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One of Us Is Lying Hardcover – May 30, 2017
Karen M. McManus (Author) Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author |
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THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY • BUZZFEED • POPCRUSH
“Pretty Little Liars meets The Breakfast Club” (Entertainment Weekly) in this addictive mystery about what happens when five strangers walk into detention and only four walk out alive.
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.
And don’t miss the #1 New York Times bestselling sequel, One of Us is Next!
- Print length416 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherDelacorte Press
- Publication dateMay 30, 2017
- Grade level9 - 12
- Reading age14 - 17 years
- Dimensions5.94 x 1.29 x 8.56 inches
- ISBN-101524714682
- ISBN-13978-1524714680
- Lexile measureHL730L
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From the Publisher
ONE OF US IS LYING
One of Us Is Lying | One of Us Is Next: The Sequel to One of Us Is Lying | One of Us Is Lying TV Series Tie-In Edition | Karen M. McManus 2 Book Box Set | |
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Read the fast-paced story of the Bayview Four! | Four teenager's lives unwind after being the only witnesses to their classmate's suspected murder. | The electrifying sequel to One of Us Is Lying. | A TV tie-in edition with a cover based on the Peacock series streaming now! | One of Us Is Lying & One of Us Is Next |
Two Can Keep a Secret | The Cousins | You'll Be the Death of Me | |
---|---|---|---|
Don’t miss Karen McManus’s other pulse-pounding thrillers | A small town begins to relive its dark past after a girl goes missing before homecoming. | A gripping family drama where a trio of cousins uncover a trail of lies and betrayals. | Three friends relive an epic ditch day, and it goes horribly—and fatally—wrong. |
Editorial Reviews
Review
An Entertainment Weekly Best YA Book of the Year Selection
A Buzzfeed Best YA Book of the Year Selection
A New York Public Library's Best Book for Teens Selection
A Popcrush Best Young Adult Book of the Year Selection
A CBC Teen Choice Book Award Nominee
A Bustle Best Young Adult Book of the Month
A Goodreads Best Young Adult Book of the Year Nominee
A YALSA Top Ten Best Fiction Book Nominee
A YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers
“Pretty Little Liars meets The Breakfast Club....so make room for One of Us Is Lying in your bags, because this is one carry-on you won’t want to put down." —Entertainment Weekly Online
“You’ll tear through this juicy, super-fun (if murder can ever be fun?) thriller."—Bustle
"A whodunit with a Breakfast Club twist...following four unique voices on a chase to find the killer, this one will keep you guessing until the very, very end."—Popcrush
"Twisty plotting, breakneck pacing and intriguing characterisation add up to an exciting, single-sitting thrillerish treat."—The Guardian
"This is no ordinary whodunit…surprising and relevant."—USA Today
"Readers will have a hard time putting this clever page-turner down." —BookPage Online
“An addictive, devour-in-one-sitting thriller with so many twists and turns you'll be wondering until the very end: Who really killed Simon?”—Kara Thomas, author of The Darkest Corners and Little Monsters
★"[As] McManus's intense mystery unfolds...each character becomes more complex and nuanced, adding richness and depth to the suspense." —VOYA, Starred Review
"This fast-paced blend of Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars, and classic John Hughes will leave readers racing to the finish as the try to unravel the mystery on their own."—Kirkus Reviews
"One of Us Is Lying is flat-out addictive...[McManus] weaves an authentic, suspenseful mystery that readers can imagine taking place at their very own high school.”—RT Book Reviews
"A smart, twisted, and unpredictable YA mystery that will have readers guessing until the very end."—SLJ
"An engaging, enticing look at the pressures of high school and the things that cause a person to lose control."—Booklist
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Bronwyn
Monday, September 24, 2:55 p.m.
A sex tape. A pregnancy scare. Two cheating scandals. And that’s just this week’s update. If all you knew of Bayview High was Simon Kelleher’s gossip app, you’d wonder how anyone found time to go to class.
“Old news, Bronwyn,” says a voice over my shoulder. “Wait till you see tomorrow’s post.”
Damn. I hate getting caught reading About That, especially by its creator. I lower my phone and slam my locker shut. “Whose lives are you ruining next, Simon?”
Simon falls into step beside me as I move against the flow of students heading for the exit. “It’s a public service,” he says with a dismissive wave. “You tutor Reggie Crawley, don’t you? Wouldn’t you rather know he has a camera in his bedroom?”
I don’t bother answering. Me getting anywhere near the bedroom of perpetual stoner Reggie Crawley is about as likely as Simon growing a conscience.
“Anyway, they bring it on themselves. If people didn’t lie and cheat, I’d be out of business.” Simon’s cold blue eyes take in my lengthening strides. “Where are you rushing off to? Covering yourself in extracurricular glory?”
I wish. As if to taunt me, an alert crosses my phone: Mathlete practice, 3 p.m., Epoch Coffee. Followed by a text from one of my teammates: Evan’s here.
Of course he is. The cute Mathlete--less of an oxymoron than you might think--seems to only ever show up when I can’t.
“Not exactly,” I say. As a general rule, and especially lately, I try to give Simon as little information as possible. We push through green metal doors to the back stairwell, a dividing line between the dinginess of the original Bayview High and its bright, airy new wing. Every year more wealthy families get priced out of San Diego and come fifteen miles east to Bayview, expecting that their tax dollars will buy them a nicer school experience than popcorn ceilings and scarred linoleum.
Simon’s still on my heels when I reach Mr. Avery’s lab on the third floor, and I half turn with my arms crossed. “Don’t you have someplace to be?”
“Yeah. Detention,” Simon says, and waits for me to keep walking. When I grasp the knob instead, he bursts out laughing. “You’re kidding me. You too? What’s your crime?”
“I’m wrongfully accused,” I mutter, and yank the door open. Three other students are already seated, and I pause to take them in. Not the group I would have predicted. Except one.
Nate Macauley tips his chair back and smirks at me. “You make a wrong turn? This is detention, not student council.”
He should know. Nate’s been in trouble since fifth grade, which is right around the time we last spoke. The gossip mill tells me he’s on probation with Bayview’s finest for . . . something. It might be a DUI; it might be drug dealing. He’s a notorious supplier, but my knowledge is purely theoretical.
“Save the commentary.” Mr. Avery checks something off on a clipboard and closes the door behind Simon. High arched windows lining the back wall send triangles of afternoon sun splashing across the floor, and faint sounds of football practice float from the field behind the parking lot below.
I take a seat as Cooper Clay, who’s palming a crumpled piece of paper like a baseball, whispers “Heads up, Addy” and tosses it toward the girl across from him. Addy Prentiss blinks, smiles uncertainly, and lets the ball drop to the floor.
The classroom clock inches toward three, and I follow its progress with a helpless feeling of injustice. I shouldn’t even be here. I should be at Epoch Coffee, flirting awkwardly with Evan Neiman over differential equations.
Mr. Avery is a give-detention-first, ask-questions-never kind of guy, but maybe there’s still time to change his mind. I clear my throat and start to raise my hand until I notice Nate’s smirk broadening. “Mr. Avery, that wasn’t my phone you found. I don’t know how it got into my bag. This is mine,” I say, brandishing my iPhone in its melon-striped case.
Honestly, you’d have to be clueless to bring a phone to Mr. Avery’s lab. He has a strict no-phone policy and spends the first ten minutes of every class rooting through backpacks like he’s head of airline security and we’re all on the watch list. My phone was in my locker, like always.
“You too?” Addy turns to me so quickly, her blond shampoo-ad hair swirls around her shoulders. She must have been surgically removed from her boyfriend in order to show up alone. “That wasn’t my phone either.”
“Me three,” Cooper chimes in. His Southern accent makes it sound like thray. He and Addy exchange surprised looks, and I wonder how this is news to them when they’re part of the same clique. Maybe überpopular people have better things to talk about than unfair detentions.
“Somebody punked us!” Simon leans forward with his elbows on the desk, looking spring-loaded and ready to pounce on fresh gossip. His gaze darts over all four of us, clustered in the middle of the otherwise empty classroom, before settling on Nate. “Why would anybody want to trap a bunch of students with mostly spotless records in detention? Seems like the sort of thing that, oh, I don’t know, a guy who’s here all the time might do for fun.”
I look at Nate, but can’t picture it. Rigging detention sounds like work, and everything about Nate--from his messy dark hair to his ratty leather jacket--screams Can’t be bothered. Or yawns it, maybe. He meets my eyes but doesn’t say a word, just tips his chair back even farther. Another millimeter and he’ll fall right over.
Cooper sits up straighter, a frown crossing his Captain America face. “Hang on. I thought this was just a mix-up, but if the same thing happened to all of us, it’s somebody’s stupid idea of a prank. And I’m missing baseball practice because of it.” He says it like he’s a heart surgeon being detained from a lifesaving operation.
Mr. Avery rolls his eyes. “Save the conspiracy theories for another teacher. I’m not buying it. You all know the rules against bringing phones to class, and you broke them.” He gives Simon an especially sour glance. Teachers know About That exists, but there’s not much they can do to stop it. Simon only uses initials to identify people and never talks openly about school. “Now listen up. You’re here until four. I want each of you to write a five-hundred-word essay on how technology is ruining American high schools. Anyone who can’t follow the rules gets another detention tomorrow.”
“What do we write with?” Addy asks. “There aren’t any computers here.” Most classrooms have Chromebooks, but Mr. Avery, who looks like he should have retired a decade ago, is a holdout.
Mr. Avery crosses to Addy’s desk and taps the corner of a lined yellow notepad. We all have one. “Explore the magic of longhand writing. It’s a lost art.”
Addy’s pretty, heart-shaped face is a mask of confusion. “But how do we know when we’ve reached five hundred words?”
“Count,” Mr. Avery replies. His eyes drop to the phone I’m still holding. “And hand that over, Miss Rojas.”
“Doesn’t the fact that you’re confiscating my phone twice give you pause? Who has two phones?” I ask. Nate grins, so quick I almost miss it. “Seriously, Mr. Avery, somebody was playing a joke on us.”
Mr. Avery’s snowy mustache twitches in annoyance, and he extends his hand with a beckoning motion. “Phone, Miss Rojas. Unless you want a return visit.” I give it over with a sigh as he looks disapprovingly at the others. “The phones I took from the rest of you earlier are in my desk. You’ll get them back after detention.” Addy and Cooper exchange amused glances, probably because their actual phones are safe in their backpacks.
Mr. Avery tosses my phone into a drawer and sits behind the teacher’s desk, opening a book as he prepares to ignore us for the next hour. I pull out a pen, tap it against my yellow notepad, and contemplate the assignment. Does Mr. Avery really believe technology is ruining schools? That’s a pretty sweeping statement to make over a few contraband phones. Maybe it’s a trap and he’s looking for us to contradict him instead of agree.
I glance at Nate, who’s bent over his notepad writing computers suck over and over in block letters.
It’s possible I’m overthinking this.
Cooper
Monday, September 24, 3:05 p.m.
My hand hurts within minutes. It’s pathetic, I guess, but I can’t remember the last time I wrote anything longhand. Plus I’m using my right hand, which never feels natural no matter how many years I’ve done it. My father insisted I learn to write right-handed in second grade after he first saw me pitch. Your left arm’s gold, he told me. Don’t waste it on crap that don’t matter. Which is anything but pitching as far as he’s concerned.
That was when he started calling me Cooperstown, like the baseball hall of fame. Nothing like putting a little pressure on an eight-year-old.
Simon reaches for his backpack and roots around, unzipping every section. He hoists it onto his lap and peers inside. “Where the hell’s my water bottle?”
“No talking, Mr. Kelleher,” Mr. Avery says without looking up.
“I know, but--my water bottle’s missing. And I’m thirsty.”
Mr. Avery points toward the sink at the back of the room, its counter crowded with beakers and petri dishes. “Get yourself a drink. Quietly.”
Simon gets up and grabs a cup from a stack on the counter, filling it with water from the tap. He heads back to his seat and puts the cup on his desk, but seems distracted by Nate’s methodical writing. “Dude,” he says, kicking his sneaker against the leg of Nate’s desk. “Seriously. Did you put those phones in our backpacks to mess with us?”
Now Mr. Avery looks up, frowning. “I said quietly, Mr. Kelleher.”
Nate leans back and crosses his arms. “Why would I do that?”
Simon shrugs. “Why do you do anything? So you’ll have company for whatever your screw-up of the day was?”
“One more word out of either of you and it’s detention tomorrow,” Mr. Avery warns.
Simon opens his mouth anyway, but before he can speak there’s the sound of tires squealing and then the crash of two cars hitting each other. Addy gasps and I brace myself against my desk like somebody just rear-ended me. Nate, who looks glad for the interruption, is the first on his feet toward the window. “Who gets into a fender bender in the school parking lot?” he asks.
Bronwyn looks at Mr. Avery like she’s asking for permission, and when he gets up from his desk she heads for the window as well. Addy follows her, and I finally unfold myself from my seat. Might as well see what’s going on. I lean against the ledge to look outside, and Simon comes up beside me with a disparaging laugh as he surveys the scene below.
Two cars, an old red one and a nondescript gray one, are smashed into each other at a right angle. We all stare at them in silence until Mr. Avery lets out an exasperated sigh. “I’d better make sure no one was hurt.” He runs his eyes over all of us and zeroes in on Bronwyn as the most responsible of the bunch. “Miss Rojas, keep this room contained until I get back.”
“Okay,” Bronwyn says, casting a nervous glance toward Nate. We stay at the window, watching the scene below, but before Mr. Avery or another teacher appears outside, both cars start their engines and drive out of the parking lot.
“Well, that was anticlimactic,” Simon says. He heads back to his desk and picks up his cup, but instead of sitting he wanders to the front of the room and scans the periodic table of elements poster. He leans out into the hallway like he’s about to leave, but then he turns and raises his cup like he’s toasting us. “Anyone else want some water?”
“I do,” Addy says, slipping into her chair.
“Get it yourself, princess.” Simon smirks. Addy rolls her eyes and stays put while Simon leans against Mr. Avery’s desk. “Literally, huh? What’ll you do with yourself now that homecoming’s over? Big gap between now and senior prom.”
Addy looks at me without answering. I don’t blame her. Simon’s train of thought almost never goes anywhere good when it comes to our friends. He acts like he’s above caring whether he’s popular, but he was pretty smug when he wound up on the junior prom court last spring. I’m still not sure how he pulled that off, unless he traded keeping secrets for votes.
Simon was nowhere to be found on homecoming court last week, though. I was voted king, so maybe I’m next on his list to harass, or whatever the hell he’s doing.
“What’s your point, Simon?” I ask, taking a seat next to Addy. Addy and I aren’t close, exactly, but I kind of feel protective of her. She’s been dating my best friend since freshman year, and she’s a sweet girl. Also not the kind of person who knows how to stand up to a guy like Simon who just won’t quit.
“She’s a princess and you’re a jock,” he says. He thrusts his chin toward Bronwyn, then at Nate. “And you’re a brain. And you’re a criminal. You’re all walking teen-movie stereotypes.”
“What about you?” Bronwyn asks. She’s been hovering near the window, but now goes to her desk and perches on top of it. She crosses her legs and pulls her dark ponytail over one shoulder. Something about her is cuter this year. New glasses, maybe? Longer hair? All of a sudden, she’s kind of working this sexy-nerd thing.
“I’m the omniscient narrator,” Simon says.
Bronwyn’s brows rise above her black frames. “There’s no such thing in teen movies.”
“Ah, but Bronwyn.” Simon winks and chugs his water in one long gulp. “There is such a thing in life.”
He says it like a threat, and I wonder if he’s got something on Bronwyn for that stupid app of his. I hate that thing. Almost all my friends have been on it at one point or another, and sometimes it causes real problems. My buddy Luis and his girlfriend broke up because of something Simon wrote. Though it was a true story about Luis hooking up with his girlfriend’s cousin. But still. That stuff doesn’t have to be published. Hallway gossip is bad enough.
And if I’m being honest, I’m pretty freaked at what Simon could write about me if he put his mind to it.
Simon holds his cup up, grimacing. “This tastes like crap.” He drops the cup, and I roll my eyes at his attempt at drama. Even when he falls to the floor, I still think he’s messing around. But then the wheezing starts.
Product details
- Publisher : Delacorte Press (May 30, 2017)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 416 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1524714682
- ISBN-13 : 978-1524714680
- Reading age : 14 - 17 years
- Lexile measure : HL730L
- Grade level : 9 - 12
- Item Weight : 1.28 pounds
- Dimensions : 5.94 x 1.29 x 8.56 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #410 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- Customer Reviews:
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About the author
Karen M. McManus is a #1 New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author of young adult thrillers. Her work, which includes the One of Us Is Lying series, Two Can Keep a Secret, The Cousins, and You'll Be the Death of Me, has been translated into more than 40 languages worldwide. Karen lives in Massachusetts and holds a master's degree in Journalism from Northeastern University, which she mostly uses to draft fake news stories for her novels. For more information, visit www.karenmcmanus.com or @writerkmc on Twitter and Instagram.
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Bronwyn, a brainy girl set on going to Yale, is given detention for having her phone in class. The thing is, it was not her phone but the teacher does not believe her. He also doesn’t believe Cooper, the star athlete, Addy, the beauty, and Nate, I guess you would call the classic delinquent. And then there is Simon. Simon runs a gossip app called About That. He spreads the high school gossip around like butter. When Simon has an allergic attack and things go horribly wrong, the four kids are all suspected of murder. Who is lying and who is telling the truth?
I loved these kids so much. As much as I loved the mystery and the twists, my favorite part was watching all four grow into the people they were meant to be. They throw aside the petty high school cliques and become real friends. Of course, in the back of your mind you are wondering if one of them is the murderer and I am not going to spoil that. I had a feeling that ended up being right, pat myself on the back, but there are a few things that were surprising. The other characters are so thought out as well, the sisters especially. I loved Maeve’s chutzpah. I had a silly smile on my face at the end. I am sure you will too.
This is such a wonderful debut novel and I cannot wait to see what comes next from Ms. McManus!
Brian had it right when he wrote those words in the adored and highly quotable letter at the end of The Breakfast Club. The passage continues on to say: “But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain...and an athlete...and a basket case...a princess...and a criminal. Does that answer your question?"
*Inserts fist pump into the air while fighting the urge to blast “Don’t You Forget About Me” throughout the living room.*
Nostalgia aside, I bring this up because the idea of labels and what lies underneath them is not only the plight of seemingly every high school movie, book, and experience, but also the core of the readability of One of Us is Lying.
The book’s murder mystery hook – aided by the Pretty Little Liars/Gossip Girl comparisons – probably lured you in along with the rest of us, but the characters and their development are what keep you invested.
And it’s a good thing too because I correctly identified the killer during the opening scene. And if solving the murder was the only thing this book had going for it, I would have been extremely disappointed. But for me, the question was never who, but rather why?
Why did Simon have to die?
Why – and how – were the Bayview Four involved?
Of course I can’t tell you the answers, but trust me when I say that McManus is able to keep you intrigued while you simultaneously fall for the brain, the athlete, the princess, and the criminal who all had motives and additional secrets to hide.
Narrated and told via alternating points of view, One of Us is Lying is full of intricate characterizations and sometimes predictable twists on the classic tropes. I often found myself highlighting one-liners from this debut author that accurately nailed and effectively portrayed the personalities of the “Murder Club” members.
From the sensible brainiac, Bronwyn, (“Mostly I thought Evan and I had potential to be a solid couple until graduation, at which point we'd break up amicably and head to our different colleges.”) to the dealer from the bad part of town, Nate, ("Rigging detention sounds like work, and everything about Nate -- from his messy dark hair to his ratty leather jacket -- screams Can't be bothered. Or yawns it, maybe.") you’ll find yourself relating to or remembering people that fit these molds.
Ultimately that’s what I enjoyed so much – getting beneath the surface. We all have people in high school that we knew on a superficial level that were probably remembered via their clique. One word descriptions. Nothing more. Nothing less. This book is yet another reminder of what can happen when you choose to dig a little deeper and stop caring what your friends think.
If you’re looking for an entertaining and quick read for the beach this summer, I’d highly recommend giving this novel a shot. Of course I could be lying, so you’ll have to judge for yourselves.
XOXO...
Top reviews from other countries
The first sentence reads: "A sex tape. A pregnancy scare. Two cheating scandals. And that's just this week's update."
I scan read the first few chapter. Based on an American High School 16 year olds and their antics- sex / drug references .
Everyone knows their own child - but wasn't suitable for my 12 year old.
As for the plot, if that's what we're going to call it… The real mystery is how anyone could possibly have been surprised by it. Within a few pages of Simon's death I'd considered the possibility that he'd killed himself in an attempt to punish the world, only to immediately dismiss it because it was so overwhelmingly obvious it had to be a red herring. "Ah," I thought, "here is the ludicrous possibility that the author wants us to believe is true, only to surprise us with the real killer at the end. I wonder who it could really be…"
So I put up with trite characters and their predictable secrets (the closeted athlete, the pretty girl who cheated with her boyfriend's buddy, the criminal with the unhappy homelife, the over-achiever who stole exam papers) because I wanted to know who the real murderer was. I dragged my way through this book, expecting the ending to make it worthwhile. The twist surely had to be that it was one of the four, or that it was someone peripheral to the story. Since the hype for this book couldn't be a result of its unique characters (after all, there weren't any), it had to be because the killer was that fantastic mix of surprising when you find out and yet so perfectly motivated that it's obvious in hindsight.
Nope. Turns out the motive was "I'm a melodramatic teenager and I just want to be special", and the surprise was the fact that what was so predictable it had to be a red herring was actually just so predictable.
Please, guys. Find something better to read.
Okay, so everyone had been raving about this book. A great new YA thriller that's a cross between The Breakfast Club and Pretty Little Liars. I mean come on, your sold on it already aren't you? What I loved about this one is that its only about 360 odd pages but it really packs a punch in that time. So full of twists and turns its really hard to figure out whodunnit! Admittedly though, I did work out who it was just before the reveal, but thats probably due to the sheer amount of thrillers and mystery books I've read over the years. Some of the characters are likeable while some began to grate on me a little, but overall I found them all to be very believable. A great fast-faced YA thriller. Perfect for this time of the year! 5/5 stars.
When I was reading this book, I was constantly thinking '-oh he/she did it!' or 'please let … be innocent'. Well, not just thinking it, but telling everyone else around me what was happening and what I thought was going to happen next!
Throughout the book I loved all the characters as they grew, (especially Bronwyn). They seemed to spring from the page as it was just so well-written.
Overall, I love this book and it's hard to put down!
In alternating chapters each of the four remaining students go through the aftermath of the murder. Suspicion, investigations - both formal and informal - petty, teenage dramas and love. I was pretty much gripped to this book. While the characters were stereotypes (the jock, the criminal, the scholar, the princess...) and much of the narrative is inspired cultural touchstones such as The Breakfast Club, McManus weaves twisty narratives from these pupils who each have their own traumas and issues to deal with over and above the crime for which they are all under investigation for.