Review: One of Us is Lying

One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

MY EXPERIENCE WITH THE BOOK:
This was a fast read, however the holiday period + cliche tropes stopped me from attempting to read this book in one sitting.

CHARACTERS/DYNAMICS:

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

aka her secret is boring as fuck and they make u for her lack of personality with an overdone romance.

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

aka ‘The Character with the Most Promise, but ended up being useless.”

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

Heart warming back story, but his characteristics are totally for show and are not who he is at all in the book.

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

Really great secret, boring angst that could’ve been delivered better.

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

aka Dan from Gossip Girl but with even more depression and snark.

PLOT:
To sum up:
It was dull and had so many possibilities, and I wish the author followed any of those instead of the real outcome. (view spoiler)[Simon ends up being the killer– one of the worst endings of a murder mystery I’ve ever had to read. (hide spoiler)]

STRUCTURE:
Except for the “murder scene”, time stamps were completely irrelevant. However, that was the only downside for the book’s structure. I thoroughly enjoyed the format and the four different perspectives, especially the scene with the four being interviewed by detectives. Very Cool.

THEMES:
– anything from a bad teen movie, but add more “suspense”.

QUOTES:

“Some people are too toxic to live. They just are.”

THE ENDING:
Underwhelming. Boring. Dull. Drawn out.

IMPACT:
Once again, I want to punch past-Cal for believing this wasn’t going to be solely an overhyped book.

I was wrong.

And I’m not the one lying.

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