I wasn't expecting to like One of Us is Lying to be completely honest with you all. I've read some of the hype (even one of my favorite authors liked this book), looked at the rating on goodreads, and was ready to hate the book. It seems to be the way this goes for me; I usually hate books that everyone else raves about.

Umm. No. That is not what happened. Instead, I read this book in one sitting (well, laying. I was laying in bed and refused to do anything else until I finished this book). I was hooked, riveted even. This book is amazing.

One of Us is Lying tells the story of 5 different teens who end up in after school detention. Only one of them doesn't leave detention alive. What follows is a twisted, convoluted story in which the other teens try to prove their innocence and get back the control over their lives. In the journey to this, secrets get exposed and lives are changed forever.

We'll get this review started with the elephant in the room: Yes, this book is very comparable to The Breakfast Club and it even makes an allusion or two to the iconic film. However, this didn't bother me at all. Partly because the audience this book is actually meant for has probably never head of The Breakfast Club in an un-ironic way. Or, if they have, and if they're cool like me, then they'll just enjoy the allusions and enjoy the ride. Don't hate, appreciate.

First of all: yay for a description actually being accurate to what the book is. There are no lies; what the cover and blurb say is actually what the book is about. Thank you for that, whoever was in charge of that decision. It's nice to meet a book with honest intentions.

Second of all: yay for embracing modern technology in an appropriate manner. Also refreshing.

Third of all: I actually liked all of the characters. Each of the 4 students get their own moment to shine, their own journey to go through. And each journey is different, and even better, each of the characters grows and changes. I actually grew to like each of the characters and, while I had a definite favorite character (love you tons, Bronwyn!), I enjoyed each chapter, no matter who was narrating.

So, after all of my gushing, why only 4 stars? Well, there were a few plot holes that you could drive tractor trailer though. [For example, while it's cute and heartwarming that Yale tweets to Bronwyn after her cheating is revealed, I refuse to believe that there were no major academic repercussions for her actions. Also, Yale is still going to accept her after that? Yeah, don't think so.

Overall, this is a great book. It's a quick read that has a few plot twists and turns. Is it a little predictable? At times. Are there plot holes? You bet your booty there is! Neverthless, One of Us is Lying is a great read and shouldn't be missed.

One Of Us Is Lying is without doubt one of the best YA mystery stories I've read so far this year. This is unreliable narrators and plot twists at its best; I did kind of guess part of the ending early on, but there is no way this story won't at least partly surprise you. The story starts out strong and it sets the tone for the rest of the story. The main characters start out as high school cliches, but as you continue reading they slowly start to evolve and their development is very well executed. Despite the cliches it's really easy to connect to the four suspects and they are one of the reasons this story works so well. My favorites would be Cooper and Bronwyn, but all four have their charm. The plot twists are excellent and definitely make you wonder what is true and who is lying; the ending wasn't a complete surprise but was still satisfying. If you like the genre and you're up for a healthy dose of high school secrets and excellent twists, One Of Us Is Lying is the book for you!

I was pleasantly surprised by this one! It was pretty slow for me at first and I was having trouble distinguishing the different characters voices. But when things started picking up about 20% in, I was completely hooked. I guessed who the killer was about halfway through but I was never quite sure, it kept you guessing the whole time.

I usually hate multiple POVs but this was done well. I didn't feel there were too many characters, though in my opinion Bronwyn was the main character. We saw more of her and I was definitely more invested in her, and her love life, more than anything. I wish we had seen a bit more of the others.

This book had you guessing and second guessing what you thought and what all of the characters were telling you.

4 stars!

*

One of Us Is Lying is a pretty engrossing YA Mystery novel. Told in multiple POVs, it has great writing, a fantastic set of characters, and a beginning that will hook readers right away. The mystery is executed very well, with twists and turns that catch you by surprise.

Karen M. McManus is a new author worth keeping an eye on. Her debut novel is refreshing and well-written, breathing new life into Contemporary YA novels. The plot is compelling, but the characters are what makes this story great.

At the beginning, One of Us Is Lying seems like a remix of The Breakfast Club. It does not take long for me to realize that that isn’t true. McManus might use the concept of students stuck in detention and high school stereotypes to help tell her story, but she smashes them right out of the gate.

Each POV character, Bronwyn, Addy, Nate, and Cooper, is fleshed out and layered. They each have unique voices and personalities, providing glimpses into the story. They are the ones who pull the reader in and keep things interesting as the plot progresses, secrets are uncovered, and truths are exposed.

There is also a little bit of Gossip Girl thrown in. McManus incorporates social media into the story, making it a very interesting part of the mystery. It adds another layer to the plot, which she explores very well. It does bring up a few difficult themes, though.

I also have to mention the romance and heartbreak. There is a little bit of both in the story, but it is developed and well-paced. There is no instalove in this book, and the romances are also written. One in particular I found super realistic, especially with the way it ended.

In the end, One of Us Is Lying is a entertaining and engaging book. It has great characters, an interesting mystery to solve, and the pace is steady. It is very easy to lose yourself while reading it, which only makes things better. Recommended to YA fans who like mysteries and unconventional groups of friends.

When Simon dies from ingesting peanut oil while in detention, there are only four suspects. All four have reasons to hate Simon, because Simon was about to post their dirty secrets on his gossip blog. There's Bronwyn, the valedictorian he accuses of cheating; Cooper, the star baseball player who might be "enhanced"; Addy, the perfect girlfriend who cheated on her boyfriend, and everyone's favorite scapegoat, Nate, the one with a prison record. As the media frenzy hits and more details emerge, including new blog posts bragging about getting away with murder, the four students find themselves trying to unfurl the mystery. With each entry from their point of view, the reader must also decide: is one of them lying? Or are all of them?

Despite there being no point where I actually thought any of the four accused had killed Simon, this was still a twisting mystery thriller. There were so many other characters who knew Simon in other ways and had been hurt by his blog, and each of the four students was in fact hiding something, even if it wasn't exactly what Simon was about to accuse them of. Fans of [book:The Lying Game|8428069] and [book:Pretty Little Liars|162085] will enjoy this one, but it would have appeal to both girls and boys.

Parental advisory: Some strong language, discussion of drugs and sex.

I really loved this story so much the plot and the Who did it was pretty awesome. My favorite character is most definitely the bad boy, whom is not as bad as he would want you to believe, and that would be Nate. I really am a sucker for a bad boy!!!!!
I really loved that I didn't figure out who did it, until the reveal, even though I thought it could be that person or persons at one time. But I couldn't understand why it would be that person, so I changed my mind.
I even loved the ending, and the main four characters, even though Addy was my least favorite of the four. Coop, I knew his secret from the very beginning. Bronwyn I felt a connection with, more than I did with Addy.
Now let's talk about Simon!!!!!! He was one screwed up individuals, that I read about in a book, in a very long time. He was really cray, cray, that's for sure. And things he did were not nice at all. So as you learn about him, and what his done, then you might begin to understand why someone would want to kill him. Even though I am not saying that killing a bad person is the thing to do, that isn't for me too decide.
I am definitely going to have to do a re-read later this year, and I will even have to say that this will be one of my favorite books that I read this year. So I would definitely recommend this book to my family and friends. Awesome, awesome book.

If the Breakfast Club had more murder and internet access…

The premise is good – five students and a teacher in detention, a student dies, who did it?

The characters could’ve been a little more fleshed out. Everyone is sort of typecast and then stay there with a couple exceptions that can’t be mentioned here to avoid spoilers. There aren’t any major pushbacks against those stereotypes other than who some of them choose to date.

It’s part mystery, part young love, part ‘oh the drama of high school’. The story overall is decent, not crazy suspenseful but we follow the characters through the death, the social fallout that follows, the legal troubles and new bonds. The ending wasn’t a major shock but it was still good.

My biggest issue with the book was that there are multiple points-of-view and there’s not enough of a change in the “voice” of each to make it seem like different characters. There are chapter headings so you know who is supposed to be the narrator but without those, it’s anybody’s guess.

Overall, it’s a quick read that keeps your attention.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a free advanced copy for review. One of Us is Lying will be released on May 30, 2017.

This was a good read and hooked you right from the beginning. The final reveal was done well and surprising. I gave this 4 stars on goodreads.

This book was incredible! I couldn't put it down because it was so addicting and I wanted to know what happened to Simon. Even though when I wasn't reading it I kept thinking about it.
Even though it has those stereotypical american teenagers (the cute girl, the golden boy, the smart geeky girl ans the bad boy) I think their back story is so interesting and it added more ti them. And also their character development throughout the story is something I really enjoyed of the novel.
Also the author did a great job at keeping me at the edge of my seat. It's a very good mysyery YA book, and I'm really surprised it's a debut novel.
And the ending was nothing like I imagined, so kudos to that too.

"Everybody's got secrets," he says. "Right?"

This book was a pleasant surprise! It was refreshing and a change from the usual young-adult contemporary.

Bronwyn, Nate, Cooper, and Addy are suspects for murdering the school's gossiper, Simon. When the 5 of them were in detention, the last thing they expect is for Simon to drop dead... Unless someone of them planned the whole thing.

The story is told from their POVs. The nerd, the bad boy, the jock, and the princess are the most common high school stereotypes. Until you start to see they're more than that. Bronwyn has the highest grades, Nate was (is?) a drug dealer, Cooper is the best baseball player in school, and Addy is used to being popular, true, but they're more than that. Soon, you sympathise with them but at the same time, you can't neglect anything they do/think. Everyone has secrets that they'll do anything to not let them see the light, but to what extent?

Everyone is flawed. We see them transform from 1-dimentional character to teens with more developed personalities as they try to deal with everything.

Even though the mystery wasn't hard to figure out, it was still fun. I'm sure it's because we're seeing the bigger picture, everyone had a piece of the truth. Yet, you can't help but feel skeptical, I shouldn't like this character, he looks innocent but what if?

One of the things I liked is how this book rely on social medias, something many books set in our days ignore. It's not logical, social media is a part of everybody's life. I liked how Karen used it to create a good story. How our lives, privacy, secrets are violated. How it's so easy to uncover anything.

This was a quick read, even if I have to admit that it stretched a bit too much eventually, it was fun and a page turner. I highly recommended if you're looking for something new in the YA contemporary genre. It has a bit of everything, even a little romance.

This book would make a great movie! Karen M. McManus did a great job for a debut book, I'm already looking forward to her future books.

So, we’ve got four suspects. The golden boy baseball player. The pretty popular girl who ceases to exist when her boyfriend isn’t around. The uppity overachiever. And the drug dealer on probation with a rough home life.

So four stereotypes. Well, at first.

The murdered kid was not very popular - he kept a rumor mill app that exposed peoples deepest darkest secrets (dun dun DUNNN)(on a related note, I am so glad I got out of high school before smartphones were a thing. Social media was a thing but it wasn’t everywhere. I could go home and just ignore it, it was awesome). Plenty of people have reason to hate this kid, especially the four who just conveniently get put in detention with him. App-kid has a fatal allergic reaction. Someone put peanut oil in his cup. WHO DID IT? Someone’s lying. WHO IS IT?! Uppity? Baseball? Girly-girl? Drug Dealer?

I am not sure how I can discuss this book without spoiling the whole thing, so I’ll do my best to be vague, but I will warn for spoilers. SPOILERS!! It seems to me like some writers are wary to have bad things happen to their characters - or have their characters do bad, unspeakable things. The name of the book is “One Of Us Is Lying” - I was really expecting one of them to be, well, lying. We’re promised a whodunit with four unreliable narrators except…well, our narrators turn out to be pretty reliable. It was a bit disappointing. END SPOILERS!!!

Anyway! So far as YA murder-mysteries go, this one was a fun, entertaining read. The characters are all well-developed and believable as teenagers.

Recommended for:

YA murder mystery fans, YA fans, someone looking for a less-intense cozy-type mystery.

Not recommended for:

Hardcore mystery genre fans.

This was a quick and fun read, however, the character development was way more fun than the actual mystery, which I half figured out before the end. A fun read nonetheless.

This is such a good book! I love that this book is both a contemporary and a thriller. There are parts that are just cute and about friendship and others that put your heart speeding up to know what’s going to happen!

The book follows Bronwyn, Addy, Nate and Cooper. They were put in detention after being found with phones in class, that turned out, weren’t theirs. Someone clearly set them up and they have to discover why because in that same room in detention was Simon – the school gossiper – and he had an allergic attack to peanut oil after drinking just a cup of water and died. Now, the four of them have been made suspects and a lot of secrets are going to come up!

Our characters couldn’t be more different from each other! But I love that as the book goes on, their friendship develops, and without what happened, they would have never been friends.

I absolutely loved how the secrets were unraveled and how realistic the whole situation felt. The writing was really good and made the book incredibly gripping and the different pov’s, which usually I’m not a fan of, were really nicely done and easy to follow.

I can’t stop thinking about this book! It was just so good and although I was kind of expecting already what happened at the end, it still managed to surprise me in many ways!

I would love if this book was ever turned into a movie – preferably a really good adaptation. It would be such a good – slightly cute – thriller! And they should also keep that cover because it’s gorgeous!

I loved this book and I would most definitely recommend it!

I couldn't put it down. I was a little worried that it would be too similar to This Is Our Story, which I read early this year but it's way different.

I did guess, to an extent, who did it, but that in no way took away from the book. I needed to know the WHY.
The way that the story was woven through all 4 of the remaining detention victims was amazing. McManus did a great job of making me feel for each character and also doubting their innocence.

There's a little romance in the One of Us Is Lying, which was just the right amount for me. Enough to have me swoon a bit, but not enough that I felt like I was reading a romance instead of a thriller.
I seriously loved all of the characters, faults and all. Of which there were many, but that just made them all that much more real.

One of Us Is Lying also addressed quite a few issues, not only for the characters but also how unfortunately some things play out in a high school setting (high school kids aren't always the nicest). It was also a good showing on true friendship and the impact you have on other peoples lives.

My only complaint is a few of the things that happened at the high school. A few of the things are a big fat NO on the high school front, but I enjoyed the story so much that in the end it didn't matter. A spoiler because it's not in the blurb, but not really a spoiler because it's mentioned very early on: They end up in detention because their teacher caught them with cell phones. He searched students bags for them. That is a HUGE NO. You can't just search students bags. There were other things, but this one was big for me.

One of Us IS Lying is the story of four teenagers. It is told by all four points of view.
First up is Bronwyn, straight A student, smart, determined and resourceful. She’s the perfect Ravenclaw.
Next is Cooper, the star pitcher. He would be the perfect jock except he is sooooo nice and just all around decent, basically the perfect Hufflepuff.
Then, we have Abby. Abby is popular but lacks confidence. She’s been dating the star running back of the football team for about three years.
And last but not least, there’s Nate, the criminal, my child. He’s been arrested for drug dealing and is now on probation. His dad is a drunk and he has to take care of the bills and shit. (To me, he’s a Slytherin but I might not be impartial because I am a Slytherin and it’s the best house ever.)
Why do I insist on sorting them, you will never know. (I don’t even know...)
These four characters are everything. I connected to them in so many ways. The ones I didn’t love at first sight, grew on me like you wouldn’t believe. They were just so complex and flawed, I couldn’t help but love them.
The side characters were also really interesting and I loved many of them. (I'd protect Maeve with my life.)

On to the plot. I don’t actually want to say a lot because just jumping in without knowing much might actually be best for this book.
The book starts with our four babies in detention with Simon. Simon is the gossip king of the school. He even has an app dedicated to it with weekly updates. What he writes on it always turns out to be true. Problem is, Simon has an anaphylactic shock during detention and dies. Our four protagonists are the main suspects.
The intrigue was so well told, I couldn’t figure what had truly happen. Even when I suspected, I dismissed it almost instantly. It kept me on my toes the entire time.

What I also liked in this book was the growth of the characters, as well as the relationships (whether they were romantic or not) between them. I found them really captivating and couldn’t help but root for them. I could feel what the characters felt, there was an actual growth and I could feel our their feelings evolved. I seriously loved this side of the book too.

The author also showed the double standards we have in our society and how it can affects everyday life.

I read this book in one sitting and simply couldn’t put it down.
All in all, an amazing debut novel. I will be impatiently waiting for more from this author.

Obviously the blurb describes the story pretty well. This book really held my attention and I really wanted to read it straight through. I wasn't able to (life, work, responsibilities), but I did stay up late the second night to finish it.

It's definitely a mystery and everyone who is a person of interest is hiding something. I had a couple of theories and kind of talked myself out of them. I turned out to be right, but it really could have gone several other ways. What I liked most about the ending was that it wasn't convoluted. The author drew the conclusion from within the story and didn't just throw some random situation in there (that ruins a book for me).

For a debut book, it was well-written and never had that "debut book vibe".. I would read this author again, and will probably buy the hardcover for this book.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Release Date: May 30th 2017

I was instantly drawn to One of Us Is Lying at first because it gave me Breakfast Club vibes when I read the description; I love that movie. It doesn’t always happen when I read books, but I was sucked in from the first page. There was no way I was putting it down until I finished it and that’s exactly what happened. I read One of Us Is Lying in one day and it was so good! I loved it.

I’m not the biggest fan of books with multiple point of views, but for this book it worked perfectly. I enjoyed reading all of the character’s parts in the book and I was invested in them all. I had no idea what was happening and when I put it together in my head it always ended up being something totally different, so it kept me guessing about who murdered Simon.

Bronwyn, Addy, Nate, and Cooper were all dealing with big things happening in their life and then they were thrown into this police investigation on top of it. As much as I really liked them all, I honestly didn’t know who to believe at times. Red flags everywhere and everything and everyone seemed suspicious in my eyes. Everyone had secrets. That’s what made this book so fun though.

Overall, I am really glad that I requested this book. It was suspenseful and kept me guessing. It was a really fun read and I enjoyed it so much. I couldn’t put it down. It was happy, it was sad, it had me laughing out loud, and it had me yelling “whaaat?!” a million times. It was more than just solving a murder case. There’s so much more to the story and it tackles some of the important issues happening today. It was a really great book. I highly recommend it.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest review.

Pretty good mystery, of the whodunnit variety. I think the character's are what really make the book. They each have a story of their own that unfolds throughout. My favorites parts are how two characters develop an unlikely friendship and how Addy grows so much as a person. The ending was acceptable although I think I would have liked a little more information on motive.

I have been dying to read this book ever since I heard about it. I was not disappointed. It's influenced by The Breakfast club but the only difference is murder is involved. When I heard that I had knew I had to read it.

So the story is about 5 students who have detention and by the end only 4 of them come out. The 4 of them automatically become the main suspects. Not only are they the suspects but they each had motive. So who did it?

Omg wow this book was so good. I have to say I didn't want to put it down. I was dying to know who what actually happened. The author does a good job of keeping you on your toes. At moment I thought it was one character then you find something about the other character and then it's like wait now I think it's them. So I was all over the place guessing who did it. By the end of it I was completely shocked by what actually happened. The author did a really good job tricking me.

I also really enjoyed that this was a book you got the different perspectives. All these characters are so different from each other. It's nice seeing how they each deal with what's going on. As the story goes on you start to figure out the secrets that they've been trying to hide. I felt this made things tricky because I was always switching up who I thought was the killer. I also found myself really caring for these characters because you learn so much about them and the reasoning behind their secrets. Now I'm not saying I agree with some of the things that went down but I did feel a bit of sympathy for them.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. It was a great story that kept me guessing until the very end. I really loved all the characters that were in this book. The ending was very shocking which is always important to me with a mystery book. I would highly recommend this book.

Five students walk into detention. Four walk out - and one leaves in a body bag.

<i>The Breakfast Club</i> meets <i>Pretty Little Liars</i> in this YA thriller. Everyone in detention that day had a reason to hate Simon, the creator of Bayview High's gossip app. Was it the golden boy star pitcher? The drug-dealer? The popular girl? The brain? (see what I mean about <i>The Breakfast Club</i>?) The case soon gains the attention of the national media and the kids find them selves forming an uneasy friendship as they try to prove their innocence while wondering if one of them is lying. Things get even more uneasy when someone starts sending anonymous emails across the school claiming to have planned the murder and framed the group for it.

This one is definitely more the Agatha Christie puzzle mystery than a dark Swedish thriller. The twists and turns were in some cases predictable, especially when it came to the romance, but it was a fun ride to follow along with. The book drags a bit in the middle while you're waiting for more clues to show up, but the end was a satisfying solution that tied up the loose ends nicely. Fans of the movies and series mentioned above should enjoy it.