing to go back to. However, you could really empathise with all the characters and their dramas.

So what did I have an issue with? I guess that the main target audience of these books are teenagers, and some of the issues are dramatised in a way that I wouldn’t be comfortable letting my teenager read about.

There was also a huge theme in the book about girl strength, and finding your power after a bad break-up, and I was thinking “YEAH GO YOU!” But then the next character romance was all “I can’t live without you”, which I found inconsistent and frustrating.

I also figured out the main plot twist pretty quickly. I guess I wasn’t underwhelmed, but not overwhelmed with good feelings about this one. Call me well and truly in the middle whelmed.

How was the audio version?

The audio was great, there was a different voice for each different character which was great. It was really well done.

Would I recommend One of Us is Lying?

I probably wouldn’t recommend it to impressionable teenagers to be honest. But it was a good read. I would probably recommend discussing some of the themes with your teenagers or younger readers.

(3 / 5)