From the Bookshelf of Addicted to YA…

One of Us Is Lying (One of Us is Lying, #1)

Karen M. McManus

Start date: October 1, 2017

Finish date: October 31, 2017

Discussion: Stand Alone

Why we're reading this: Won the poll for the stand alone BOTM
[close] Won the poll for the stand alone BOTM

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Stand Alone

* Stand Alone- Better Than Revenge
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What Members Thought

Sep 09, 2020 Colleen Scidmore rated it really liked it

Shelves: currently-on-google-drive

When a book synopsis compares itself to The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars I knew One of Us is Lying was a book I wanted to read. Who doesn’t love the Breakfast Club?!! And a lot of seem to love Pretty Little Liars.

The nostalgic characters are all now Bayview High seniors.

We have:
Bronwyn, is the Brain-A goody two shoes university bound student
Cooper, is the Athlete-A southern All-Star baseball player who’s being scouted for Pro Baseball and College Ball
Addy is The Princess-A pretty When a book synopsis compares itself to The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars I knew One of Us is Lying was a book I wanted to read. Who doesn’t love the Breakfast Club?!! And a lot of seem to love Pretty Little Liars.

The nostalgic characters are all now Bayview High seniors.

We have:
Bronwyn, is the Brain-A goody two shoes university bound student
Cooper, is the Athlete-A southern All-Star baseball player who’s being scouted for Pro Baseball and College Ball
Addy is The Princess-A pretty girl who allows her boyfriend Jake to make all her decisions for her and stays in the background
Nate is the Criminal-A drug dealing teen who lives in a crumbling home with his alcoholic father.
And last we have Simon who is the Basket Case (well really an Outcast)-He’s an angry kid who takes out his frustrations of being ignored by posting trash on Bayview Highs most salacious gossip site and no one is spared. Especially the 4 other teens who are set to make a starring appearance on Simons next post.

All 5 students are serving detention for something they didn’t do. And by the end only 4 walk out. Simon the schools number one enemy doesn’t live to see another day.
So who in that room has the most to hide and wants Simon gone? Or was it someone else entirely who needs a fall guy and is pulling the strings behind the scenes, and will Simon be the only one to go down?

Let me fill you all on a little secret. I accidentally started the second book first, One of Us Is Next so I knew whodunnit right away! I was so pissed when I figured it out and almost decided not to read it. I’m so glad I changed my mind! Yes I knew what happened the whole time. But the story was still entertaining and I didn’t know all the reasons behind it. I think I would have still figured it out. But it was still a fun read.

The story is told through alternating perspectives of the 4 suspects which I appreciated. It allowed me to get to know each of the characters on a personal level. Addy, the princess with the push over personality had the most growth in the story and surprisingly ended up being my favorite character. I cheered her on when she proved to everyone she was more than just a pretty face with good hair, looking for a boy to complete her! Unfortunately I didn’t feel the same about some of the other characters and a few fell a little flat.

The story it’s self was original and kept me interested the whole time. Karen McManus is excellent at reeling you in and pointing out reasons to suspect anyone and everyone! Throwing out more incriminating evidence through the book so you have no idea who it could be.
I did have a problem with why Simon died. It just seemed a little off and unbelievable. KM throws out hints through the book but I still wasn’t sold.

The audiobook was narrated so well that I felt like I was actually in the middle of the story instead of listening to it. I think part of why is that each character has its own narrator and they sounded exactly how I pictured, helping bring each one to life in my mind. Lol..especially Addy and Bronwyn. Addy just had this voice that you could picture an air head having. And Bronwyn’s voice fit her sometimes uptight, sometimes naive personality. It was perfect!

I’m looking forward to see what Karen McManus has in store for Bayview Highs notorious four in the continuing saga as well as any future books to come. ...more

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Mar 04, 2018 Megan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

"I don't know why it's so hard for people to admit that sometimes they're just assholes who screw up because they don't expect to get caught."

We went to the library a few days ago and they had a little "March Madness" thing going on in the YA adult section. I thought it would be fun to make my picks, but I quickly learned that I had only read 1 book on the bracket. The newest book by John Green. Wow, am I behind on new YA books! My husband saw the cover of this one and said "That looks like y "I don't know why it's so hard for people to admit that sometimes they're just assholes who screw up because they don't expect to get caught."

We went to the library a few days ago and they had a little "March Madness" thing going on in the YA adult section. I thought it would be fun to make my picks, but I quickly learned that I had only read 1 book on the bracket. The newest book by John Green. Wow, am I behind on new YA books! My husband saw the cover of this one and said "That looks like you're kind of book. You should read that one." I had never heard of it or the author before. I read the inside and it reminded me of Gossip Girl meets Pretty Little Liars meets the Breakfast Club. I love John Hughes movies and have I must admit that crappy high school tv dramas are kind of a guilty pleasure of mine. So I thought, why not. Let's give it a try.

I devoured this book. It's a quick read but there are so many twists and turns. The typical annoying high school drama did become a bit much for me at times. But you'll have that.

Basically there are 5 teenagers who get stuck in detention. There's the jock, the brainy girl, the bad boy, the cheerleader-type and the weird kid, Simon who has created his own app that spills all the gossip in the school. See what I mean about Gossip Girl and Breakfast Club? So they're all stuck in detention and Simon ends up dying from some peanut oil that mysteriously ended up in a cup of water.

The book mostly consists of the police trying to figure out who killed Simon. That part was really fun to read, but I could have done without all the annoying high school cliches. I understand high school can be tough on kids. I had my share of drama when I was there. But I found myself rolling my eyes a lot. That being said, the whole "who dunnit" aspect was exciting.

I must brag a bit too. I usually NEVER pick up on clues when I read stories like this. I'm always shocked and twists are way more exciting for me because I never see things coming. I did pick up on a couple things in this pick and was partially right when it came to who killed Simon. I even text my husband before I finished just to make sure it was out there who my guess was. Haha.

I do recommend this book. It's an interesting take on the thriller kind of books that I love to read. As long as you don't mind sifting through end of the world high school drama.

For more reviews: https://soulmeetsbooks.wordpress.com ...more

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Mar 02, 2020 Dichotomy Girl rated it really liked it

Shelves: ya, mystery-thriller, 2020, popsugar-challenge-2020

Popsugar 2020 challenge: Read a book involving Social Media

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Oct 12, 2017 Tweller83 rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, book-club

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Oct 01, 2018 pria rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 4-and-5-star-reads-only

It feels like it has been quite awhile since I've given a book 5 stars and I came across this book by chance! Somewhere I read that this book is a cross between the movie The Breakfast Club and Pretty Little Liars and that is so true. As an 80's girl I had to then read it, and it does not disappoint.
In fact, I had a hard time putting this book down! The story begins in high school detention just like
The Breakfast Club with the jocks being forced to talk to the brains but the story line is more ...more

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Jul 08, 2017 Rachel rated it really liked it

This book was a little predictable. I guessed most of it from the beginning, but I still was hooked and kept reading because the characters were great. The story was a little Breakfast Club meets Gossip Girl and I thought it was great.

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Oct 16, 2018 Sarah rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ya, mystery, contemporary-realism, relationships, crime, favorites

Five students in detention and one dies. The victim was not well liked and everyone has something to hide. The characters are not perfect but they are thoroughly fleshed out and unique from each other. The alternating narrators (1st person POV from each of the suspects) provides a depth to each character that would be difficult to get with a 3rd person narrator and was very effective in really letting the reader get to know them. As you listen to their thoughts, it is difficult to believe that a ...more

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May 13, 2020 Pam rated it it was amazing

What a twisty book. I grew to love every character (except the ones I was supposed to hate, which I vehemently did!), the writing was great and it was a rush to get through.

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