“One of Us is Lying” by Karen M. McManus showcases the experience of Five high school students who are in detention when all of a sudden one of them dies uncannily. Originally my dad picked up this book for me when he was out one day, and as a bored teenager during the summer I read it. At first, I noticed the different personalities of the five main characters, Cooper, Addy, Simon, Brownyn, and Nate. And how each of them was different, struggling with their issues and facing the consequences of past actions that are shared throughout the book. But also how each of them is alike in that they are all part of this traumatic event that occurs and that they only have the four of them to confide in.And how each character is well-introduced prominent in every chapter of the book. I think that Simon, the one who planned out his death, was an interesting point. It caught my attention.
But also that Jake who is Addy’s boyfriend is also part of the death felt very unnecessary. All I see Jake as is just a jerk of a boyfriend and that's it, and that's how Jake was portrayed throughout the whole book. Now to throw him in this genius plan to kill Simon and put Addy, Nate, Cooper, and Brownyn all in jail didn’t affect me that it should have done. And by the time I was relieved that Jake was the bad guy, I already had a feeling that he was. The author would also go into detail on these certain things in the book for way longer than it should have done. For in the middle of the book when Simon just died it would cut to Nate talking about his motorcycle ride with Bronwyn for what seemed like forever and I couldn’t help but find it funny rather than the material's intended emotions.
Overall, though the book was enjoyable, and whenever I speak to someone who has also read the book they have positive things to say about it. For future readers, I’d say to note that there are a lot of details throughout the book that may or may not be important to the plot of the story, and you only find out if it’s important or not by the time the book is over. If I needed to recommend a book that was enjoyable, interesting, and suspenseful. I’d recommend “One of Us is Lying” by Karen M. McManus!
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