"One of Us Is Lying" Review

If you read my last post, you probably already know that I made a goal to read or re-read as many of the books on my shelf this year as I can. I started my challenge with "One of Us Is Lying" a book that had rave reviews and had been featured extensively on #booktok (a hashtag on TikTok under which books are recommended or reviewed).

"One of Us Is Lying" is a New York Times bestselling young adult mystery written by Karen M. McManus. It was McManus' debut novel and released in May of 2017. A sequel, "One of Us Is Next", was released in January of 2020. I haven't gotten around to the sequel just yet but I will be sure to update you when I do! If you would like to purchase "One of Us Is Lying" you can find it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

"One of Us Is Lying" follows five students at Bayview High School, all of whom have earned themselves an after school detention on what seems to be another boring Monday afternoon. Think- mysterious Breakfast Club.

Bronwyn is described to be the ultimate "goody two shoes". Bronwyn is Yale-Bound and is considered to be the "brain" of the group. She never breaks a rule and is often the voice of caution and reason among the five of them.

Addy, the beauty, was the homecoming princess who is obsessed with appearances. She's the girl that every guy wants to be with and every girl wants to be.

Nate is the resident bad boy of the group. He's already on probation and seems to have a knack for getting into trouble.

Cooper, the athlete, is the hometown hero. He is an all-star baseball pitcher and is the group's golden boy.

Simon is the outsider. He runs a gossip site on which he often exposes his classmates and airs their dirty laundry.

All five of them meet up in detention after school, but one of them doesn't make it out alive.

The story follows the group's investigation into the death of their classmate.

Personally, I loved this book and gave it 5 stars on Goodreads! I finished this book in one day. I was so hooked into the story that it was impossible to put down! Having to write and follow 4 main characters is no easy feat. I found myself rooting for each of the core characters and I felt that Karen McManus did a good job at developing each character throughout the novel. They each faced real-life issues and all were written in a way that made them believable teenagers. None of them felt like they were underdeveloped or that their stories got abandoned.

I also liked the subtlety of the Bronwyn and Nate relationship subplot. It provided the book a romantic storyline which was a refreshing turn to keep things lighthearted where they needed to be. The Bronwyn and Nate storyline was written well enough to provide the romance aspect but never quite changed the mysterious feel of this story, which was nice.

The plot twists in the novel were done very nicely and added to the story without making them seem overly contrived or implausible. "One of Us Is Lying" kept me guessing and introduced me to one of my new favorite authors.

I highly recommend this book and I could see myself re-reading in the future. Some of the themes of this book may be a little mature for younger readers, I would say that "One of Us Is Lying" is perfect for ages 13/14+.

With all books that I read, I make a playlist to go along with the book. These playlists are full of songs which encapsulate the feeling of the story as a whole, capture the essence of a particular scene, or just remind me of one of the characters. You can find my playlist for "One of Us Is Lying" on Apple Music or Spotify.

You can follow the author, Karen McManus, on Instagram and on Goodreads. You can also check out her website!

I hope you enjoyed reading my review of "One of Us Is Lying"! Let me know if you have read it or are planning to read it. As always, leave some recommendations in the comments below and be sure to subscribe to the blog!

XO,

Madison