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ONE OF US IS LYING

From the one of us is lying series , vol. 1.

by Karen M. McManus ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 30, 2017

Although the language and plot sometimes border on cliché, this fast-paced blend of Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars, and...

Detention takes a dark turn when the student behind Bayview High’s infamous app About That dies from a peanut allergy—and every witness has a different reason for wanting him gone.

Although McManus’ debut initially feels like a rehashing of The Breakfast Club , with five teens from disparate social circles brought together through detention, there is no bonding through library dance parties or atypical lipstick application. Instead, Bronwyn, Nate, Cooper, and Addy witness Simon collapse and ultimately die after taking a sip of water. When police discover the drink was laced with peanut oil—and that Simon was going to reveal life-ruining secrets about all four students on his gossip app the next day—they go from unfortunate witnesses to top murder suspects. With each teen (“brain,” “criminal,” “jock,” and “princess,” respectively; “walking teen-movie stereotypes,” as Simon says) narrating alternating chapters, the novel offers insights into common adolescent struggles—from the pressure to succeed to an alcoholic, out-of-work father—as well as an unlikely romance and opportunities for self-reflection as the investigation escalates. Although their suburban San Diego high school is a multicultural place, with the exception of Latina Bronwyn, the principal cast is white.

Pub Date: May 30, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-5247-1468-0

Page Count: 368

Publisher: Delacorte

Review Posted Online: Feb. 13, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2017

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT MYSTERY & THRILLER | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SOCIAL THEMES

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by Karen M. McManus

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BOOK TO SCREEN

IF HE HAD BEEN WITH ME

by Laura Nowlin ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2013

There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.

The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.

Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.

Pub Date: April 1, 2013

ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5

Page Count: 336

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT ROMANCE | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SOCIAL THEMES

More by Laura Nowlin

by Laura Nowlin

SEEN & HEARD

IF ONLY I HAD TOLD HER

by Laura Nowlin ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 6, 2024

A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind.

In this companion novel to 2013’s If He Had Been With Me , three characters tell their sides of the story.

Finn’s narrative starts three days before his death. He explores the progress of his unrequited love for best friend Autumn up until the day he finally expresses his feelings. Finn’s story ends with his tragic death, which leaves his close friends devastated, unmoored, and uncertain how to go on. Jack’s section follows, offering a heartbreaking look at what it’s like to live with grief. Jack works to overcome the anger he feels toward Sylvie, the girlfriend Finn was breaking up with when he died, and Autumn, the girl he was preparing to build his life around (but whom Jack believed wasn’t good enough for Finn). But when Jack sees how Autumn’s grief matches his own, it changes their understanding of one another. Autumn’s chapters trace her life without Finn as readers follow her struggles with mental health and balancing love and loss. Those who have read the earlier book will better connect with and feel for these characters, particularly since they’ll have a more well-rounded impression of Finn. The pain and anger is well written, and the novel highlights the most troublesome aspects of young adulthood: overconfidence sprinkled with heavy insecurities, fear-fueled decisions, bad communication, and brash judgments. Characters are cued white.

Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024

ISBN: 9781728276229

Page Count: 416

Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SOCIAL THEMES | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FICTION | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT ROMANCE

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Book Review: “One of Us is Lying” by Karen McManus

When you think of a murder mystery novel, what's the first thing that comes to mind? For some, it might be an old Agatha Christie volume -- the kind of paperback you see on your grandmother's bookshelf that's dusty and looks like it hasn't been read for years. Others might recall memories of reading classic Sherlock Holmes tales in high school (and writing the three-page essay that likely followed). Thankfully, Karen McManus has written a story both for people who love a good whodunnit and for those who might not be as familiar with the genre; this story is her debut novel, “One of Us is Lying,” and it is all at once enthralling, exciting and enticing. 

The intrigue begins with a gossip app created by Simon, one of the students at the local high school. Everyone reads it, but nobody particularly likes it -- especially when they are the ones who end up in that week's feature story. When Simon dies suddenly in the middle of detention surrounded by four of the most well-known kids in school, suspicions begin to arise; those four students were the only ones surrounding Simon in his final moments, but none of them will admit to the killing, and each one suspects the other. 

“One of Us is Lying” never has a moment of downtime. Karen McManus leads her readers to suspect first one person and then the next, and the investigation becomes more complex and intriguing as different chapters of the book are narrated by each of the four main characters. She tops off this perfect mix with a romance side-plot that combines readers' intellectual involvement with their emotional involvement. 

Ultimately, McManus’s debut novel is a stunningly intricate story. Readers who love “One of Us is Lying” may also be interested in its sequel, “One of Us is Next,” which was released on Jan. 7. 

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One of Us Is Lying

By karen mcmanus.

Book review, full book summary and synopsis for One of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus, a murder mystery with a breakfast club twist.

In One of Us Is Lying , five high school students got sent into detention, and four of them come out alive.

Simon is the creator of the school's gossip app, which he populates with everyone's secrets as well. When he dies, there's no shortage of people who could have held a grudge against him, but only four of them were in the room with him when it happened.

The remaining four students -- Bronwyn the "Brain", Cooper the "Jock, Abby the "Princess", and Nate the "Rebel" -- will have to piece together what happened and, of course, which one of them is lying.

(The Full Plot Summary is also available, below)

Full Plot Summary

In Part One , Simon Kelleher, a high school student and loner at Bayview High, dies under suspicious circumstances from allergic reaction in detention. Simon writes a gossip blog, and it's discovered that he was about to post incriminating information about four students in the room (Bronwyn Rojas, Nate Macauley, Cooper Clay and Addy Prentiss). They're also the four other students who were in detention, and they quickly become the prime suspects in Simon's death (known as the Bayview Four).

In Part Two , Simon's unpublished post goes up on an anonymous Tumblr account, revealing its trove of secrets. (Addy cheated on her boyfriend Jake with his best friend, TJ Forester. Cooper, a baseball player, used drugs to improve his fastball. Nate is dealing drugs/painkillers. Bronwyn cheated by stealing tests to get an A in chemistry.) Bronwyn's sister Maeve hacks Simon's blog and starts to research him to get clues.

In Part Three , the four team up to compare notes and sense something is off with a student named Janae, who had been Simon's only friend. They also note that Simon resented them all for various reasons. Soon, however, Nate (the school bad boy) gets arrested for Simon's death since there's indications he runs the anonymous Tumblr account. Finally, Addy confronts Janae, who breaks down and admits the truth that Simon killed himself. He convinced Janae and another guy, Jake (who had once been Simon's childhood friend and Addy's boyfriend who she had cheated on), to help him frame the other four students. Simon was planning on having Janae release a manifesto about it in a year. After a scuffle, Jake and Janae are arrested, though Janae gets a plea bargain.

In the Epilogue (three months later) , the four have become good friends despite all being very different types of people. Bronwyn (good girl) and Nate (bad boy) begin dating.

For more detail, see the full Section-by-Section Summary .

If this summary was useful to you, please consider supporting this site by leaving a tip ( $2 , $3 , or $5 ) or joining the Patreon !

Book Review

One of Us Is Lying is basically The Breakfast Club, if during that detention, someone got murdered and everyone became a suspect. It’s a YA mystery-thriller, and while I’m not typically a YA reader, I really like mystery and crime novels. Plus, the concept of Breakfast Club + Murder was just too catchy to pass up.

In case you’re not familiar with The Breakfast Club , it’s a John Hughes movie about five high school students who get sent to detention. They each come from a different clique at school — there’s the rebel, the princess, the outcast, the brain, and the jock — but they all manage to see through their differences during their time together.

The resemblance of the premise to this popular 80’s flick is not a coincidence. McManus states that when she got the idea for the book, she “started thinking it would be fun to write an update of that movie, which I loved, but with some sort of a twist. And the phrase ‘The Breakfast Club with murder’ popped into my head, and it just stuck there.”

From The Breakfast Club (1985)

I really enjoyed One of Us Is Lying . The mystery aspect of it was probably the most important for me, and I was pleasantly surprised by it. It comes together nicely and makes sense. You might be able to guess it before the reveal, but it’s still fun when the novel explains how all the other little details come together as well.

As dictated by the premise, the characters, of course, have a somewhat stereotypical aspect to their personalities. However, McManus does a good job of poking and prodding their stereotypical molds into fuller characters than that. They’ve each got their own set of concerns and have discrete character arcs as the story progresses.

The book moves pretty quickly and is a easy read overall. The Breakfast Club-esque aspect of it gives the book a lot of levity and a more positive and hopeful tone than your average mystery-thriller, which I thought was a nice change of pace. I also think the book does a really good job of blending the character arcs with the mystery itself. I was worried that it would fit unnaturally, like two books in one, but instead it comes together and feels like a complete story.

I don’t think this book will blow anyone away. The mystery is solid, but not, like, earth-shattering. The message from the rest of the book is fairly predictable, reminding us to be kind to others, to be empathetic and tolerant, etc. But I liked it enough that I’ll most likely read the sequel, One of Us Is Next , when it comes out in January 2020.

One of Us is Lying Movie / TV Series

There’s an film adaptation of One of Us is Lying in the works! It’s planned as a TV series to be aired on Peacock, NBC’s upcoming streaming service (to be a competitor to Hulu, Netflix, etc.).

For all the details, see Everything We Know About the One of Us Is Lying NBC Series .

I think this has the potential to be pretty good. There’s a mystery underpinning it, but lots of character arcs to explore as well, so I could see this being something like a teen version of Big Little Lies.

Read it or Skip it?

I would recommend this book to people who enjoy mysteries novels, even if you don’t typically read YA. The mystery in this book is not scary nor full of dramatic twists and turns, but it’s a puzzle that comes together piece by piece in a way that’s coherent and satisfying. There’s largely no major lose threads, and everything fits nicely.

The topics that the book explores definitely have a YA slant, but since this book is marketed as YA, that’s to be expected. It’s things like worrying about where you’ll end up at college, fitting in, coming out, etc. It’s not stuff I’m particularly interested in, but I didn’t mind it either. The Breakfast Club-esque aspects of it were sort of charming and endearing for me.

Overall, I got a kick out of reading this book, and thought the mystery wrapped up nicely.

What do you think? Is this something you’d consider reading? See it on Amazon .

P.S. See the summary and review for the sequel, One of Us Is Next (Book #2) !

One of Us Is Lying, Explained!

Spoilers start here, plus I’ll answer a few commonly asked questions! Don’t keep reading unless you’ve read the book!

I don’t have a ton of spoiler-ish thoughts. The only thing that I wish the book had addressed was how exactly Simon got all that information, especially if he’s such an outcast. I can’t imagine if everyone dislikes him that people would keep feeding him information for no reason. I would say that’s the one big thread that didn’t get wrapped up neatly.

Who killed Simon? Who’s the killer in One of Us Is Lying?

Simon is the one who killed Simon. He was depressed and resentful for wanting to be accepted, but was unable to do so. Plus, he’d been sucked into the toxic world of 4chan and sad guys cheering on school shootings, but he wanted to do something more “creative”. As a result, he planned his own suicide around taking out (e.g. framing) people who he had a grudge against.

Scroll down for a full summary of the plot (click “Show/Hide Detailed Summary”)

Where can I find a summary of the full plot of One of Us Is Lying?

Right here! See the full section-by-section summary and synopsis for One of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus.

Book Excerpt

Read the first pages of One of Us Is Lying

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Whew. Sounds more like The Breakfast Club meets 13 Reasons Why meets The Joker meets Gossip Girl. Can’t wait to read this.

One of Us Is Lying is a fantastic book and certainly one I would recommend for anyone interesting in the mystery genre. I’m 12, and I found the book incredibly fascinating and I loved the classic ‘who done it?’ situation revolving around Simon’s death.

However, the book had you leading up to finding out who the killer was for long, that finding out that it was a suicide took away a bit of the eerie factor. This is not to say that I don’t take suicide and depression seriously and I understand those are very, very serious things. I was just expecting to find out that, say, Browyn had killed Simon because she was tired of him writing gossip about her peers, and, possibly her.

Overall this was a great read and I’m excited to buy the sequel for myself.

Some other awesome books I’d recommend are: Made You Up by Francesca Zappia Eliza and her Monsters by Francesca Zappia The Divergent Series by Veronica Roth The Percy Jackson & Heroes of Olympus Series by Rick Riordan

One of Us is Lying

Karen mcmanus, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Karen McManus's One of Us is Lying . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

One of Us is Lying: Introduction

One of us is lying: plot summary, one of us is lying: detailed summary & analysis, one of us is lying: themes, one of us is lying: quotes, one of us is lying: characters, one of us is lying: symbols, one of us is lying: theme wheel, brief biography of karen mcmanus.

Historical Context of One of Us is Lying

Other books related to one of us is lying.

• Full Title: One of Us Is Lying
• When Written: 2010s
• Where Written: Cambridge, Massachusetts
• When Published: 2017
• Literary Period: Contemporary
• Genre: Young adult fiction, mystery
• Setting: Bayview, California
• Climax: Addy, with the help of her classmates Bronwyn, Cooper, and Nate, discovers that their classmate Simon Kelleher orchestrated his own death in order to frame the four of them for his murder and get back at them for possessing the social and intellectual gifts he lacked.
• Antagonist: Simon Kelleher
• Point of View: Alternating first-person

Extra Credit for One of Us is Lying

Nevertheless, She Persisted. Karen M. McManus maintains an active Twitter account from which she shares writing advice and insider info about the often-cutthroat world of Young Adult publishing; during a #ShareYourRejections campaign, she tweeted that her first (unpublished) novel was rejected by over 120 agents.

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One of us is lying: one of us is lying, book 1, common sense media reviewers.

Dirty secrets abound in fun but intense high school mystery.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

Information on how police investigations work and

Trust your gut instincts. Don't lie. Treat people

All the teen characters have lied and cheated, but

Graphic description of boy dying of allergic react

Lots of flirting and descriptions of attractivenes

Most of the characters swear, but infrequently, in

Most brands mentioned used for scene or character

Kid has a past as a drug dealer. Teens drink in pa

Parents need to know that Karen M. McManus' One of Us Is Lying is a murder mystery set in a high school. Four teens are suspects in the death of a classmate. They were in detention with the boy when he died, but no one saw anyone do anything to him. The mystery has many twists and turns, plus romance, social…

Educational Value

Information on how police investigations work and suspects' rights. Story shows the media's influence on public opinion in high-profile crime cases. Some classical piano pieces and Walt Whitman's poem "Song of Myself" are mentioned.

Positive Messages

Trust your gut instincts. Don't lie. Treat people how you want to be treated. Don't listen to gossip. Get to know people firsthand before assuming you know everything about them. Own up to your mistakes. Reach out to people in need.

Positive Role Models

All the teen characters have lied and cheated, but most learn from their mistakes and are basically good people. All four main characters have people in their lives who step up and help them when they most need it.

Violence & Scariness

Graphic description of boy dying of allergic reaction. Teen boy punches a wall when arguing with his girlfriend. One girl intentionally trips another and injures her. A girl is knocked down and choked. A lot of social and online bullying, including publishing secrets, name calling, and harassing.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Lots of flirting and descriptions of attractiveness or hotness of characters. Much of the story revolves around romantic relationships. Make-out sessions described in detail. Kids hit on each other at parties. Kissing, groping, and references to having sex.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Most of the characters swear, but infrequently, including "s--t," "a--hole," "f--k" and variations, "God," "hell," "Jesus Christ," "whore," "slut," "ass," "goddamn," "bulls--t," "bitch," "pissed," and "f-g."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Most brands mentioned used for scene or character setting, including iPhone, iPod, Starbucks, Lysol, Red Vines, Victoria's Secret, Seagram's, Jim Beam, Tumblr, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Netflix, Kindle, US Weekly, People Magazine, Diet Coke, Xbox, Cartoon Network, TMZ, Abercrombie & Fitch.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Kid has a past as a drug dealer. Teens drink in parking lot after school. A few parties with teens drinking, many getting drunk. Drunk girls hit on boys at parties. One kid has parents who abuse drugs and alcohol. One mom shown drinking wine frequently. Kids in background at a party smoking pot. A girl offers a boy what appears to be acid.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Karen M. McManus' One of Us Is Lying is a murder mystery set in a high school. Four teens are suspects in the death of a classmate. They were in detention with the boy when he died, but no one saw anyone do anything to him. The mystery has many twists and turns, plus romance, social drama, and bullying of all types (verbal, physical, and online). Teen make-out sessions are described in detail. Kids drink and get offered drugs at parties, spread rumors, and gossip about one another, and occasionally swear, including "s--t," f--k," and "a--hole." Much of the plot involves kids keeping big secrets from friends and family, which provides good discussion topics. The online bullying in the book raises lots of ethical questions and will give readers much to discuss.

Where to Read

Community reviews.

• Parents say (21)
• Kids say (178)

Based on 21 parent reviews

PERFECT FOR YA READERS

Dysfunctional and inappropriate content, what's the story.

ONE OF US IS LYING opens with four students heading into detention, all thinking they don't deserve to be there. Before long, a fifth student -- Simon, who runs a popular gossip app called About That -- is dead in the classroom, and the four students are murder suspects. Not only were Bronwyn, Nate, Addy, and Cooper the only people in the room with Simon when he died, but they also all have devastating secrets Simon was close to publishing. As the story unfolds, it's possible the students have been framed, but they keep unraveling more of one another's secrets, leaving them all confused as to whom they can trust. They also learn Simon had plenty of enemies on campus, as he had wrecked many lives by posting students' darkest secrets and misdeeds. Romance, bullying, cliques, secret lives, cheating, and family issues entangle the four main characters as they try to figure out which of them did it or who would want to set them up for a murder conviction.

Is It Any Good?

This fun, engrossing murder mystery will keep readers guessing until the end. If The Breakfast Club and Gossip Girl had a baby who was raised by Agatha Christie , the result would be One of Us Is Lying . Author Karen M. McManus starts with character clichés -- the smart overachiever, the pretty and popular airhead, the good ol' boy jock, and the handsome but possibly dangerous drug dealer -- but moves past that to show most people are more than what they seem, for good and for bad. Overall, the book is a page-turner of a whodunnit.

The story is told in alternating first person by the four main characters. This approach allows the reader to see how each character views the others and gives insight into what the character is hiding. The downside is that the character voices are too similar early on in the book, making switching between them confusing at times. Even though most of the book is fun, fast reading, the action bogs down in the middle and the romance storylines get tedious. The character arcs are very good, and the story picks up after the halfway point, with lots of great twists and turns.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the portrayal of high school in One of Us Is Lying. Do you think the social scheming, cliques, and gossip in real high schools are as bad as what's shown in the book? Why do you think books, movies, and TV shows play up this part of high school?

Would you read a blog or use an app that exposed people's deepest secrets? Do you feel talking about a person's private life in an online forum is OK?

Do you ever judge people based on appearances or gossip you've heard about them? Has there been a time when you got to know someone and found out he or she was different from what you first thought?

How honest are you with your family about important things going on in your life? Where do you think the line is between regular privacy and keeping secrets?

Book Details

• Author : Karen M. McManus
• Genre : Mystery
• Topics : Brothers and Sisters , Friendship , High School
• Book type : Fiction
• Publisher : Delacorte Press
• Publication date : May 30, 2017
• Publisher's recommended age(s) : 14 - 18
• Number of pages : 368
• Available on : Paperback, Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
• Last updated : December 7, 2023

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Review: One of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus

One of Us Is Lying Karen McManus Delacorte Press Published May 30, 2017

Amazon | bookshop | goodreads, about one of us is lying.

On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention.

Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule.

Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess.

Nate, the criminal , is already on probation for dealing.

Cooper, the athlete , is the all-star baseball pitcher.

And Simon, the outcast , is the creator of Bayview High’s notorious gossip app.

Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention Simon’s dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn’t an accident. On Monday, he died. But on Tuesday, he’d planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder. Or are they the perfect patsies for a killer who’s still on the loose?

Everyone has secrets, right? What really matters is how far you would go to protect them.

My Review for One of Us is Lying

This is definitely the kind of story that keeps you turning pages late into the night. Every chapter hints at and slowly reveals new secrets that change what you know about each character in the room with Simon when he dies.

I liked that each character had a lot more going on than it originally appeared, and each is a lot deeper than her classmates initially perceive her to be. I liked each of the characters a lot, especially as I got to know them.

Throughout the story, important clues come from surprising places, which again kept me guessing. There was a point at which I thought I had the plot figured out and was pretty close. Honestly, by then, I was so invested in the story and so curious as to what would happen to the truly innocent parties, that I didn’t care if I turned out to be right.

If you’re a fan of the cult classic The Breakfast Club or murder mysteries in general, you need to add this one to your summer reading list. If you’re like me, once you read the first chapter, you won’t be able to put it down.

The series continues with One of Us Is Next , out in early 2022.

Content Notes for One of Us is Lying

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation Bronwyn and her sister are half-Latino. One character comes out as gay midway through the story.

Profanity/Crude Language Content Extreme profanity used with moderate frequency.

Romance/Sexual Content Addy’s mother teaches her that the only way to keep a man is to keep him sexually satisfied. She and her boyfriend make out on her bed, and it’s clear she means to have sex with him. Through the course of the story, she begins to question her mom’s advice and eventually decides to take a break from dating and be herself.

Some kisses are exchanged between boy and girl or between two boys.

Spiritual Content None.

Violent Content A boy goes into anaphylactic shock and dies.

Drug Content Nate sells drugs to pay the bills his father ignores. After Simon’s death, he stops, knowing the police investigation puts him at too great a risk of getting caught. Eventually he finds other reasons not to pick the habit up again.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of ONE OF US IS LYING in exchange for my honest review.

Read the Next Book in the Series

One of Us Is Next by Karen McManus

Amazon  |  Bookshop  |  Goodreads | My Review

The highly anticipated sequel to the New York Times bestselling thriller everyone is talking about, One of Us Is Lying! There’s a new mystery to solve at Bayview High, and there’s a whole new set of rules.

Bronwyn’s younger sister, Maeve, and her best friend/ex-boyfriend, Knox, and their friend Phoebe become targets of the next gossip attack. Appearances from the original Bayview Four.

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About Kasey

3 responses to review: one of us is lying by karen mcmanus.

Thank you for this great review. I have read a lot of YA and have been able to recommend appropriate books (no sex and low romance) to my bookworm 12-year old. But she has outpaced me and I have run out of books to recommend. Thank you for your thorough review and including Romance/sexual content in your assessment. I think I may hold off for a year for her. But sounds like a great read for me. It will certainly help me prepare to have conversations with her regarding the topics in this book. Thank you agsin.

Thanks, Linda! My daughter is twelve also, so I know what you mean. It’s tough to find things with the right balance! You might try THE WONDER OF US by Kim Colbertson or THE DISAPPEARANCES by Emily Bain Murphy. You can find both reviews on the blog. They have some romance (no sex) but it’s not the focus of either story. 🙂

Oh man, how you piqued my interest!!!

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Written Horizons

One of Us is Lying: A Review

This is a spoiler-free review. For a more detailed look at One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus, see One of Us is Lying: The Omniscient Narrator which will be posted as soon as possible(likely within this week). For those who follow me for regular updates, I wanted to make sure at least one of the monthly updates was on time. Once The Omniscient Narrator is posted, I’ll edit this note and link the post.

“One: I like all of them more than I thought I would. Bronwyn’s obviously been the biggest surprise…But Addy’s turned into kind of a badass and Cooper’s not as one-dimensional as I thought. And two: I don’t think any of them did it.”

Nate said it, I felt it. I was not ready to like the characters in One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus. In the first few chapters, I didn’t like any of the characters. They all seemed like bad teen movie stereotypes. McManus’s teen murder mystery had every potential to be generally awful. I was reading and mentally preparing to write a bad review. I’m pleased to report that I don’t have to.

I was sucked in. I read the whole book in the span of a day because I just couldn’t stop. Every time I had a spare moment I was reading as much as I could. Waiting for two minutes because I finished my work early? Yes. While I was eating lunch even though it was really inconvenient to eat without one hand? You bet. Walking down the hall and almost running into people? Have you met me? Absolutely. 

One of Us is Lying follows four teenage murder suspects after a classmate dies under suspicious circumstances when they are the only ones in the room. 

“She’s a princess and you’re a jock… And you’re a brain. And you’re a criminal. You’re all walking teen-movie stereotypes.

What about you?

…I’m the omniscient narrator.”

Bronwyn is the brain. She’s the studious good girl on track for Yale. Addy is the princess. The perfect pretty girl with the perfect boyfriend. Cooper is the jock. The star baseball player with a wicked pitch. Nate is the criminal. The drug dealer on probation is the ideal suspect and the perfect scapegoat. Simon is the omniscient narrator. He runs a gossip blog that deals only in the truth. A rumor on About That is as good as proof. Simon doesn’t live through detention in the first chapter and every one of the four have reason to want to keep him quiet. 

While I was reading, I was really hoping Bronwyn wouldn’t be the murderer. Not because I liked her, but because I didn’t. If she was the murderer then I would have to go through the rest of the book putting an undue amount of focus on her. I didn’t care about Addy and her perfect problems with her perfect boyfriend that were mostly her fault anyway. Nate was a boring combination of bad boy stereotypes and Cooper was pretentious and annoying. Then they weren’t. So many books have unnecessary and awkward exposition, where characters tell themselves things that every one of them already knows. One of Us is Lying had none of that. It played into stereotypes and assumptions to the point where the characters seemed almost one-dimensional and then it turned the audience expectations on their head.

I didn’t try to figure out who did it while I was reading for a few reasons. Partly because I’m really bad at noticing things and partly because I was too wrapped up in the story to think about it. I marked pages and underlined quotes. I love books that are quotable which is why most of my blog posts are based around character quotes and descriptions. One of Us is Lying ends a good amount of character point of view changes with a dramatic and quotable line that really emphasizes their character. The book shifts between the main suspects points of view, making it so the reader knows what each one of them is thinking and how they are dealing with the investigation, but also making it difficult to know which one of them to suspect. At the same time that the reader knows all the available information, characters still manage to keep their secrets until it is time for them to be revealed. 

“If he knows I’m lying, he doesn’t show it.”

One of Us is Lying is a great teen mystery and suspense novel that appeals to a variety of readers. It has romance, teen drama, and murder. It was a book that I couldn’t put down until I was finished. 

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Book review: ‘One of Us is Lying’ by Karen M. McManus

Student dies in detention from anaphylactic shock; investigation begins to see who killed Simon

COURTESY OF ONE OF US IS LYING

“One of Us is Lying” offers readers a thrilling mystery with a twist at the end.

CALLIE GERBER , Evergreen reporter December 1, 2021

Warning! This review contains spoilers about “One of Us is Lying.”

I often struggle to find books I truly enjoy. They either have too much action and not enough character development, making it so that I don’t care about the characters, or the other way around. “One of Us is Lying” kept me engaged from the first chapter to the very end and I cared about the characters.

The book started with five students in detention at Bayview High School. One of the students, Simon, got a cup of water from the back of the room. As he drank it, Simon went into anaphylactic shock from a peanut allergy. His epi pen wasn’t in his backpack and there weren’t any at the nurse’s office. The paramedics took him to the hospital, but he didn’t survive. 

There were four other students in the room at the time of the incident making them the main suspects of Simon’s death. The rest of the book was from the perspective of the four students as the homicide investigation happened.

One aspect I didn’t like about this book is how some parts were unrealistic. Simon created the “About That” app, which had information about who cheated with who, when someone was in the closet and other secrets people didn’t want their peers to know.

Although the book did mention Bayview’s principal is a big advocate for free speech, most schools would try to get an app like that shut down because it’s a severe distraction to the learning environment. The school administration wasn’t doing anything about the app though, and that just isn’t realistic in the real world.

One of my favorite parts about this book is how deep the character development is. Two of the characters who were in detention, Bronwyn and Nate, are the complete opposite of each other.

Bronwyn has amazing grades, is involved in many extraccuriculars and applied to Ivy League schools. Nate comes from a family where his dad struggles with substance abuse. His mom left and he makes money by selling drugs.

Nate offers Bronwyn a ride home on his motorcycle, which she reluctantly accepts, after detention on the day Simon died. As time went on, she began to enjoy Nate and their characters began to get closer.

With their lawyer’s guidance, the four students weren’t supposed to interact, text or hang out with each other. Nate gave Bronwyn a burner phone so they could talk and plan times to secretly meet up. When Nate got arrested for probable cause, Bronwyn found a pro bono lawyer to fight for Nate to get him out of custody. Toward the end of the book, they become a couple.

The book discussed important everyday topics most teenagers can relate to. One of the four students in detention, Cooper, was in the closet. He started dating a man named Kris when the investigators found a draft post on “About That” regarding Cooper’s sexuality that was supposed to be published, but never was.

The investigators had a conversation with Cooper about it and then he was outed to the whole school. During this time, he also told his family. Cooper’s father is homophobic and was very awkward toward Cooper for a while. Readers were able to see how Cooper navigated his father’s disapproval. This was a real-world topic many can sympathize with.

I believe a good book should evoke emotion from you in the end. “One of Us is Lying” did just that. The character development, action, important and relevant themes and the ending make this one of my favorite books.

Rating: 9/10 

• book review
• one of us is lying

Callie Gerber is a freshman neuroscience major from Renton, Washington. She started at The Daily Evergreen as a news reporter in fall 2021.

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• Apr 14, 2022

One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus | Book Review + Questions

Updated: Oct 25, 2023

Hey, you! 🔖

One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus was on my TBR shelf for some time, but when I saw that the series was coming out on Netflix, I just knew it was time to get down and dirty. 😜

Five high school students walk into detention, but only 4 make it out alive.

Soooo, what happened? Who killed Simon and why? The possibilities are endless!

One of Us is Lying is a mix of The Breakfast Club x Elite and oddly enough, there was something very addictive about this book. Each main character was distinctly different and I quite enjoyed the character development. It's not the most complex murder mystery, but I still found it thrilling and .... fun!

Book Club Questions:

Would you have given the book a different title? If yes, what would your title be?

What did you think of the writing style and content structure of the book?

Would you recommend the book to a friend?

Which character did you most relate to and why?

Were there times you disagreed with a character’s actions? What would you have done differently?

What is the importance of social media in One of Us is Lying?

What surprised you most about the book? Why? Were there significant plot twists and turns?

Of the secrets the main characters were keeping, whose surprised you most? Whose surprised you least? Why?

What did you think of Bronwyn and Nate's romance in the novel?

What did you think of Addy’s transformation over the course of the novel?

At what point in the book did you have an idea what was going on? What was the key clue that gave it away?

What (if any) questions do you still have about the plot?

How have the characters changed by the end of the book?

What do you think will happen next to the main characters?

What did you think of the book? And ... Have you already watched the series? 😊😊

xoxo Elodie

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Book Summary: One Of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus

(High School Level)

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Introduction

‘One of Us is Lying’ is a young adult novel written by Karen M. McManus and published in 2017. The book became a New York Times bestseller and was adapted into a television series in 2021. The story follows four high school students who are suspected of murdering their classmate, Simon, during detention. The novel explores themes of trust, betrayal, and the consequences of actions. This review argues that ‘One of Us is Lying’ is a well-written and engaging novel that uses compelling characters and plot twists to keep readers invested until the very end.

The novel centers on five high school students who are in detention: Bronwyn, the brainiac; Nate, the criminal; Cooper, the athlete; Addy, the popular girl; and Simon, the outcast who runs a gossip app that exposes the secrets of his classmates. During detention, Simon collapses and dies from an allergic reaction to peanuts. It is later revealed that his water bottle was laced with peanut oil. The four remaining students become the prime suspects in his murder investigation. As the story unfolds, each character’s secrets and motives are exposed, and the truth about Simon’s death is revealed.

Important themes in the book include the danger of secrets, the power of social media, and the importance of trust and communication in relationships.

One of the strengths of ‘One of Us is Lying’ is the way that McManus creates complex and compelling characters. Each of the four suspects has a unique backstory and motivation for wanting Simon dead. The story is told from the perspective of all four characters, giving readers a deep understanding of their thoughts and emotions. The use of multiple perspectives also adds to the tension of the story, as readers are left wondering who is telling the truth and who is lying.

Another strength of the book is the use of plot twists and turns to keep readers engaged. Just when readers think they have the mystery solved, a new piece of evidence or revelation is introduced that changes everything. The pacing of the story is well-done, with just the right amount of tension and suspense to keep readers hooked.

The book also uses literary devices such as foreshadowing and symbolism to add depth to the story. The use of Simon’s gossip app as a metaphor for the power of social media is particularly effective, highlighting the way that information can be used to manipulate and control others.

In terms of weaknesses, some readers may find the story predictable or formulaic. The use of multiple perspectives and plot twists is a common device in young adult literature, and some readers may feel that ‘One of Us is Lying’ follows this formula too closely. Additionally, some of the characters’ motivations may feel forced or contrived.

However, overall, ‘One of Us is Lying’ is a well-written and engaging novel that explores important themes and uses literary techniques to add depth to the story.

Readers who enjoy young adult mystery novels with compelling characters and plot twists will likely enjoy ‘One of Us is Lying’. The book is a great choice for high school students, particularly those interested in exploring themes of trust, betrayal, and the power of social media.

In terms of comparison to other works in the genre, ‘One of Us is Lying’ is similar to other young adult mystery novels such as ‘Gone Girl’ by Gillian Flynn and ‘Pretty Little Liars’ by Sara Shepard. However, the use of multiple perspectives and the exploration of social media as a tool for manipulation sets ‘One of Us is Lying’ apart from these other works.

Overall, ‘One of Us is Lying’ is a well-crafted and engaging novel that is worth reading.

Possible questions for a high school test:

• Who are the four suspects in Simon’s murder investigation?
• What is the metaphor used in the book for the power of social media?
• What are some important themes explored in the book?
• The four suspects are Bronwyn, Nate, Cooper, and Addy.
• Simon’s gossip app is used as a metaphor for the power of social media.
• Some important themes explored in the book include the danger of secrets, the power of social media, and the importance of trust and communication in relationships.
• Kirkus Reviews. (2017, May 1). One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus. Kirkus Reviews . https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/karen-m-mcmanus/one-of-us-is-lying/
• McManus, K. M. (2017). One of Us Is Lying . Delacorte Press.

Awards and Accolades

‘One of Us is Lying’ has received numerous awards and accolades, including:

• New York Times bestseller
• Goodreads Choice Award for Young Adult Fiction (2017)
• ALA-YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults (2018)
• Edgar Award Nominee for Best Young Adult (2018)
• Bram Stoker Award Nominee for Young Adult Novel (2017)

Book Details

• ISBN: 9781524714680
• Number of pages: 368
• Publisher name: Delacorte Press
• First publish date: May 30, 2017
• Has it been made into a movie, TV, or other streaming format? Yes, the book was adapted into a television series.

Other Reviews

Here are some other reviews of ‘One of Us is Lying’:

• Publishers Weekly: https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-5247-1468-0
• School Library Journal: https://www.slj.com/?reviewDetail=one-of-us-is-lying

Where to Buy the Book

To purchase ‘One of Us is Lying’, visit: https://bookshop.org/a/1289/9781524714680

Is this Book Part of a Series?  ‘One of Us is Lying’ is the first book in a duology. The second book, ‘One of Us is Next’, was published in 2020. To purchase the series, visit: https://bookshop.org/a/1289/9780593178751 

About the Author

Karen M. McManus is a young adult author known for her mystery novels. She was born in Massachusetts and studied English at College of the Holy Cross and later earned a Master’s degree in Journalism from Northeastern University. In addition to ‘One of Us is Lying’, McManus is also the author of ‘Two Can Keep a Secret’ and ‘The Cousins’. She has been nominated for several awards for her writing, including the Edgar Award and the Goodreads Choice Award.

Snazzy Books

Reviews, new releases and more, one of us is lying [review].

Title:  One of Us Is Lying Author: Karen M. McManus Publisher: Penguin Random House UK Children’s

One of Us Is Lying is the story of what happens when five strangers walk into detention and only four walk out alive. Everyone is a suspect, and everyone has something to hide. Pay close attention and you might solve this. On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention. Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule. Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess. Nate, the criminal , is already on probation for dealing. Cooper, the athlete , is the all-star baseball pitcher. And Simon, the outcast , is the creator of Bayview High’s notorious gossip app. Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention Simon’s dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn’t an accident. On Monday, he died. But on Tuesday, he’d planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder. Or are they the perfect patsies for a killer who’s still on the loose? Everyone has secrets, right? What really matters is how far you would go to protect them.

[My Review]

I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed this novel – as someone who doesn’t usually read YA novels I wasn’t sure what to expect but this one really sucked me in! Now don’t get me wrong – I didn’t really identify with the main characters much because sometimes they were such ‘teenagers trying desperately to act like grown ups’ – like a lot of teenagers are I suppose! But they did irritate me at times. This didn’t spoil my enjoyment, though – it only added to the feeling that being at high school must be very like living in a jungle, with everyone trying to be top of the chain and outdoing each other. Must be exhausting! There were all the ‘usual’ social groups you tend to see in American movies and books, with an element of Gossip Girl thrown in: pure, guilty-pleasure viewing! I haven’t watched Pretty Little Liars but a lot of people compare it to that too. The story itself is told from various perspectives – Bronwyn, Cooper, Addy, and Nate – and I really liked that. It’s a simple and easy read, but there are still plenty of secrets and half truths floating around, as well as a good dose of suspense. The narrative has various layers and depths as the book continues and you slowly unfurl what’s happened, and I liked trying to work out who was lying and who wasn’t. I won’t say anymore as I don’t want to ruin anything but I can say that, even if you don’t usually read YA novels, you might well enjoy One Of Us Is Lying – it’s a well-crafted, easy to read and fun novel that kept me guessing until the end!

[Rating: 4/5]

Many thanks to Penguin and Netgalley for providing a copy of this novel on which I chose to write an honest and unbiased review.

One Of Us Is Lying is out in the UK on 1 June.

Share this:, 14 comments.

Desperate to read this, heard so many fab things!! Great review xx

Thank you! I was definitely pleasantly surprised which is always nice! 🙂

Happy to see you enjoyed this one too and I agree, I think even non-YA readers can enjoy this one! Great review!

Thank you! It’s definitely a good all-rounder! 🙂

Great review! Keep reading only great things about this!

Thank you – it’s definitely worth a read!

So glad you enjoyed this as well Laura!

Thanks! I just saw your review is up too – I’m going to read it now 🙂

I keep coming across positive reviews of this. I wouldn’t have said it was my type of book but I think it might be.

I thought the same too but really enjoyed it once I started it! Just got to get past slightly annoying teenagers haha!

I don’t usually read YA but this really appeals to me!!

Same here, I don’t usually so I think it’s worth a read regardless. Just try to ignore annoying teen talk! ????

Everyone is reviewing this book. I really must find time to buy and read this.

It is a good read! Even if you’re not a big YA fan like me – still an enjoyable read.

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One of Us is Lying

By karen mcmanus, one of us is lying essay questions.

Discuss the role of the app About That in the novel and the text’s commentary on social media.

While in reality teens use a variety of platforms to spread gossip, in the world of Bayview High, there’s one source for gossip, About That, and one person who runs it, Simon. About That is portrayed as a primarily destructive force, exposing information that embarrasses and upsets, even driving some to attempt suicide. Yet everyone follows it, because they’re interested in “the truth” more than in honoring each other’s privacy. However, the truths it tells are partial: it states what people have done, but completely obscures the struggles and realities that may have driven them to do it. In critiquing this app, the novel suggests that social media and gossip never succeed in portraying a sufficiently complex reality. However, one might also note that by compressing the whole ecosystem of social media into a single app, run by one person, the novel simplifies things by blaming one person, Simon, rather than the culture that allows the app to thrive.

Discuss the function of Bronwyn and Nate's romance in the novel. Why is this teen movie cliche present in the mystery novel?

This novel relies on tropes from teen movies like The Breakfast Club, in which students from different social cliques come together in new configurations. In particular, Bronwyn is the class valedictorian while Nate is known for sexual promiscuity and drug dealing. Their classic good girl/bad boy pairing may on its face seem cliche. At the same time, the novel subtly builds on these teen tropes. In particular, it thinks about the way that minority communities can come together, taking an intersectional approach to oppression. Bronwyn is the daughter of a Colombian immigrant, and Nate grew up in poverty with two addicts for parents. The two share some inherited trauma, and both must actively battle stereotypes. Although their backgrounds are different, their love ultimately represents the fact that they have more in common than meets in the eye, and when they forge understanding, they are stronger together.

How does the novel portray police officers and the criminal justice system? How do Officer Lopez and Eli fit into the picture?

This novel is generally cynical about the legal process at all levels, from investigation to sentencing. However, some altruistic actors like Officer Lopez and Eli from Until Proven show a ray of hope. The police officers in the novel detain minors without informing them of their rights, accusing them of conspiracy to commit murder without doing basic detective work like investigating the school parking lot accident or questioning Janae. They are particularly eager to blame Nate, the one student with a criminal record, even though it is not violent. Indeed, Nate is sent to jail, and the plaintiff seeks to send him to an adult prison rather than juvenile detention. Nonetheless, Officer Lopez and Eli are two “good eggs” in a generally corrupt and unthinking system. The novel seems to suggest that, with things as they are, it falls on motivated individuals to combat systemic injustice.

Why do you think Jake revises Simon’s blog post to disguise Cooper’s sexuality? What does this say about their friendship? About the state of masculinity?

While Simon’s master plan is to out Cooper, Jake revises the post draft to state that Cooper takes steroids. A generous reading of Jake’s motives might be that he thought a lie was better than forcibly outing Cooper. However, knowing Jake’s toxic masculinity, it can also be read as Jake trying to protect his friend from the truth. Jake might believe that doping is less damaging and shameful than being gay. Although Jake and Cooper are best friends, Jake is unable to understand his friends’ sexuality, and might not have wanted to deal with it. Of course, as the novel progresses, Cooper becomes comfortable with his sexuality, and so do the baseball teams who are courting him. While Jake might think of homosexuality as a real obstacle to personal and professional success, he is proven to be incorrect.

Discuss Addy’s transformation over the course of the novel.

Addy’s transformation in the novel is perhaps the most dramatic, because at first, she did not even realize she was unhappy. As long as she let Jake rule her life and decisions, she did not think about what she truly wanted or deserved. Instead, she accepted the status quo. Only when Jake turned on her did she realize that his control was much more violent than she ever imagined. He had always commented on her outfits and hair. When they broke up, she realized that there was always a threat behind his requests of conformity: obey me, or suffer. As she breaks free from his grasp, she fully realizes that she never wanted the life he’d created for her. Seeing this, she is able to seek out her true self. All of the other characters’ journeys can be viewed through this lens: as realizations that the status quo was always oppressive.

One of Us is Lying Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for One of Us is Lying is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Addy's former friends laughed openly when they saw that she had

from the text:

I snort. “Yeah, right.” With the possible exception of Ashton, who’s biased, nobody likes my hair. My mother is appalled. My former friends laughed openly when they saw me the next day. Even Keely smirked. She’s moved right on to...

“But I put it in my backpack instead” (McManus 112). Why do you think Bronwyn does this? Explain your thinking with details from the text.

I think they still think these phones could be of use, the same cheap phones that corralled us all in detention last week.

What Character(s) stand up for their beliefs in order to protect others?

Bronwyn Rojas is the character that was labeled as "the brain” by Simon. She is an overachiever with big dreams and a bright future. She is the biracial daughter of an Irish mother and a Colombian, immigrant father who expect her to attend Yale....

Study Guide for One of Us is Lying

One of Us is Lying study guide contains a biography of McManus, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About One of Us is Lying
• One of Us is Lying Summary
• Character List

Book Review: One Of Us Is Lying

Five students walk into detention one day, but only four make it out alive.

One of Us is Lying follows the gripping story of Bronwyn, Addy, Nate, and Cooper as suspects in the murder of Simon Kelleher. Each of the high school students have secrets that they would do anything to protect, so how far would they go to make sure they’re kept out of the spotlight?

I liked this book because it delved into the personalities and thoughts of each individual suspect to keep the reader guessing who did it until the very end. Overall, One of Us is Lying is a surprising and engaging book that was hard to put down. I especially liked how each perspective of the characters was described in depth so that the audience was not left out of the storytelling. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves murder mysteries and young adult fiction.

One of Us is Lying is a teenage-take on themes as dark as murder and depression, and although other writers are unsuccessful in developing such deep plots for a younger audience, Karen M. McManus writes with an enjoyable voice that establishes her story very effectively that, additionally, is targeted well toward a young adult audience. So, if you’re wanting to sit down and unravel a complex and grounded mystery, you should check out One of Us is Lying.

Reviewer Grade: 9

One of Us is Lying

93 pages • 3 hours read

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The Harmful Effects of Stereotyping and Gossip

One of Us is Lying critiques stereotyping and gossip by highlighting how corrosive they can be for both the individual and community. Both stereotyping and gossip can be dehumanizing and prevent people from seeing each other as whole and complex. Further, they are hypocritical. Stereotyping denies the reality that people are complex and contradictory, as evidenced in Bronwyn being both a high achiever but also incapable of excelling at chemistry and Addy being both pretty and insecure. Gossip is hypocritical because anyone is capable of making mistakes, as the book demonstrates with each of the narrators, their families, and their friends. Significantly, the book emphasizes that gossip is characterized not by whether information is accurate but whether that information is shared for the entertainment of non-interested parties.

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One Of Us Is Lying, Let's Discuss!!

I've just finished One Of Us Is Lying and I hated it, no offense to those who loved the book. I've only heard good reviews about this one so I had high hopes for it but how the author gave away the killer was meh. I mean, the suspense was great cause it kept you guessing who the killer was but naahhh. I'd love to hear your thoughts!!!!

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