ONE OF US IS LYING by Karen M. McManus

Over the last few years I’ve heard so much about One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus. I love a good whodunit, so now that the wait wasn’t so bad on Libby I decided to give it a try. It was really really great, I’m so glad that I had a chance to read it.

Immediately at the beginning of the book we find the main characters in detention after having been caught with planted cell phones. Simon, the creator of a popular but also very much hated gossip app, is murdered within 10 minutes of the detention starting. The point of view bounces back and forth between the four main characters being accused of murder, 2 boys and 2 girls. Each one is a stereotype – a jock, a brain, a popular girl, and a brain (similar to The Breakfast Club), but as the book goes along they shatter their stereotypes and become more interesting/deeper characters.  The uncovering of what actually happens to Simon is so unexpected, and the book was so suspenseful and exciting throughout. I was able to read the whole thing in a couple of days. A fun book, but also with serious themes like having a controlling partner, coming out, and bullying, to name just a few. I would give this book to just about any high school student (and plenty of adults that love a good mystery).