One of Us Is Lying

Book Name

One Of Us is Lying

Author

Karen M McManus

Book Description

About That is an app dedicated to gossip. Specifically, gossip from Bayview High School. The app reports every event that takes place in the school, and no one is ever safe if they do something wrong. The mastermind behind this? Simon Kelleher. He definitely isn’t the school’s most liked guy, but he is feared because of his app. However, when Simon has a peanut allergy reaction in detention one day and dies because of it, the town of Bayview is shocked. The four other kids in detention that day – Bronwyn, Nate, Cooper, and Addy – saw the whole event take place and are quite disturbed. But when the police start suspecting them of having something to do with Simon’s death, and as more and more of Simon’s secrets come into the open, the four of them decide to band together to clear their name. Will they be able to prove themself innocent? Or will the police get to them first? Are they really innocent or do they actually have something to do with Simon’s untimely death? Read the book to find out!

Age Rating

15+

This book contains topics that are not appropriate for young kids. Firstly, there is a child dealing drugs, and drug dealing is a topic that young kids should not be exposed to. One of the character’s father is a drunkard and doesn’t help his child with anything, which can be a scary topic for younger children. There are online forums where bad content is posted, and what is written on the forums may scare small children as well. There is a lot of romantic and sexual content (described in the romance and adult topics sections) that would not be appropriate for young children. Overall, readers aged 15 or above will have been previously exposed to the topics in the book and be better suited to handle and understand them.

Good Messages

3/10

There are a few good messages in this book. Some of them include determination (seen through all the characters determination to clear their name and Bronwyn’s determination to get into a good college),  the importance of hard work and its benefits (seen through how Bronwyn works super hard and gets into a good college), the importance of having healthy relationships (seen through Addy’s eventual realization that her old relationship wasn’t healthy and what it did to her), etc.

Violence

4/10

There is not too much violence in this book. There is mention of a fistfight and some blood. Towards the end, there is a fight scene where one person gets injured and ends up in a hospital. Simon, one of the characters, participates in an online forum where they talk about violence.

Language

Intensity: 9/10

Usage: 5/10

There is definitely bad language used in this book, including words like ‘sexy’, the f-word, ‘h*ll’, ‘wh*re’, ‘sh*t’, ‘stupid’, ‘bulls**t’, ‘sl*tty’, ‘a**hole’, ‘bi*tchiest’, ‘go**amn’, ‘pi**ing’, ‘bi*ch’, ‘d*mn’, and ‘bada**’. However, even though the intensity of the words is a lot, the words are used at a moderate amount.

Romance

5/10

There is a fair amount of romantic content in the book. Addy, one of the characters, has been dating a boy since her freshman year. Two other characters (not going to give away names just so that I don’t spoil anything) get very close in the book. There is a lot of kissing, and some of it is quite passionate.

Adult Topics

There are a few adult topics in this book. One of the characters is gay, and there are scenes where two boys are passionately kissing. Right at the start of the book, sex tapes, pregnancy scares, and cheating scandals are mentioned. A lot of hooking up and sleeping with people goes in the book and at one point, sexting is mentioned. One character’s parent is mentioned as bipolar. Another character is said to have attempted to kill themself. Characters are said to have had sex. One character has a controlling boyfriend.

Tvix’s Take

Wow. Simply wow. This book was spectacular. The plot was so well-thought-out and interesting, and I was completely hooked on. The character development was amazing. The actual mystery was superb; it was so unique! I loved how there was always so much stuff going on – never a dull moment! I would absolutely suggest that people read this book because it is amazing!