One of Us Is Lying: Karen McManus Paperback – 1 Jan. 2017

High school might not hold fond memories for the majority of us, detention even less so, but reading this debut YA thriller from the comfort of an armchair is a wholly pleasurable experience! As an onlooker with access all areas to a cast of adolescent narrators, One of Us Is Lying is an experience to relish and fiendishly addictive!When a diverse group of students at Bayview High all show up for Mr Avery’s detention after getting caught with their mobile phones in their bags during class they are convinced they have been set up. On a superficial level the individuals who walk into detention are a teen movie just awaiting a script; Yale-bound perennial overachiever, Bronwyn Rojas; notorious supplier and slacker Nate Macauley; airhead homecoming princess Adelaide (“Addy”) Prentiss; all American heartthrob and baseball star, Cooper Clay and social pariah and man with a smoking gun, aka creator of “About That”, Simon Kelleher. Given that these students do not ordinarily move in the same social circles, converse or even trust each other, most definitely not Simon, a twitchy atmosphere prevails when Mr Avery has to leave the room. “If all you knew of Bayview High was Simon Kelleher’s gossip app, you’d wonder how anyone found time to go to class.”Things take an unexpected turn for the worse when Simon takes a sip of water, collapses and dies and the Bayview Police enter the fray and discover that his drink was laced with peanut oil. With no EpiPens on hand and Simon’s allergy widely known, it isn’t long being the rumour mill gathers apace and given that the Internet gossip application created by Simon, ‘About That’, has ruined plenty of lives already in some pretty serious ways, the list of students who have reason to want to orchestrate his demise is abundant. In fact, asking which students do not have an axe to grind with Simon would probably be more useful, but given only four other people along with Mr Avery were in the room, the discovery that Simon had queued a blog post due to go live the very next day revealing some juicy gossip about each of those students in the room puts Bronwyn, Nate, Addy and Cooper squarely in the frame. And with the revelations most definitely not trifling and having the potential to change the course of the future for all involved, all four have possible cause to plot Simon’s murder. As readers get to hear from all the students under suspicion, tentative alliances begin to form but as further revelations and a series of Tumblr posts follow the foursome under suspicion decide they must work together as a team to ensure their freedom and restore their besmirched reputations. As Bronwyn’s sister, Grace, digs into Simon’s online persona and his posts to some very twisted internet community forums they start to see a different side to the student they all thought they knew.Karen McManus proves that writing a YA novel with well-realised characters is most definitely not an oxymoron, and excels by not adhering to the stereotypes and cliched tropes of the genre. In fact she goes much further and actively turns them on their heads. It is this excellent characterisation which leaves the reader second guessing each and every one of the ‘suspects’ who make it out of detention alive, because nothing these students do is predictable and they do not subscribe to the proscribed norms. Hard to believe, but even Simon who we learn much more of after his demise and the supporting cast of relatives, best friends and associated rubberneckers and gossipmongers all feel like real individuals. By switching the narrative, McManus keeps her readers in the dark, chasing their tail in a bid to identify just who is lying and who is scrambling from the fear of their past catching up with them. A more ambiguous bunch you could not want to meet and however much contempt the reader summons for Simon’s cretinous trolling, it is hard not to conclude that he played to his strengths and whilst not entirely being a “public service” as Simon attests, there is an obvious element of entrepreneurship at work with the creation of his gossip app.Although I did work out where the novel was heading before it was made clear by the author, I am not ashamed to admit that I spent two-thirds of this novel playing detective and it took me far longer to get a handle on matters than with some adult thrillers! However the real joy of this novel is not how realistic and convincing McManus is able to make this story feel, it is the growth and evolution of the lead characters who all discover more about themselves and escape the confines of their designated niche in society. It sounds supremely naff to say that all four become better people during the course of their month under the microscope, but they do all discover more about themselves as people and without feeling overly twee due to a few stumbling blocks along the way it feels truly authentic. What contributes to making this such a fantastically compelling read is that the tone never even verges on becoming too preachy and the obvious lessons are not writ too large. In contrast to the majority of YA novels which unfold from the perspective of a loner or school misfit navigating the tricky waters of high school, One of Us Is Lying showcases a diverse cross section and some wonderfully individual perspectives.Review written by Rachel Hall (@hallrachel)

I. LOVED. THIS. BOOK!!!(I'm probably gonna be the only person on the planet that does this now that I've decided to proclaim it to the internet) but, you know when you just get so happy for the characters and get so excited about and immersed in the book that sometimes you just have to scream internally and do a very fast and energetic happy dance, which gives the impression of you being a small whale having an epileptic fit? (I seriously hope to God it isn't just me...)So anyway, I 'm saying this because this book was THAT good I did this many times throughout reading it. The characters were just yummy and their progressions were... YAY!!! The crime was good, the kind of mania that comes from Simon and his two helpers (won't be saying who), was great!The only reasons I gave it four stars are as follows:a) ....I give way to many 5 star reviews..... (just as a disclosure this wasn't the main reason- I'm not putting down someones work and overlooking the book itself, it's just I'm trying to be more... precise, on ratings.)b) some parts were a little predictable. Nate and Bronwyns relationship, though I totally shipped it, was very obvious. Which in some ways made it sweeter (fated and all that) but kinda less shocking which I got the impression the author was going for- I could be wrong but I definitely got that vibe from all the "Haven't spoken to him/her in years" and "I don't really know you but I kind like you anyways" lines.c) I just wasn't convinced by Connor. The fact that he was with Keely and seemed kinda comfortable and then came out was a little odd. If this was real then I would have thought he'd be more shy, or agitated when around her, and not seemingly cool with just leading Keely along. He was seriously lacking some angst and didn't stand up to anything. He's a tough jock guy, with a heart of gold- maybe not in Simon's case-but when his dad was being downright rude and he got taunted in the cafeteria I wanted him to have another dimension- not be a doormat.d) Nate and Bronwyn's break-up. It seems the author just wanted to kill me a little because this brought absolutely nothing to the story except perhaps how hard it is in jail/ juvy. However, surely if it was how bad Nate describes it, how lonely it is- then the girl he is supposedly smitten with should be who he turns to. Not away from. Especially if she just got him a get-out-of-jail-free card... jerk move man.e) I was disappointed that it wasn't any of the core four who killed Simon. If the author wanted me to die a little inside then build up the characters so we like them and then tell us how they did it- why they snapped. I believe the point of a murder mystery book is that the monster who does these things is us, that's why it frightens us. For this book to not have that was a little bit of a let-down but it was a semi-happy ending, so all good I guess.Even though I have just listed the negatives this is still a very gripping read- I couldn't put it down at all- finished it in one sitting. I simply don't have the time for writing out all the positives about the novel, and so I will settle on this: An exceptionally crafted piece, and one that engrossed me from start to finish. Flipping fabulous.

This is a very good book it does have a couple of kissing scenes but overall it’s great one of the only books I’ve read as a 15 yr old because normally I don’t like books much

My son is not a big reader but this book got him into books. Exciting storyline with twists

It is popular on tiktok for a reason, if you liked agggtm or anything similar, such as true crime or criminal minds, with a romance side to it too!! Its perfect. Was a quick read for someone who has only just started reading! 10/10 recommend

C’est un genre de meurtre et mystère… dans lequel tu te promènes de personnage en personnage pour avoir tous leur points de vue des gens qui étaient présents au moment du meurtre. Je me doutais aucunement de la fin!

Sehr gut und richtig.

Bien

Perfect, thank you so much !

This book was chosen as our book club's BOTM for July.Its been a long time since I’ve read a murder mystery/thriller book and this one was really good.So, this is how it goes; five students walk into a detention room and only four come out.Student no 1. Nate Macauley; he is a criminal drug dealer. At the moment he is on probation for drug dealing.Student no 2. Bronwyn Rojas; she is a Yale aspirant, a mathlete. So far she has never broken a single rule, that we know ofStudent no 3. Adelaide (Addy) Prentiss; the Miss popular, Prom Queen. Almost every girl in the school wants to be her.Student no 4. Cooper Clay; the jock with a promising future in baseball. He is already being scouted for top college teams.AndStudent no 5. Simon Kelleher; he is the owner and creator of a gossip app called About That. He is a person you do not want to mess with, because he collects secrets, knows all the secrets about every single student in Bayview High school and then he posts them on his app for everyone to see, but guess what, he doesn't walk out of the room.Simon's death puts the spotlight on Addy, Bronwyn, Copper and Nate- The Bayview Four. The police investigate each and every one of them. They all doubt each other. Throughout the course of the book they go from- "one of us is lying" to "we were all framed".Simon’s app had disrupted many lives in the Bayview High school. Out of the Four only Nate had been featured on the app before. However, the other three were next in line. Simon’s death had kind of delayed those secrets from coming out, at the end of the day they did come out and a lot of things rapidly changed after that.I did not expect this book to be this good. The shocks and twists were astounding. I just couldn't put this book down, it was so addictive and I have no nails to bite anymore. The pace of the book was fast yet it was so smooth, it just glided over. It was so easy to read and get lost in it. The mystery of the murder was definitely intriguing. It was complex, the intricate details spread out perfectly through the book; they definitely packed a good punch.I don’t think I can choose between the four. All of their characters are so beautifully written. Addy had the best character development in the book and I love her more than ever. Nate and Bronwyn growing and bonding together was something unexpected and sweet. Cooper, he’s so strong and brave; he has my heart. The friendship and acceptance that formed between the four was something worth reading about.Oh and Simon, how could I forget. Even though he was only there for a few pages; the ruckus he created was mind blowing. The ending, my god, wow. That was something.