One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus

McManus, K. (2017). One of us is lying. NY: Delacorte Press

Summary: Bronwyn, Nate, Addy, Simon and Cooper are serving detention one day after school for having their phone out in class. Each claims the phone is not theirs. While in detention, there is a car accident in the parking lot that distracts the teens. While their teacher is out investigating, Simon drinks a cup of water, falls over and dies; paramedics not arriving in time to save him. All of the remaining students become suspects when the police find a blog post that Simon was planning to publish outing all of the students for various things such as cheating on a test, doing drugs and cheating on a boyfriend. All of them have their own secrets which make look equally as guilty as they are being questioned by the police. After the initial aftermath form Simon's death all of the students face hardships and difficulties. A national crime show picks up Simon's story and criticize the police for not investigating more people since Simon had clearly made many enemies. Throughout the case we find that Simon acted out of jealousy for each of the students in the detention that day and had an accomplice that would publish his Tumblr posts for him. We also find out that Jake was working for Simon and that Addy was supposed to take the fall for killing Simon. Jake confonts and tries to kill Addy but the police are waiting and arrest him. 

Strengths:  This books does a great job of taking the "breakfast club" idea and making it something thrilling and unique. The students in this book all have something to hide which will resonate with many young readers. Also the mystery "whodunit" atmosphere will pull young, reluctant readers in. According to online reviews, this book will definitely appeal to Riverdale fans, which a is a huge cultural phenomenon with teenagers in 2019. 

Book Trailer:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKUIKbkmarw

Similar Books: 

• We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
• Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
• There's Someone Inside Your House by Stephenie Perkins
• Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson

Other books by Karen McManus:

• Two Can Keep a Secret
• One of Us is Next

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