It was inevitable I'd pick up this title. I work in a high school so I see these characters on the daily. McManus wrote these characters like she spends her days with them. I think this is why the story worked for me, when I know others had problems with the stereotypical-ness of them.

These are your average teenagers--yes, average--pulled into a deadly mystery. Locked room mysteries are always fun to sort out. The concept is a common one, but the way characters are developed and build into the story is what makes the book top notch.

Five students get detention because of phones they didn’t know they had. Someone set them up. Cooper, Bronwyn, Simon, Addy and Nate arrive at detention but only four make it out alive. An allergy to peanuts kills Simon, who started and continuously posted to his online gossip site. Because of this site, many people have motive to want to hurt Simon and keep him quiet. The students in detention with Simon immediately become suspects. They’re interrogated several times but the mystery remains until one of them is arrested. The students have become somewhat tight knit after secrets about each of them are revealed. So, when one is arrested, they work together to figure out what really happened. No one is expecting the truth that they discover. An interesting young adult mystery, 4 stars!

Plot
While there were some lulls in the pace, I was pleased overall. There were clues consistently dropping and I suspected everyone at some point or another. A great point was how the book discusses social standards throughout without them being so obvious. For example, more people were upset about Abby sleeping with her boyfriend's friend than Bronwyn cheating on her exam. Abby is also a good example of the dangers of being in an abusive relationship and how easily those can begin without there being clear signs. Jake was very possessive and bossy, and Abby accepted it. Her mother was probably pushing the relationship along, which is another point. That her mother obviously cared more about men, even vicariously, than her own daughter.

Characters
Bronwyn was my favorite if only because I can see myself in her. She was really the brains of the group. I also loved Nate. He was given a pretty rough family and was also so self-sacrificing. Cooper was more interesting after it was disclosed that he was gay. I think it just gave him more depth. Before he was just sort of a jock. I didn't think I would like Abby in the beginning, but as the story progressed, I found myself feeling sorry for her and her relationship with her mother and how trapped she was with Jake. Obviously Simon was the main character, even if it was mostly off the page. Truly crazy, though his idea was well-thought out. Too bad he didn't use that to do something good.

I know this book came out a few years ago, but I still recommend it to all lovers of mystery, suspense, and thrillers. This book will keep you asking, "What the heck is happening?" until the very end, and then cause you to pick up the rest of Karen McManus's books.

I always love a good whodunit mystery. This book was pitched as The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars, and I think that was a perfect comparison. A group of kids enter detention; the brain, the beauty, the criminal, the athlete and the outcast. Only four leave alive. This story was entertaining and fast-paced. I did like the ending, I just had one issue with it. Otherwise, I overall enjoyed this quick read.

Quick story about the power of becoming a friend and how quickly you can hurt someone. Loved the breakfast club theme and it really had me until the end figuring out who did it.

I don't find myself gravitating to YA mysteries as much as I used to, because they all started blending together for me and being a bit formulaic. One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus is different! I was very intrigued and interested from the very beginning, and even though I guessed the killer correctly I still enjoyed it. Karen McManus's writing is light and easy to read, and allowed me to fly through the story. I wish the characters had been more developed, but that's a common complaint of mine with many mystery/thrillers.

This is basically The Breakfast Club if one of them had ended up dead.

It's entertaining and I didn't call who the killer was. But it didn't move from "fun book" to "great book."

Twisty murder mystery with 4 very different and often very frustrating teens. Can be a bit predictable early on but improves. The ending is somewhat of a cop-out.

So, a kid gets killed.
There are four suspects.
All of them witnessed the death.
Each one of them has a motive.
Four POV.
All claiming inocence.
But f### that ish when the title says one of them is lying!!

And you don't know who that is.
And then you start questioning each and every detail.
And then you get a book boyfriend.
And then you realize you can't, because he might be a killer!
But you trust him!
But you can't cuz you've been knowing him for 30 pages only.
Then you go nuts, not having a clue what's going on and not being​ able put the book down.

Awesome story.
Read it.

This book was meh... I have to say that I did not see the plot twist at the end coming but it didn't completely surprise me either. It wasn't bad but I found myself struggling to get into it or invest in the characters/plot. I might read the next one, but it's not going to be at the top of my list.

I finally got around to reading this and ADORED it. Seriously, such an intense ride. You know people are lying and you know something is up but you adore all the narrators and can't imagine any of them actually being culpable. It was so well done and I can't wait to read more from this author. My only complaint is that the characters were a little archetypal in a way that felt a little not quite real. But I still loved every second!

This book was a 3.5 for me. The premise is interesting, but I found myself getting bored in the middle. I almost DNF'd but I wanted to know who did it. Mediocre. Could have been better.

This was extremely forgettable but I still managed to finish it completely. I was expecting more but I was able to figure everything out before the end.

Wow! This is one of the best ya thrillers I’ve read in a long time. I’m actually speechless to say the least. It was nothing short of amazing.

I read this book in one sitting. I could not put it down, and the book was a wild ride full of twists and turn from start to finish

This read was a lot more fun that I was expecting upon picking it up. "One of Us Is Lying" is very true to its blurb - "Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars" (though one could probably throw in a "Gossip Girl" element in this too). The story opens up with a group of five teenagers serving detention for having cell phones in each of their backpacks when they weren't allowed in class. The common thread among them is that none knew how the cell phones ended up in their possession in the first place, especially since the phones didn't belong to them. Nonetheless, Bronwyn, Addy, Nate, Cooper, and Simon all end up serving detention at the same time. A freak accident and an allergic reaction later - Simon ends up dead, and the remaining four eventually end up as murder suspects with every revelation that the police investigation makes. What's clear is that all of the remaining have been set up to take the fall for Simon's death, but the question remains as to whom is framing them and why.

What I liked about this book is that the cast of characters in this novel aren't your stereotypical carbon copy cutouts , but rather very real characters whom you can feel for as the novel progresses. Every single one of them has something to lose with their secrets exposed, from status to educational opportunities to criminal punishment. They're all thrown into a massively insidious plot by a puppeteer who continuously plucks at their strings. I'll admit some parts of this kept me guessing but I did figure out the ending a little sooner than the revelation handed down. That didn't stop me from the anticipation of seeing how it would unfold. The relationships between the four are realistic, particularly with the description of the strengths coupled with their flaws, notably those that peel away at the perfect life and persona they try to create for themselves, but ultimately they end up growing out of that picture. The way the novel showcases their home life, school life, ambitions and relationships connected me with the characters in a way that made me care about each of their plights and desperation to figure out the truth. I wasn't even sure what Cooper's secret was for a time, particularly since it was revealed that he didn't have any doping charges brought against him, but after the story digs a little more into his background, I was like "Ahhh, now I understand. Poor kid." It shows the characters going through a growth arc while wrestling with the respective secrets that, once unearthed, have the conflicts hitting the ground running.

Also, if it's something to say - Simon was a total jerk who had one too many axes to grind, which makes you understand why he had more than his fair share of enemies. In the end, I enjoyed the read for the showcase of characters, the overarching mystery, and the march to the resolution that even by the last page I felt satisfied with how it chose to tie things off. There were moments when the pacing could've been a little tighter, but I think it did a fine job of distinguishing Bronwyn, Abby, Cooper, and Nate's voices to stand on their own dimensionally.

Overall score: 4/5 stars.

Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher.

I loved this book! The full review will be posted soon at kaitgoodwin.com/books! Thank you very much for this wonderful opportunity to connect books to their readers!

I’ve seen countless YA mysteries akin to One of Us Is Lying come out as midlist titles and fail to make an impact, so it somewhat surprised me that the aforementioned novel has become such a runaway bestseller and fixture on the New York Times bestseller list. It’s nothing against the book; popularity just seems so random on occasion. Plus if its popularity caused/causes more YA mysteries to come out, I’m all for it! They’re one of my Things.

One of Us Is Lying presents us with a remarkably strong base for the mystery to come: four compelling, unique narrators you won’t mix up easily; a highly unusual death in Simon’s deadly allergic reaction to a peanut oil-laced cup of water; and quick pacing to keep readers in their seats as everything unfolds. Bronwyn, Nate, Addy, and Cooper work well together as a team, going about their own investigations quietly since they’re all still people of interest in Simon’s death. Addy was easily the standout of our dear murder club thanks to her strong character arc and emergence from an emotionally unhealthy relationship.

That said, One of Us Is Lying commits to using my two least favorite things in fiction: mean girls and using a character’s sexual identity as a twist. Addy’s ex-frenemy-now-just-an-enemy Vanessa handily fills the one-note mean girl role, feeling entirely unnecessary as she “punishes” Addy for daring to cheat on Jake, Addy’s boyfriend and Vanessa’s crush. Gender-based double standards toward cheating are on display as Cooper faces nowhere near the same retribution for cheating on his girlfriend Keely. He gets it worse for being gay than he does for cheating on her.

The reveal that Cooper is gay is used as a twist in an attempt to shock readers, which is something I will never recognize as a twist for any novel. No one’s romantic/sexual orientation is ever a twist, so expect me to “spoil” such things every single time out of respect to other queer readers. Besides, it’s easy to figure out from early on in the novel only for the “secret” is dragged out until its confirmation at the end of the second act. A few other plot twists are similarly easy to see through and other details irk, like the negative portrayal of mental illness and a girl being exoticized because she’s Filipina and Swedish.

One of Us Is Lying is a solid YA mystery that will surely lead readers to even stronger entries in the genre, like Echo After Echo by Amy Rose Capetta, Antisocial by Jillian Blake, and pretty much everything Kara Thomas (also known as Kara Taylor) has written so far. With less of the more problematic elements, I’d have an even higher opinion of this book.

Seriously, no more using sexual identity as a shocker. It’s just rude when not talking about yourself and your own identity.

My e-reader was out of commission and I was unable to finish this title, and many others. I cannot provide an honest review for this title. However, the ending was spoiled for me and WOAH.