Marshmallow reviews One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus

Today Marshmallow is writing about One of Us is Lying, a novel by Karen McManus, first published in 2017 and eventually made into a TV series of the same name.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like books about mystery, murder, or high school drama, then this is definitely the book for you. 

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Bronwyn is shocked when she is put in detention. After all, she is a rule-follower on track to go to Yale, much like the rest of her family. But a phone that isn’t hers, that she’s never seen before, is found in her backpack, and off she’s sent to detention.

But Bronwyn’s shining school record isn’t the only weird thing about this detention. Four other kids are also put in detention that day, for the same reason: phones found in their backpacks that aren’t theirs. Of course, all of them honestly say they’ve never seen these phones before, but they are still put in detention.

In addition to Bronwyn, there is Addy (homecoming princess who is eternally “glued” to her boyfriend), Nate (well known for having a criminal history already), Cooper (perfect, popular, and propelled towards a career in baseball), and Simon.

While the rest resemble some familiar stereotypes of high school dramas, Simon stands out. Simon is the creator of Bayview High School’s infamous gossip app About That, an app on which he regularly posts the most vicious, damaging, and insidious gossip, scandals, and stories about his peers. Sure, he doesn’t say any names, but with initials and a small school, every new post practically ruins someone’s life.

So when Simon dies of an allergic reaction to peanuts in detention, the blame is placed on the four students present in detention with him: Bronwyn, Addy, Cooper, and Nate. At first, his death might seem natural but somehow he died from a peanut allergy while drinking tap water; peanut residue was found on the cup. The situation starts looking even worse when it is revealed that Simon’s About That post for the day after he died was going to be about the Bayview Four. Bronwyn was accused of cheating on a test (which could ruin her reputation), Addy was accused of cheating on her boyfriend (which is unthinkable because they’re the picture perfect couple), Cooper is accused of taking steroids (which would discredit his phenomenal improvement in his pitching speed), and Nate is accused of violating his probation (by selling drugs, which would get him sent to prison). If these revelations are true, reasons the police, then all four students are prime suspects for the murder. After all, if Simon couldn’t publish the post, their secrets would remain secrets.

Then the press gets involved and the next thing you know, the “Bayview Four” become the biggest suspects in the biggest scandal ever to happen in Bayview. Soon after, Simon’s post about the four students is published, unleashing chaos. Despite their lawyers telling them to keep away from each other, the four students bond together and realize that the only way to prove their innocence is to find the murderer themselves. 

Marshmallow’s Review: I really enjoyed One of Us is Lying. I found it to be an extremely interesting mystery that ended in a way I never saw coming. And as the book goes on, suspense rises and the tension increases as the mystery’s answer is slowly revealed. All in all, I think the plot was really, really well written and I definitely recommend bunnies give this book a try.

One thing that I really liked about this book was the fact that the author set up characters based on the typical tropes in high school dramas, and then she made them evolve past their basic characteristics. For example, even though Addy seems like a blank slate without her boyfriend, at first, throughout the course of the book, her character changes a lot. The same goes for all of the other characters as well. All of them start as typical, simple characters and then grow together and you really become attached to them.

The book does have some mature content since the characters do sometimes use curse words and there are some references to sexual acts that characters have taken part in. There are no explicit scenes. I think bunnies over 14 could handle this book, but it depends on the maturity of each bunny. Some might be able to enjoy it at 12 while others might prefer to read it at 15. Overall, however, there is not really that much inappropriate content in this book.

I also liked Karen McManus’s writing style and found it interesting that we got to see the same story from different characters’ points of view. Each chapter is from either Bronwyn’s, Nate’s, Cooper’s, or Addy’s perspective. I appreciated the different views on the plot and how the author shows that everyone is more complex than they seem. On surface value, people assess Nate to be a delinquent on a one-way road to prison. But the author adeptly shows his perspective and how harsh life has been for him. Addy, who is viewed as a stupid, vapid girl who only cares about her love life, is revealed to be a much more complex, multifaceted person whose family life makes things more complicated. Cooper, who seems to be living the dream life, is shown to have struggles that no one else sees. And in the chapters written in Bronwyn’s perspective, we see the pressures that she faces on her path to Yale and success. McManus does a really good job of showing the complexity, depth, and nuance of the characters. Most books I’ve read don’t show so much detail about so many different people. The book made me remember the following quote, which is credited to a large number of people including the actor Robin Williams:

“Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.”

Marshmallow’s Rating: 100%.