One of Us Is Lying

For me this was much more a high school drama than a full on ! mystery. More of a contemporary YA drama with murder in it. I was not prepared to enjoy this as much as I did. Was probably a right book right time kind of situation. Not too serious but pretty intriguing to read about the drama

3.5

A surprisingly enjoyable and realistic YA novel. While it wasn't hard to figure out the big mystery, there were still several "surprises" and twists that caught me off guard. I didn't find the characters too cliched and they were almost all sympathetic. The book addresses many of the terrible things teens in the US are facing today.

Lately I've been really interested in reading these YA mystery books. I always think of myself as a YA fantasy type chick, but, in reality, I'm a sucker for mystery and thriller books. (I fw Agatha Christie, y'all.)

One of Us Is Lying was an obvious choice for me after reading Kara Thomas'

Cheerleaders.

Within minutes of starting the book, I was hooked because McManus sets up the whole mystery within the first chapter. Needless to say, I binge read this book.

What I liked:

- I loved that Bronwyn's dad is Columbian and her mom is white. I have a similar heritage, and it's great to see holistic Latinx characters is books.

- Bad boy x nerd girl? Uh, yes please!

- Addy's character development.

I was initially worried that Addy would be stuck as the typical dumb blond/popular character, but I was ecstatic that she became a very reflective character who was able to identify and escape an abusive relationship and find her worth despite chaotic circumstances.

- I love the portrayal of "Girls support girls" type relationship that doesn't revolve competition for or obsession over boys.

What I didn't like:

- It took a while for the book to get into the actual mystery—a good chunk of the book is dedicated to teenage drama. Don't get me wrong; the drama was interesting, but I wish the mystery-to-drama ratio was a bit more balanced.

- I don't know if it was just me, but the book seemed to objectify the significant other character in the homosexual relationship. I kind of wish the author had developed this character a little more—I didn't want his only character trait to be that he made out with the significant other and that he was an underwear model. I want all LGBTQ+ characters to be portrayed holistically and not just as a love interest, y'know?

- Once again, I half guessed the ending.

It wasn't a surprise at all to me that Simon killed himself nor that Janae helped him with his plan. I was surprised by Jake's involvement—not because I didn't think Jake didn't have it in him to try and ruin others' lives—more like Jake just didn't seem smart enough to be that sneaky. Idk?

Overall, this was a good, fast-paced book that entertained me, but I'm not sure I will be reading the next books in the series.

Now I'm not saying this book is peridictable, but I did figure out who did it in the first 40 pages. I still found this book to be entertainting and fun to read. I would recommend to most people who like murder mysterys. BUT I would definitly NOT RECOMMEND to people with allergies or family members of people with allergies, as they might find the way Simon dies to be quite disturbing.

I didn't read many young adult mystery books and I didn't quite know what to expect. On the one hand, I don't like young adult genre, on the other, I like mystery, so it all came down to which option would win and get the upper hand. Although it initially didn't seem like a book for me, in the end I found the story really good and interesting.

As I said, the beginning did not work for me. The first 30 percent or even more did not convince me to continue. I don't like narratives from multiple POVs, and that's what we have in this book. I had a hard time getting attached to the character. There was also too little mystery for me and too much teenage drama and fairly predictable secrets. But then the story really took off and got much more interesting.

I will not say that this story was not predictable. In fact, I foreseen a lot of things, including Cooper’s big secret. Granting it was very obvious from the very beginning. The ending and solving of the mystery did not surprise me completely either. At a fairly early stage, I started to suspect what happened to Simon. But I think this book is a great entry point into the mystery and thriller genres, if you've mostly read young adult or even new adult before. And readers more familiar with the mystery genre can enjoy the story too.

In the end, I even liked these characters. The author worked on the verge of stereotypes when creating these characters. Personally, I would prefer her to deviate a little more from them, but on the other hand, these stereotypical roles functioned quite well in this story. Although, departing from the usual patterns would in my opinion give a little more depth to these characters. And I find the epilogue a bit too sloppy (but undeniably typical for YA story).

This is my first book by this author, but it is likely that one day I will read her other books, including the next book in this series. Although they probably won't be the same characters, which is a pity. At the moment, I hesitate between giving this book 3 and 4 stars. It is quite possible that I will change my rating.

It’s just amazing there is no other way to put it I love everything about it forbidden love and mystery and most importantly murder

I’d seen this book advertised for a while but for some reason I put off on reading it. But when I finally did, I found myself barely able to put it down. It was a mystery that I was eager to solve, and when it finally was, I was shocked! A good read for those who love mystery, drama, and romance.