Cosola, Mary (22 July 2017). " One of Us Is Lying - Book Review". www.commonsensemedia.org . Retrieved 13 May 2019.

Following the success of his Spanish Netflix series Elite, Darío Madrona received several offers to work on American television series; one such offer was for One of Us Is Lying. Madrona thought the show would provide something "a little brighter" than traditional mystery stories and found the novel "super addictive"—he was also intrigued by the flawed and untruthful characters, and saw the project as a chance to explore more profound themes of friendship, love and want. After accepting the offer, Madrona met with the producers and studio and was hired as showrunner. [7] This book would make a great movie! Karen M. McManus did a great job for a debut, I'm already looking forward to reading her future books. The topics that the book explores definitely have a YA slant, but since this book is marketed as YA, that’s to be expected. It’s things like worrying about where you’ll end up at college, fitting in, coming out, etc. It’s not stuff I’m particularly interested in, but I didn’t mind it either. The Breakfast Club-esque aspects of it were sort of charming and endearing for me. Please Note: There will be spoilers, perhaps even a few swear words, perhaps some projectile missiles of anger, perhaps even a dollop of laughter but remember there are spoilers !! Let me insert a picture so you don't see any of them if you don't want to ! Thompson, Avery (October 5, 2021). " One of Us Is Lying 's Cooper Van Grootel Teases Nate & Bronwyn's 'Bond' & Their 'Great Chemistry' ". Hollywood Life. Archived from the original on October 9, 2021 . Retrieved October 9, 2021.This was a great read. And let's put it this way: only for a novel as skillfully written as One of Us Is Lying would make me willing to relive memories of some of the angst, emotions, drama, and insecurities of high school. (And since you know so many books have me singing a particular song, for no reason whatsoever, this book had me singing "One of Us" by ABBA. But this was an easy one: the song actually has the lyric "One of us is lying.") This book is so problematic and most of it is NEVER challenged. First of all, can we talk about the immense amounts of slut-shaming? I could handle it if it was coming just from the characters and/or was actually being challenged consistently, but 1) it isn't challenged every time in the dialogue, and 2) the author contributes to the slut-shaming narrative regarding women cheating. I assume most people will have read the first book, so I’ll focus on the differences. The mystery component in One of Us is Next is actually a little weaker (less solidly constructed) than the first book. Without giving anything away, there are a couple of implausible aspects to it, while also being more easy to guess the ending. I’d say I saw most of the twists coming. Even though I predicted the whodunit less than halfway through, I still ended up genuinely enjoying the story. the mystery aspect: It was so easy to guess who did it. Who killed Simon. It doesn't take a genius to figure it out. It was so heavy handed and obvious with the clues and in your face. It tried to take focus and incriminate other people, because everyone hAtEs ThiS cHaRacTeR, but it did so in such a weak way, that I didn't even consider anything else other than what was true. But really, for a murder mystery book, there wasn't enough mystery.

Also, can we please NOT make the only queer character in the cast a horrible character who cheats and hurts people? AND can we not make the character's coming-out scene a bigger twist than the actual murderer reveal? This book also does some serious vilifying of mental illness, but I won't get started on that rant. Speaking of the final twist to ETOnline, executive producer Erica Saleh explained: "The goal is for people to be worried about Bronwyn, to be really worried about what happened at graduation. Also, I guessed it oh my god. I think it's because I'm so obsessed with non fiction crime and murder or probably because I'm just plain morbid??? But even though I had my predictions, I was shook when that ending happened, son. the writing and the pacing had me feeling like I was binge watching an addictive Netflix series. If that's not an indicator of a good book then I don't know what is. On the other hand – not a bright side – the answer to the tormenting question “Who is the killer?” is quite obvious so the mystery itself is not that strongly wrapped in unknown and delusion, which on my list is a weak point, but the good news is that the story is quite enjoyable so it kind of balances things out.

This wasn’t entirely original, I think I’ve heard of some other handful of stories similar, but it was entertaining nonetheless. Spoilers start here, plus I’ll answer a few commonly asked questions! Don’t keep reading unless you’ve read the book! After receiving the text from Simon Says, Bronwyn, Nate, Addy, Cooper, and Janae—dubbed "Murder Club"—agree to ignore it. Nate decides to move out of his house after coming home to find his mother furiously drinking. In an attempt to restore the school's good name, Principal Gupta has Nate start tutoring with Fiona, the girl Simon revealed to have stabbed her teacher for unknown reasons. The next day, Simon Says sends Addy the gun they used to kill Jake; Janae tells her she will get rid of it but keeps it instead. Simon Says tells the group to meet at the Hollywood Cinema, their old meetup spot, where they find name tags for each of them on the front row seat. In a deepfake video, Simon tells the group that they want them to pay for hurting Jake. If Murder Club do not listen to Simon Says, a video from Halloween night, proving they were in the woods the night Jake disappeared, will be sent to the police. Later, Addy has a hallucination of Jake. Second, a side character was also said to be depressed and she was his accomplice. She framed his death on the other 4 students by planting evidence. Through her, depression is villainized once again. Addy's POV is very shallow and portrays a terrible relationship and girl drama. (But she has a good growth arc.)

Here’s the thing. It’s the watered-down, YA version of How to Get Away with Murder. Some people prefer those versions! And that’s okay. It concerns me you’re avoiding a promise not to murder me.One Monday afternoon, five teens walk into detention. Only four walk out. You find out who your real friends are when stuff like this happens. Turns out I didn’t have any…Simon, the school outcast, dies from a peanut reaction and considering the method he ingested the peanuts...the eyes of the world turn on the other four. Every time I walk into the living room my wife is watching Pretty Little Liars or Revenge or Riverdale or Veronica Mars or . . . well, you get the idea. Sometimes I watch a bit with her. As I started this book I immediately thought “this book will be perfect for her – it’s the same type of thing”! Serrao, Nivea. " ' The Breakfast Club ' Meets Murder Mystery in ' One of Us Is Lying ': EW Review". EW.com . Retrieved 14 May 2019. Addy's about to leave Bayview behind and take a leap into the unknown and Phoebe's tired of keeping secrets. Everybody's ready to move on.

The four narrators become suspects in Simon’s murder, as they each had a motive to kill Simon: he ran a gossip app called About That, and his next post was to feature their darkest secrets. When they are accused, the secrets gradually come out, in part because of Tumblr posts by the supposed murderer. Their lives change as a result: Addy’s cheating on her boyfriend Jake Riordan results in their breakup and her ostracization; Bronwyn’s cheating in chemistry class imperils her admittance to Yale and sends her into Nate’s arms; Cooper’s homosexuality puts his baseball future on the line and reveals fake friends; and Nate’s past criminal history including drug dealing ultimately lands him in jail, accused of Simon’s murder. No but seriously, these are the type of characters, I wouldn't associate with at all when first reading about them, but like???? honestly, I'm willing to turn myself in if it means having them free and unharmed. i love them so much oh my god. The appearance of the book looks mysterious and since this book does not look like most books. That’s why I had high expectations before I started reading. On the other hand, I expected that this book was going to be the stereotypical American story of a homecoming queen being murdered, but this was not the case at all.

Beyond all of that... honestly, the writing is just not that good, and the "twist" is so predictable it hurts. This book was a pleasant surprise! It was refreshing and a change from the usual young-adult contemporary. One of Us Is Lying has been described on several occasions as a cross between The Breakfast Club and Pretty Little Liars. [7] [8] [2] Awards and recognition [ edit ]

It turns out that Bronwyn, Cooper, Addy, and Nate all have secrets they'd prefer to have kept hidden. In some cases these aren't even the secrets that Simon threatened to expose. But when the truth is revealed it will impact their relationships with each other and their friends, as well as their futures. Can they handle it?