Book Review #66: One Of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

Hey Guys x

This is a book that you might have heard of, because it's quite popular. However, I hadn't heard anything about it until I actually bought it. And the sole reason that I bought it was because it sounded so good.

5 kids from 5 different walks of life end up in detention together. However, when one of those kids dies, the other four are the prime suspects. Are they in it together? Did they plan to kill him because of his gossip site? Are any of them actually guilty?

While reading this book, I thought I knew exactly how my review was going to go.

Because I started off completely LOVING this book.

For a start, all of the main four characters are amazing. Addy, Cooper, Bronwyn and Nate are so different, but the slight connections between them made the book so interesting because, not only do you get to see them through each other's eyes, but then you get to go into their own heads to find out exactly who they are and what they're going through.

The way the book is written is amazing. You have four characters, each with their own minds and points of view, each with their own separate side characters, and we get to hear from all of them equally. Nothing gets confusing or doesn't make sense, and the styles of each character are so different that you're never in danger of not knowing whose head you're in.

And the thing about being in all of their heads at one time or another is that, you really don't know who did it. I think at one point I expected each of them aside from one. But then I was thrust into their head, and I felt guilty for doubting their version of events. It's crazy the way that there are four versions of each other these characters, depending on whose point of view you're reading. McManus did a great job of using this to pull the reader in and capture their attention.

My absolute favourite character was Nate, because I always root for the underdog, but all of these characters are either likeable from the beginning, or they get likeable as the book continues. For example, it took me a long time to warm to Addy, but when I did warm to her, I was such a huge fan of her character, because she gained the exact right amount of character development at the exact right time. And to some extent, all of the characters go through some sort of development that enhances their characters.

So overall, the book was really entertaining, and I couldn't put it down. It got to the point where I was waking up an hour earlier than usual just so that I could get in a few chapters before work. I was enjoying it so much.

And then everything got ruined. By the ending. Or rather, the reveal.

I'm obviously not going to spoil it, but I was so disappointed it's unbelievable. I think I'm going to write a spoiler review of it so that I can actually talk about why I didn't like it, because this little paragraph isn't enough to truly explain what went wrong for me. So this review is going to be cut short.
But my spoiler review will go up alongside this one, so if you haven't read it, don't read that review.

What was good?
So much was good! One thing that I haven't mentioned yet that I loved was the relationships that formed between these characters. In fact, the relationship between two of the characters was one of the main reasons why I couldn't put the book down.

What was bad?
Read my spoiler review HERE to find out exactly what I didn't like about the book.

Overall
I would definitely recommend this book because, even if I didn't like the ending, it was still amazing. Practically everything you want out of a book like this, and I think everyone should read it, even if they end up not liking the ending, like me.

3.5/5 Stars.

Lou