One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

How I Heard About It:  During my trip to St. Louis for NCTE I ran into my favorite publishing rep.  She works for Penguin, is amazing, and I always love chatting with her at the different conventions.  I had made the mistake of shipping all my books home and needed something to read on the plane.  She was nice enough to hand me a copy of this young-adult novel.  I started it on the plane and loved it.  The problem was when I got back to reality, time didn't allow me to spend as much time with the book as I wanted.  

What It Is About:  Four high schoolers, well five, end up in detention.  By the end of detention, one of them is dead.  Everyone thinks one of them "did it".  Simon is the outcast and the boy that ends up dead.  Bronwyn is the brain and heading for an elite college.  That is if she can keep her secret to herself.  Addy is the "queen" of the school and has the perfect boyfriend.  That is if she can keep her secret.  Nate is the class "criminal".  He is OK with this image as long as no one gets to know the true Nate.  That is if he can keep his secret.  Cooper is the baseball star and heading for the majors.  That is if he can keep his secret.  Simon was the publisher of a gossip paper that went out to all the students in the school.  Simon died, or maybe killed, during Monday study hall.  It comes to light that he was about to publish another edition of the paper on Tuesday and all four of his classmates that were in study hall with him; were going to be featured.  Who did it?  Who is telling the truth?  Who is lying?  

What I Thought Of It:  This was a perfect young-adult novel that the Penguin rep put in my hands for the plane ride home from NCTE.  I'm just sad that I didn't have the time available to read it as fast as I would have liked.  The book was a definite page turner.  Each chapter ended with a cliff hanger.  I enjoyed how each chapter was told from the perspective of the different high school characters.  It was fun to read about them and find out what each was hiding from the rest of the school.  I did not see the ending coming which is always a great way to end a book.  An excellent read and I highly recommend it.  

Who Should Read It:   Readers who are in high school and above would be the perfect audience for the young-adult novel.  The target audience is for the younger reader, but I'm thinking many of my adult reader friends, would eat this story up.  Happy Reading!  

Rating:  5 STARS out of 5 Stars