The book was intriguing and the characters are well written. It is hard to put down.

I love mysteries, and thought One of Us Is Lying presented a fun locked room inspired puzzle. Five high school students are tricked into thinking they have afterschool detention. All five show up at the assigned detention room, full of questions. Before long, one of the five is dead. As questions swirl, they start banding together to try to figure out what happened and who was responsible for the murder. As the victim was a dirt-digging student blogger who knew secrets about each one of them, they all theoretically had a motive.

I had two theories about the killer, and one of them was correct. It was an ending I'd seen before, but I still found this an enjoyable and suspenseful read. I also liked the fact that none of the characters was quite what he or she seemed to be at the outset. As each character confronts the secret that the murder victim knew, he or she has to do some serious soul-searching about what will happen when the secret comes out.

This is a fun summer read, perfect for your beach or pool or airplane tote!

This wasn't even on my radar at first. I'm not sure why it wasn't since contemporary mysteries are my favorite books! But when I did find out about it, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I really wanted to get my hands on it. I was so happy when I did.
On a normal day, there's many different kids who have detention, but this particular day, most of them don't belong there. They include a criminal, a beauty queen, a smarty pants, an athlete, and an outcast. Unfortunately, not all of them make it out of the room. What happened in that short time, that caused Simon to die? Did it have anything to do with the fact that he planned to uunearth their darkest secrets the next day?!
I loved the writing style in this one. It was all over the place with the multiple POVs and it felt a bit clunky and disjointed. In a mystery, that makes the reader confused and causes them to miss out on guessing who the real person is. I also really enjoyed all the POVs she had. They were all different, but were all developed so they all had their own voice. As a character driven reader, I was impressed on all the ways she was able to tie things together.
But even with the great writing style, I wasn't really a fan of the plot. I called most of the plot twists throughout the story, which didn't make it really a "thriller" for me like I see some people shelving under. I was also able to call some of the "BIG" reveal at the end. Since I only got part of it right I won't take anything away from it, but still some parts of it were a bit obvious.
As for the characters, I didn't really connect to any of them. And that was extremely unfortunate because there were so many of them. But to be honest, I didn't really care for anyone in that book. Not the main characters ot any supporting ones. Maybe that's the way the author wanted the reader to feel, but as a character driven reader, I was not a fan. I got the point of why it was written that way, but it still wasn't my favorite. (If that makes sense.)
It was overall an addictive, murdery twist on The Breakfast Club and I really did like it. I can't wait to see what else McManus has in store!

Review will go live on June 1, 2017.

The blurb for this book nails the summary: One of Us is Lying really is a mashup of The Breakfast Club and Pretty Little Liars.

Thanks to a "technophobe" science teacher, five high school seniors wind up in detention one Monday afternoon. Each student reflects a different stereotype: Bronwyn is the brain, Cooper is the jock, Addy is the princess, Nate is a thug, and Simon is the social misfit. Before their hour is up, however, Simon is dead, and suspicion falls on the four who survive.

Using the mystery as the central focus of this story, Karen M. McManus focuses on the various stresses that befall teenagers. They face pressure from parents to meet certain standards, whether they be academic, athletic, or social. In Nate's case, the lack of those expectations cements him as a bad guy, when in fact what motivates him to commit the crimes he does is the same thing that motivates his peers: fear.

Bronwyn feels she must earn the highest grades, have the fullest résumé, and be so well-rounded that Yale could never reject her. Like Bronwyn, Cooper's parents have determined his fate. His baseball skills will land him at worst a college scholarship, although it would be pretty fabulous if he got drafted into the pros. Cooper and Bronwyn are so terrified of letting down their parents that neither takes the time to consider if these plans are what they want for themselves. Addy, on the other hand, appears to live the high school dream. She's dating Jake, a popular football player, and she's in with the popular crowd. But Addy is scared that she doesn't deserve any of this, and that fear leads to destructive insecurity.

McManus also shows the heartache of kids who have no one supporting them. For all of the pressure that her parents put on her, Bronwyn knows they care about her. She also has her younger sister Maeve on her side. Cooper's support system is found with his grandmother and a couple of friends, and Addy finds herself surprised that her older sister stands by her. Only Nate is left without anyone - at first, anyway. By the time people offer him ballast and aid, he's too leery to accept it. Nate is a guy accustomed to surviving on his own, yet he needs allies just as badly as Bronwyn, Cooper, and Addy.

As well-developed as those four are, Simon is left feeling flat. There were a few times when McManus attempted to fill him out, but they were short-lived. You get the feeling that Simon could be as compelling - if not more - than the four survivors, yet he is undeveloped.

McManus keeps up a steady pace for the most part, although the plot's denouement and resolution feel rushed. The epilogue, however, drags, and you find yourself wondering if it was necessary to include it.

This is a quick read, and it will be difficult for you to put down this book once you start it. You will have to know what happened to Simon. Was his death accidental? Was he murdered? And if that's the case, then who killed him? All along, you will enjoy getting to know Bronwyn, Nate, Cooper, and Addy, and you will dearly hope that none of them is the culprit.

For a more in-depth review watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvYxu...

I received an eARC of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Five students were sent to detention. They had no connections and they weren't friends. By the end of the day one of them is dead and the other four our suspects.

I was slightly disappointed by this book. The story is told through several different points of view but I didn't feel the narrative voice changed. I figured out the killer about a third of the way through but I didn't think that it was believable so I dismissed it. However, I was right. The story, the relationships and the character growth is completely expected. The book is a quick read however I didn't really care about the characters or the murder so it felt like it took a long time.

This story turned out to surprise me as I didn't see the ending coming! I had no idea about any of the revelations until they were revealed and I love that in a mystery! Things that were seemingly not important actually were and I missed the clues but they are there! The book got better as it progressed and as we got to know the 4 teens and who they really were. I could relate to many of the problems they faced, Addy's mainly unfortunately. This book brought up some key issues of today and I loved how everything played out for the good in the end. There was a sweet romance as well.

I find myself reaching first for the mystery/thrillers in my YA queue, and this one's intriguing premise—a dead student, only four other students in the room—moved it to the top of the list. The priority treatment was justified: the four narrative viewpoints are distinctive and gripping. Each character reveals secrets that keep them on the reader's suspect list. Relationships are complicated, convincing, and even moving. A solidly satisfying mystery. Recommended.

If you're someone who is interested in thriller/mystery but is a scaredy cat or squeamish like me, this is the perfect read for you. The mystery was fun and there were some fun creepy moments, but nothing that will keep you up at night. I loved all of the four main characters. They each started out as stereotypes: Nate, the criminal; Cooper, the jock; Addy, the beauty; and Bronwyn, the brain...but they were all explored far beyond those parameters throughout the book. It was also surprising how much the idea of male privilege came into play here, and the narrative (while subtly) definitely spoke to its toxicity and danger, which was a smart move and much appreciated. There was also a nice smattering of romance, which kept things fun when the main mystery threatened to get a little bit repetetive. I will say that the ending erred a bit too much toward the contemporary once the murder had been solved, but because I was trash for that romance sub-plot anyway, it didn't bother me too much. This is the ideal YA summer beach read and I'm really looking forward to seeing what McManus does next.

Every once in a while a book that is a joy to read ends up in your hands. This was one of those books. Initially this book completely escaped my notice but then I started seeing some really great reviews for it from a lot of different people. I saw a bandwagon and decided to jump on. I am so glad that I did. This book was such a surprise for me. I hoped that I would like it but I never expected to love it. Once I got about midway through the book, I didn't put it down until I turned the last page.

The characters in this story are great. I had hoped that I would like the characters when I started reading this book. I never dreamed for a moment that I would love them. The four main characters at the heart of this book are all very different from each other and I really felt like I got to know them over the course of the book. There were times that I felt like the book was really focusing on one character more than the others but then the focus would move on to the next character for a while. I really enjoyed getting to know all four members of the group.

This book starts out in detention. Simon, Bronwyn, Addy, Cooper, and Nate are the only students in detention that day but after a terrifying emergency only four students ever get to leave. Simon is rushed to the hospital where he later dies. The authorities think that one or all of the other students might be responsible for his death since Simon was about to reveal big secrets about each person on his gossip blog.

The mystery in this book was really very well done. I had no idea what happened to Simon. I would come up with a theory only to realize that I had to be wrong soon after. I was literally guessing until the end of the book. I also really felt for each of the characters as their secrets were revealed. All four really go through a major life change during the course of this book.

I would highly recommend this book to others. This was a very smartly written story that was next to impossible to put down. I am very impressed by the fact that this is the first book written by Karen M. McManus. I look forward to reading more of her work in the future.

I received an advance reader edition of this book from Random House Children's - Delacorte Press via NetGalley.

This book is pretty different from the kind of books that I normally read - novel-length mysteries don't usually hold my attention - but it looked so intriguing that I knew I wanted to pick it up!

I think the biggest praise I can give this book is that it kept me so interested that I stayed up late to finish it. Not too late - it was probably only eleven by the time I finished - but I wanted to find out so desperately that I would have stayed up much later. The pieces just weren't fitting together in my head (and there was a spoilery reason for that) and I had to find out why.

Each of the four main characters was interesting for different reasons - not necessarily likable all the time, but definitely interesting. They each got their own bit of pretty independent plot, which was impressive in a relatively short book. I could usually tell when the point of view had switched just from the writing, even when I was reading too quickly to miss the helpful headings that actually told me.

Aside from the mystery, I really liked the relationship between Bronwyn and Nate. I wasn't really expecting much romance in a book like this, and normally finding it would have annoyed me, but I thought it was done so well that I actually found myself wanting to get back to their sections to know how things would work out with them! That was a really nice surprise.

I did have some serious mixed feelings about a certain part of the book. That, plus the lack of anything particularly extraordinary, is what kept the rating at 4 stars instead of 5. The part I'm talking about, however, is a major spoiler, so I won't talk about it here. If anyone's curious, I'm definitely open to discussing it, but I try to keep reviews and comments spoiler-free, so message me on Twitter or Instagram.

Final verdict: a pretty good mystery, any flaws of which didn't interfere with how much I wanted to keep reading.

This book is a symphony of high school cliches, and I'm almost embarrassed at how much I enjoyed it. All the tropes I normally hate are represented: the misunderstood bad boy, the not-so-good good girl, the popular girl ready to break out of her clique, and the jock with secrets. They come together in a murder mystery when Simon, the school gossip who ruins his classmates lives by airing their dirty laundry on his app, is murdered during detention. The four other students in detention with him become suspects in his murder, especially when it comes out that they were all next on Simon's hit list.

There's nothing surprising or inventive about this story, and the twists and turns aren't all that difficult to see coming down the path. I didn't take it seriously at all as a murder mystery, which is one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much. By embracing its tropey-trashy-YAness, the book allowed me to do the same. I devoured it in a matter of hours, and it proved to be a fun distraction.

Five students were sent to detention under mysterious circumstances and one ends up dead. Everyone, even those in detention, want to know what happened and figure out who killed their classmate.

I enjoyed the multiple perspectives. The story didn't focus on the mystery, but the scandalously delicious details of the students in detention. I typically do not like novels like this, but I was compelled by the characters and their misdeeds.

For fans of Paula Stokes, murder mysteries and romance!

This book follows the complicated journey of 4 students who are involved in the murder of a fellow student. 5 enter detention, but only 4 walk out.

What I liked:
I like the story's development. How each of them got equal attention and all of their POV.

I really liked Nate's character and his story. How he sees the good in one person and is drawn to it (not saying who to not spoil it).

It definitely keeps you wondering what happened. It could have used a bit more suspense, but it was still enjoyable.

I would've liked to see more action in the end and the truth revealed more dramatically.

Overall, it was a satisfying read. I will say. With that character's outcome, to give teens (and people) encouraging words. For them to know that they are not alone and that there are peoole who are willing to be there for them.

PS. There are LGBT characters.

Five high schoolers walk into detention. Only four walk out. Cooper the star athlete. Bronwyn the brains. Addy the it girl. Nate the criminal. And Simon the gossip. A crime with countless suspects and no leads. Who did it?

Did this catch your attention? Yes? Good. If you need more convincing on picking up this mystery keep reading.

The book grips you from the very beginning. It is fast-paced and the events happen one after the other and leave you no time to even think of what happened. Each character has a point of view so we get the events from multiple perspectives and we are able to get inside their heads and learn a little bit more about them. But let’s meet them shall we?

Cooper: the golden boy baseball athlete wanted by the best universities. He is popular, he has an amazing and supportive, not to mention totally hot, girlfriend and his career only seems to be following one road and that is upwards. So why does he feel like he’s missing something?

Bronwyn: the smartest of them all ready to be accepted to Yale like the rest of her family. After all it’s a tradition. She can’t afford letting her father down. Not after everything he’s gone through to establish himself in the business field and the difficulties he’s faced as a Latino. She is the perfect example of a star pupil right?

Addy: the girl who always comes second. The one who never speaks up, the one who follows. She has an amazing, supportive boyfriend so what esle should she need?

Nate: the drug dealer. With an alcoholic father and an MIA mother there’s not much he can do to turn his luck-and fate- around. It’s not like he actually needs love right?

Simon: the outcast. He’s always been on the outside but by creating his gossip blog About That people at school seem to be afraid of him. Because he never post lies.

Tell the truth you’re sold right? RIGHT? What no? What if I told you all the main females are strong and independent? What if I told you there is latinx rep and lgbtq rep? Still nothing? Not even if I mentioned the amazing character development every character undergoes? Or the sibling bonding? Or the cutesy romance? Ok last chance. The book has the one and only trope that matters: young, troubled, beaten by fate, handsome boy who seems tough but has a heart of gold. Yeah I knew that would be the dealmaker.

It wasn't his allergy to peanuts that allegedly killed Simon it was his thirst for gossip and his longing for popularity.

If you think high school is bad , imagine what it would be like with an app that lets everybody know what everybody else is trying to hide. Wouldn't you want to make it disappear? or make the boy who created it go away....forever.

Unfortunately we have all heard of similar gossip apps which encourage anonymous rumour spreading both at school and university, making the lives of students even harder. In her book Karen M. McManus gives the readers food for thought.

This novel is undoubtedly one of the best whodunit YA books of the year. It has everything: likeable suspects, a gripping plot, romance, betrayal and revenge. You just won't be able to put it down .

The story is narrated from four different perspectives and all the chapters are equally appealing, which is not usually the case in novels with so many narrators.
The author created and developed the characters skilfully and it's hard not to feel you have something in common with all of them despite their flaws, which are by the way, what make them regular high school students.

The ending will satisfy most readers. I somehow saw it coming because it made sense in a way. What I really loved though, was that after the truth was revealed, the story kept going a little bit more so that we knew how life had changed for the main characters.

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.