(https://smithlib.org) (https://www.facebook.com/smithtownlibraryteens) (https://smithlib.org) (https://www.instagram.com/smithtownlibraryteens/) (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbZSvgRFDXeCvu4O-CA5vbw) ONE OF US IS LYING Title of the book: One of us is Lying Author: Karen McManus Genre: Mystery Number of Pages: 368 Rating (On a Scale of 1-5): 5 Reviewed by: Sydney Major Characters: Bronwyn Rojas: Bronwyn is one of the five students in detention at Bayview High School and she is the “brain” of the group. She has a clean reputation and her dream is to attend Yale University. Nate Macauley: Nate is one of the five students in detention at Bayview High School and he is the “criminal” of the group. He is a playboy, a drug dealer, on probation for dealing Marijuana, and has earned a bad reputation for himself over the years. Cooper Clay: Cooper is one of the five students in detention at Bayview High School and he is the “jock” of the group. He is kind, pure, well-intentioned and a popular, all-star athlete who seems destined for greatness as a baseball pitcher. Originally from Mississippi, Cooper is incredibly close with his tight-knit family and intensely focused on his athletic career. Addy Prentiss: Addy is one of the five students in detention at Bayview High School and she is the “princess” of the group. She is a popular and beautiful girl who has been dating her equally popular and beautiful boyfriend, Jake, since their freshman year. Addy has been raised by a mother who values the physical above all else and has instilled in Addy and her sister Ashton the belief that their sole purpose in life should be to attract men who will hopefully support them financially throughout their lives. Addy has internalized this information deeply and has allowed her relationship with Jake to turn abusive without even knowing it. Simon Kelleher: Simon is one of the five students in detention at Bayview High School, however, he is the one that did not make it out alive. Simon runs a popular gossip app called About That which writes about the juiciest gossip in school. His reports are daily, and they are almost always accurate. He uses his fellow students’ initials to avoid being accused of lying or harassment, but it is always obvious who the gossip is about. Review: One day after school, five students at Bayview High, Bronwyn, Addy, Cooper, Nate, and Simon, walk into detention. However, Simon never makes it out of that classroom because before the end of detention, Simon dies from an allergic reaction and according to investigators, his death was not an accident. On Monday he died, but on Tuesday he had planned to post juicy reveals about all four of the students from detention, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder. Throughout the book, the group tries to clear their names and figure out who really caused Simon’s death, all while dealing with their own personal drama. For example, Addy’s abusive relationship with Jake, Bronwyn having a boyfriend that no one would expect and her parents definitely wouldn’t approve of, Nate’s probation and his dysfunctional family, and Cooper being in a relationship that his Southern, conservative family definitely wouldn’t approve of. So, who committed the crime? Is it one or all of them? Is it someone from the outside? You will have read and find out. I really like the flow and structure of this book. Every few pages, the narrator and point of view changes to either Bronwyn, Addy, Cooper, or Nate. I like this because it lets the reader hear every side of the story, which I think is very important, and it also lets the reader in on each character’s personal thoughts and lives. By doing this, the author keeps the book flowing and interesting, since sometimes at the end of a character’s segment it will end with a cliff hanger and you have to wait until their next segment to see what happens next, which makes you want to keep reading. I would recommend this book because it is very suspenseful, and it really keeps you on your toes. I think teen readers will like this book because it is about high school students so they might be able to relate to some of the struggles they are facing. Throughout the book, I kept changing who I thought committed the crime and I really enjoyed putting all the clues together and trying to figure out who did it. If you are into mysteries or books with a lot of suspense, I think you will really enjoy this book. The Smithtown Library Teen Department Contact us: teens@smithlib.org (mailto:teens@smithlib.org) (https://www.facebook.com/smithtownlibraryteens/) (https://www.instagram.com/smithtownlibraryteens/) (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbZSvgRFDXeCvu4O-CA5vbw) S I T E M A P ( / S I T E M A P. H T M L )
