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This is my current pick for best YA book of 2017.

Besides a few slow chapters in the middle, this book had me on the edge of my seat! Even though it's kind of easy to figure out who the killer is, I still couldn't wait to have my suspicions confirmed!

This book is told from the points of view of four high school students who witness the death of a classmate during detention. His death seems to be a tragic accident, but they soon find out that there has been foul play and that they are all suspects.

I would recommend this to teens who are fans of 13 Reasons Why due to the same feeling of suspense you get from the students who all have secrets that they don't want the rest of the world to find out about.

I listened to the audio version of this book and thought the narrators told the story well. I feel like I enjoy a book a whole lot more when each perspective is read by a different person.

It was a little predictable but still very entertaining.

A compelling novel with unpredictable twists and turns. For those who like whodunit stories, you'll enjoy this one, it kept me guessing and switching sides until the last few chapters. I also appreciate that the story touches on issues faced by teens nowadays, such as bullying and depression.

Five students who barely know each other are given detention at the same time for things they claim they are not guilty of. One of the five is the author of a social media site that posts things that while mainly true, hurts those that are the subject. In detention this student drinks some water and immediately dies. It then becomes a hunt for the killer while all eyes turn on those in the room with him. It was an interesting idea and story.

The testimony to how much I enjoyed this book was that, even as a teacher with my school year starting up again, and my three year old students now back, I could not put this book down. I was exhausted, and my head was full of lesson plans, but this book had me hooked.When a group of five students ends up in detention, only four of them walk out of it alive. As the media and their fellow students spread gossip and rumors, the four suspects must figure out who to trust, and who is lying.McManus keeps the twists and turns coming, and the characters are really compelling. I found myself constantly surprised by this book, and having to know what happened next. And I definitely didn't see the ending coming.I'm really looking forward to seeing what McManus writes next!

The author has said that this book is based on the Breakfast Club. Five students: a jock, criminal, princess, and the brain, along with the basket case Simon find themselves in detention. The students claim they were all set up but before they can figure it out Simon dies and they all become suspects. The Breakfast Club is a cultural touchstone. I thought the premise of taking the categories students are pigeonholed into and updating the idea for 2017 was an intriguing one. The students in this book face issues like sexual orientation, partner abuse, and depression that weren't explored openly by teens thirty years ago. In the end though the story fell flat for me. Parts of the story dragged while other parts didn't seem believable. I am probably in the minority and I see a lot of other glowing reviews. Also I am not a teen, only the mother of one so I am not the target audience. My daughter loves the Breakfast Club as I once did. Something about that coming of age film is able to transcend time. I don't think the same will be said of this book.

Five kids meet in a classroom to serve detention. Only four will leave the room alive. The hook is undeniable - how does a kid die during detention? The kid in question is Simon, a not particularly well-liked kid who maintained a blog that revealed the secrets of Bayview High. Bronwyn (the brain), Abby (the popular girl), Cooper (the handsome jock), and Nate (the good-looking bad boy) do not know each other well but being suspected of murder and dealing with school rumors, their families, social media, and the press will have a way of bridging their social stereotypes. The mystery around Simon's untimely death will probably be guessed by some readers but the compelling plot employs enough twists, red herrings, and interesting subplots to keep the story entertaining. Issues include the stresses of high school (not so much bullying as the pain of not fitting in), the perils of social media, destructive/manipulative personalities, stereotyping, and the influence of the media.The book is not without faults - all four kids are beautiful which is unlikely and annoying and some elements of the plot do not receive as much attention as they should - but an overall fast-paced murder/suspense story that contains a few worthwhile lessons for teens.

Five Bayview High School students walk into Mr. Avery’s room for after-school detention; before the afternoon ends, one of them is dead. And it wasn’t an accident.Who was responsible? Brainy Bronwyn? Beautiful Addy? Delinquent Nate? Athletic Cooper? Simon, the school outcast, had declared his intention to post juicy revelations about each of them on his gossip app, making all of them suspects in the teen’s death. Just how far would someone go to protect their own dark secret? Told in alternating points of view, the story unfolds as each teen addresses the events surrounding Simon’s death. Peopled with strong characterizations, the narrative offers readers a spot-on depiction of life in high school, and its twisty plot will captivate as the final reveal in this quick read is one readers aren’t likely to expect.Highly recommended.

This was brilliant - I read it through in a single (three hour) sitting, despite the fact that it was late when I started reading. I loved the idea of the book from the first I saw it - starting with the Breakfast Club idea of five very different individuals in detention together, but with a much darker twist. It is not a spoiler to say that this is a murder mystery - on my copy, it says so on the front cover, where the Breakfast Club association is hinted at so broadly as to barely qualify as a hint. And the event itself happens in the first few pages. But this book is so much more than that. It is also a pointed commentary on the nastiness of gossip in the social media age, the way that the media can be manipulated to change perceptions of people so rapidly, family dynamics, and gender and sexuality politics. The plot itself is a bit forced in places - there is a police obsession with the four main characters, to the exclusion of all others that left me somewhat incredulous. The tortured way in which the solution is found, and the way that it is revealed was well into the realm of melodrama. And yet, in someways it was just a more PG version of what I've been seeing (and attempting to avoid) in modern murder mysteries for years - that the way to move the plot forward is to ratchet up the nastiness. Having said that, the characterisation is fabulous. Told in first person, but rotating through the viewpoints of the four teens who survived the detention, there is such a wealth of detail. The author has done a fabulous job of creating four very different, very well rounded characters, from a range of different backgrounds and positions within the school hierarchy. The majority of the peripheral characters are also done well, although there is the odd one (the cranky teacher who gives detentions for bringing phones to class, for one) who was a little too close to caricature for credibility.

Four teens who “want what everyone wants: to be successful, to have friends, to be loved. To be seen.” But also learning that there are some things that can’t be undone. An offhand comment that might seem like no big deal for one person, can be devastating for another. I did have a little trouble keeping track of the changing POVs between the characters, but the characters were engaging and kept me reading even when it was clear where it was going. SPOILER AHEAD I am left pondering about recommending this book due to the mental health issues. I don’t want to be seen to reward the cleverness of a mentally ill young man. But maybe it will start a conversation about kindness, bullying, mental health and kids who find the only way out is violence, because that would be a good thing.

This was one of those books I found on Instagram. I am by far the worst bookstagrammer. I'm not good at taking pictures, I spend more time reading that actually posting about books, and I don't always fall for the up-and-coming bestsellers. On top of that, I have an ancient Kindle Keyboard that doesn't look very glamorous in photos, but it works amazing and has been a part of my daily life for years.

Anyways, a few of the bookstagrammers I follow posted about this book and I was intrigued. The cover alone grabbed my attention but the similarities between this and Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None is what pulled me in and let me say, I was not disappointed.

This was a young adult novel that could still very easily appeal to an adult audience. Of course, the young adult romance was awkward and embarrassing, but isn't young romance awkward and embarrassing.

There were parts that were completely and totally predictable for me, but I think that is because I am an adult reading a novel for a younger audience. I knew immediately that there would be a romance between two characters and that another two would have a breakup. I guessed a couple of secrets and I even figured out the ending.

But...

It was still a really captivating story. The characters were well-rounded. I could see these kids at school with my son (who is about the their age) and they reminded me of kids I went to school with (aside from the drastic technology differences -- I grew up in the age of dial-up). The kids reminded me that no matter how much changes there are some things that never change. There are always jocks, brains, trouble-makers, and a kid (or two) crying for help.

It was full of those stereotypical high school kids, but I enjoyed it. I guess it was just the right time to take a break from adult fiction. I can see how some would be bothered by that, but, for me, it is what made it interesting to read. If there wasn't the typical "good girl" and the standard "bad boy" surrounded by "jocks" and "troubled kids," the story wouldn't have read the same.

I'm glad I took the chance to read it and all the hype around the book didn't disappoint.

 

I loved this book! A murder mystery meets The Breakfast Club! Five students are in detention together when one suddenly dies. There are mysterious incidents leading up to the detention - is this a coincidence or part of an intricate plan? The four remaining students all claim they had nothing to do with the death, but one of them is lying!

Mature-Content Rating: Violence, Language, Sexual Content, TriggersAs always, I was looking forward to this book when I fist heard about it; wanting a nice mystery to dive in to, but even though it was an okay read I found the story lacking in thrills and too predictable.The story switches between the four students with each chapter. I think this is partly where the book when wrong. It was easy to discern who the murderer was because each chapter let you in the head of each suspect, and they cannot outright lie to themselves in their own thoughts.Each character was overly cliché, but not necessarily badly executed. They each have their own secret to hide which adds to the thill factor but again, it was a little predictable what their secrets were just by the type-cast roles they were slotted into.Nate the ‘bad boy’ is really the only character that has layers of depth. He has a strong back story and a personality that developed and grew throughout the story. Addy also had a character growth, but it seemed more pushed to get her out of her trope and into a more likable character than it was to actually develop the character. Bronwyn and Cooper don’t change all that much. They learn a life lesson with their secrets exposed and nod their heads to move along.Even though I found the book predicable, it still had a very capable plot line for most points. I was more than happy to see police that ran an actual investigation and not just pushed to the side. They were still made to look a bit like idiots, but not as much as I usually see in YA novels.And, of course since this is YA, there’s a bit of romance. Honestly at points the book focused more on a budding romance than the fact that they were being accused of murder. It’s one thing about YA novels that I dislike. Just because it’s YA doesn’t mean it needs to involve heavy doses of romance. I would rather have a compelling mystery in my mystery novel.Overall, One of Us is Lying was an okay read. Not bad, but not something I’d jump all over either. It’s a quick and easy read and the average reader will have no problem getting through it in a day or two.

You want to talk about classic high school movies, one of the assured mentions is going to be “The Breakfast Club”. While I really don’t like what happens to Ally Sheedy’s character (as a ‘basket-case’ in high school myself, I didn’t appreciate being told that if I just got a makeover boys would like me), I have to admit that the concept of kids coming from different social circles and getting along for one day is really appealing. ESPECIALLY when one of those kids is Judd Nelson, my GOD. So when I heard about this book, and that it’s basically “The Breakfast Club” with a murder mystery to boot, I was TOTALLY IN!!!! But we actually got so much more than that. While sure, the Brat Pack in that movie each gets their own little piece of vulnerability, McManus has an entire book to explore each of her characters to their fullest extent, and can paint them in complicated and well rounded ways that gives the reader reasons to be invested in all of them. We get four perspective characters in this book. Bronwyn is the brainiac who is carrying an Ivy League dream not only as a legacy, but as a biracial girl whose Columbian side of the family literally pulled itself up by the bootstraps to start said legacy. Addy is a girl who has been taught that her only strength is her beauty, perpetuated by a vapid mother and a controlling boyfriend. Cooper is a star athlete whose family is riding on the idea of him getting a major league offer because of his pitching arm. And Nate, oh my sweet sweet Nate, is a dealer on probation living in a ramshackle home with a drunken father. And all of them have secrets, which is why all of them are viable suspects when Simon, app creator and provocateur extraordinaire, is murdered while they are all serving detention together.All of these characters had realistic and believable voices, and I saw the vulnerability and desperation in each of them as their secrets started to come to light. It became pretty clear from the get go that none of them were actually suspects to be taken seriously, and while I don’t know how I feel about that, it was a delight to be able to see them hide other things instead of throwing an entire barrel of red herrings my way. And while some of them had secrets that weren’t that hard to guess, getting to the answers was a heck of a ride, especially since all of them grew and evolved so much as they got there. Addy especially went on a character arc that felt so organic and so heart-wrenching and yet empowering that I was especially happy to get to her perspective chapters. This storyline brings up questions of relationships, romance vs domination, and what sort of value we put on women and girls who are attractive but not encouraged to be much more. I also really liked reading how Nate and Bronwyn’s relationship progressed and evolved. There of course was going to be some romance in this book, and of COURSE the geeky girl and the bad boy is a trope that’s ripe for the picking. But I liked how McManus had these two interact and complement each other without making either feel like they were out of character. I also liked that we got to see Nate’s backstory and how it wasn’t the usual ‘my Dad’s abusive and that’s why I’m a nasty prick’ sob story. It wasn’t much more than that, but it did address the struggles of families with mental illness, especially when resources are limited when it comes to getting help.The big mystery itself though? Well, while I had a super fun time just going with the flow and following it to it’s conclusion, I did find the final answers to be a bit disappointing. True, I did like that our four main characters were pretty much in the clear from the get go, I still think that had there been some more twists and reveals instead of things being pretty easily explained and neatly finished it could have been a seriously stellar mystery. As it was, I was pretty much satisfied with how it all shook out, but it wasn’t much to write home about. The strengths in this book were definitely in the characters, and the supporting characters that they each had in their lives. I would have been completely content if there was no murder mystery at all and it was just about a bunch of kids from different groups learning that they could, in fact, become friends….. So, basically, “The Breakfast Club”, but without that bullshit makeover scene.“One of Us Is Lying” was a fun and entertaining read. The side mysteries were fun, the characters were well written, and I would totally read something else from Karen M. McManus down the line. With the right amount of mystery and suds, it’s the perfect read for the dog days of summer.

Bronwyn, Addy, Cooper, and Nate were all in detention the day Simon dies of an allergic reaction under suspicious circumstances. Simon ran a school gossip app and his unpublished post has dirt on all four of them. Soon they all find themselves suspected of murder, but they are fairly certain none of the four of them were involved. Told by multiple narrators (the audiobook was really compelling), the story is told from the different characters and soon follows the four of them as they begin to communicate and try to figure out what is really going on.

A nerd, a jock, a homecoming princess, and a juvenile delinquent walk into detention. Their fifth companion is Simon, sole proprietor of the school's notorious gossip app. Fifteen minutes later, Simon is dead. The circumstances are suspicious: all of the students were busted by a strict teacher for having phones in their bag -- but the phones he confiscated weren't theirs. Simon died of anaphylactic shock due to his peanut allergy, and the emergency EpiPens were missing from the nurse's office. And a post is queued up on Simon's app that reveals the darkest secrets of the other four students in the room. Was one of them willing to kill to keep that information from being revealed?I found this mystery tightly plotted, with great characters and a compelling mystery. I felt like the bit after the climax dragged ever so slightly, but up until then the pacing was great. The four different audiobook narrators did a great job, and the shift from one voice to another may have helped keep my attention strong. Four is a good number of different perspectives for this sort of book, especially since the author did a good job of sharing out information between the four. If you like YA mysteries, this is a strong one.

What a ride! This is a fantastic teen read.

Addy, Bronwyn, Cooper, & Nate come from diverse backgrounds. One day they end up in detention. Mysterious cell phones were found in their belongings. As detention gets going, Simon (school problem that runs About That, a blog that shares deep, dark secrets about other students) begins to have a violent allergic reaction. Simon dies and based on recent posts his detention counterparts become the main suspects for his murder. Did one of them do it? Did all of them work together? Suspense with a lot of twists and turns. Excellent read.

Page turner! Couldn't wait to see "who dunnit".

This was a wonderful read for teens. I enjoyed the concept of the book and thought the various characters were fun to read about.

The book was too YA for my tastes. I found the characters cliched and written flatly. An extra star for having four different narrators for the four different protagonists in their respective chapters.

Every once in a while a book that is a joy to read ends up in your hands. This was one of those books. Initially this book completely escaped my notice but then I started seeing some really great reviews for it from a lot of different people. I saw a bandwagon and decided to jump on. I am so glad that I did. This book was such a surprise for me. I hoped that I would like it but I never expected to love it. Once I got about midway through the book, I didn't put it down until I turned the last page. The characters in this story are great. I had hoped that I would like the characters when I started reading this book. I never dreamed for a moment that I would love them. The four main characters at the heart of this book are all very different from each other and I really felt like I got to know them over the course of the book. There were times that I felt like the book was really focusing on one character more than the others but then the focus would move on to the next character for a while. I really enjoyed getting to know all four members of the group.This book starts out in detention. Simon, Bronwyn, Addy, Cooper, and Nate are the only students in detention that day but after a terrifying emergency only four students ever get to leave. Simon is rushed to the hospital where he later dies. The authorities think that one or all of the other students might be responsible for his death since Simon was about to reveal big secrets about each person on his gossip blog.The mystery in this book was really very well done. I had no idea what happened to Simon. I would come up with a theory only to realize that I had to be wrong soon after. I was literally guessing until the end of the book. I also really felt for each of the characters as their secrets were revealed. All four really go through a major life change during the course of this book.I would highly recommend this book to others. This was a very smartly written story that was next to impossible to put down. I am very impressed by the fact that this is the first book written by Karen M. McManus. I look forward to reading more of her work in the future.I received an advance reader edition of this book from Random House Children's - Delacorte Press via NetGalley.

One of Us is Lying is a compelling mystery with a very simple premise. Five students go into detention, each claiming to have been set up. They are left alone in the room for a brief period. One of the student dies. The remainder of the story is told from the perspective of each of the four potential murderers, each maintaining their innocent while hiding a dark secret.In this way, the novel's title is misleading. I won't talk about the plot too much for fear of spoilers but every character in this novel has something to hide and most people in the school had a very good reason for wanting the victim dead. For a large part of the novel, the thing that made me curious wasn't who the killer was, but just what the protagonists were desperate to hide. While not all of their secrets were ultimately sinister, they did all have deep impacts on the teenagers' lives.In terms of a mystery, the novel certainly kept my attention. While I did predict the ultimate twist quite early on, I actually discounted it because it seemed so unlikely. My biggest problem with the way the story was told was that I didn't think that the four suspects were suspicious enough of each other. The idea that none of them was guilty was thrown out their pretty early on and the suspects joined forces very quickly. I think the twist will divide readers too. While I didn't find it that satisfying personally, I think that some readers will certainly enjoy it.The best thing about the story was its characters. While I didn't immediately gravitate towards the main cast because they were just too stereotypical - the nerd, the jock, the homecoming queen, the delinquent and the gossip - the characters did all become more developed as the story came out. While each puts up a front, they're not really cookie-cutter characters underneath. Each of them felt like very realistic teenagers, plagued by school drama and varying family pressure - from Nate's drunken father to Bronwyn's intellectual and strict parents.The character with the best development was probably Addy, as she did get a complete character arc. She started out the novel as a doormat, existing only to please her truly awful boyfriend, but gradually becomes stronger and more independent as the story progresses. All in all, I though this was a very strong debut and I'm curious to see what McManus will write next.

What a book! If you are fan of YA and Mystery this is a book for you. It definitely has a Pretty Little Liars feel but it kind of reminds me a little bit of The Breakfast Club. Who doesn’t love to get caught up in a good mystery involving high school gossip and drama?!?! (I know you do! Don’t have to hide it from me!) 👍🏼🙌🏼

I think this book is best described as Breakfast Club meets Gossip Girl. I really enjoyed the original twist in it. I thought it was really well thought out and written. I had my guess at the beginning and I was way wrong! I love books that can surprise me. I would definitely recommend it!

On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High end up in detention together. None of them are friends and they're all completely different from one another. Bronwyn is the smart girl, over-achiever and she never breaks a rule. Addy is the pretty girl and homecoming princess, and she has the hottest boyfriend at Bayview. Cooper is the athlete and an all-star pitcher. Nate is the criminal who is on probation for dealing drugs. And Simon is the social outcast and creator of Bayview High's notorious gossip app. Simon has posted some very juicy stuff on that app and has hurt a lot of people in the process. He never makes it out of that classroom alive. According to investigators Simon had planned to reveal something major about each of the four people in that classroom the day after he died. So those four students are suspects in his murder.

This was a compulsive read. It was well-written, suspenseful (who killed Simon?!) and had a diverse group of people who all had one thing in common - they have secrets. These characters have a lot of depth. We get a glimpse of them before Simon dies, but then we follow them from school to home to the police station and we see how scared they are, how they're trying to "be normal", we see their families. I thought this book was clever and I loved it!

Five high school students - the brain, the jock, the beauty, the criminal, and the gossip – are all in detention together when the gossip, Simon, accidentally ingests peanut oil, goes into anaphylactic shock, and dies. The other students in detention were the only people in the room, but Simon ran an app exposing the secrets of all of his classmates so everyone had a motive for wanting to shut him up. All four students are lying about something Simon knew that they didn’t want getting exposed, but who is lying about killing Simon?I enjoyed this book so much! My only small quibble would be that I don’t know what kind of newspaper the Bayview newpaper is supposed to be, but where I come from reputable newspapers don’t publish identifying information for minors.Huge major spoilers for the plot! Originally I was going to quibble with how Abby’s infraction was so disproportionately minor compared to the other three…but it turns out that was the whole point! Well done.One of the things I really liked about the book was that in the end, Simon was truly a villain. He concocted this scheme because he liked the idea of a school shooting but didn’t think that would be bad enough. He is not a martyr and his suicide is not glorified. He tried to control the narrative around his death – as many teens do, especially in popular media (I’m looking at you, 13 Reasons Why!) – but failed, which was a relief to me.This book contains the best of teen dramas/mysteries like Pretty Little Liars, 13 Reasons Why, Gossip Girl, and even Netflix’s American Vandal (although One of Us Is Lying is not strictly a satire, it does often point out the hypocrisy of parents, gossip, and media coverage of teen scandals). It contains very little of the bad aspects: the narrative isn’t a huge mess like PLL, and it’s sensitive to actual economic issues unlike Gossip Girl. However, considering it takes place in Southern California it could have used more cultural/racial diversity. All in all, the book was extremely enjoyable and engrossing. I actually started writing down my theories as I got toward the end of the book, but even examining every possibility I could think of, I was still surprised! I highly recommend it for anyone who likes YA.

Thought it took too long to get to the ending and didn’t like that some of the motivations didn’t really make sense. Would Janae really have framed Nate if she was terrified of Jake? No.A lot more mature than I expected as well. A story built on four secrets and a gossip spreading self centred jealous boy.Probably not going to put it on my shelves. Didn’t like all the trashy talk etc. Much more suited for high school.

pretty great breakfast / murder club mashup "It’s a great story: four good-looking, high-profile students all being investigated for murder. And nobody’s what they seem..." "Now here’s your assignment: connect the dots. Is everybody in it together, or is somebody pulling strings? Who’s the puppet master and who’s the puppet? I’ll give you a hint to get you started: everyone’s lying. GO!" I must crow a bit...I KNEW this was going to be awesome WAY before the library loving released it into my anxiously awaiting clutches. It's high school drama with a dollop of Breakfast/ Kill Club mixed in. The writing was extremely laid back which made it easy to devour large portions in a single sitting. In fact that might be my super power of late...capable of tackling great tomes in a single bound...fights off even the worst case of late-night bleary eye.... motto: one more chapter...can't leave things off like that...just a hundred pages til the end...oops, is that the last page?... I know it's long, I'll keep working on it....aaaaand I digress (frequently)...back to the book at hand. One Of Us Is Lying is unsurprisingly easy to consume in absolutely no time at all. After just a few hours I turned to the epilogue and silently swore because it was quickly coming to an end (great sign). The world building was a little sparse but the characters were sufficiently complex though undeniably trite. It was told via multiple POVs which got a bit confusing at times, causing some pack peddling to find out which character's head we were in, but in the end it worked out well. Be warned: There are some heavy triggers (which I will not disclose...no spoilers here but be aware) within BUT the ugly spots are effectively sterilized, lacquered over and buffed to a PG tint. The ending wrapped things up so neatly as to almost be too saccharine....not my thing but right up your alley if you're one who likes their endings nice and tidy for all.The takehome is: this is a quick, easily addictive read with a minimally showcased, predictable yet insta-love free romance.

Wow. Just wow. I was infuriated with this book because of how blatantly obvious the ending was. I was...off. Not by much, but enough for my assessment of the book to completely change. That being said, the plot-flow was the ONLY part that ever gave me pause on this book. The four main characters were fascinating, their growth and regression was brilliantly handled, and the tension build-up was almost physically painful (anxiety attack, anyone?). I would LOVE to see this on the big screen someday (edit: Damn! Apparently it's getting a TV series!). No spoilers here, but this is the YA response to Gone Girl.