For some reason, before I read this book, I thought it got a lot of hate, so I kind of went into this book with that perception in mind. Whether this is true or not, I am still unsure; but if it does the hate is totally misplaced. This book is fantastic! I have not read a good murder mystery in a while and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The best way that I have heard it described is ‘The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars’ and I just think that sums it up perfectly. High school students from different social circles end up in detention together, but not everyone makes it out alive. I’m not sure how much more I can say about the plot without giving things away. 

     It could have been very easy for the characters in this book to become pure stereotypes or copycats of the characters from the breakfast club, but I really respect how much more Karen McManus chose to take them. The people these characters are at the beginning of this book are not the same people that they are when this book ends. They grow in their relationships with each other, their relationships with other characters, and they grow just generally as people. If I’m being honest, when this book begins a lot of the characters are very one-dimensional and are defined by one thing or person, and if they continued on that path it could have easily been written off as a trashy teenybopper book, but it actually turns into a really interesting and compelling thriller that keeps you guessing until the very end. 

     The cool and kind of terrifying thing about this story is that it is actually plausible in real life. It is all too easy for people to spread vicious rumours and gossip online, and these kinds of things spread very quickly. This book takes a real and raw look at what it is like to be in high school nowadays and highlights how difficult cell phones and social media make things. Karen McManus does not gloss over things that adults may write off as trivial and not important and really conveys how high school felt for a lot of people; that every little thing mattered because it was your whole world. Not a lot of books take this perspective and I think it is part of what makes this one so great. 

     To further the realism in this story, we can all relate the characters in this book to someone we knew in high school. Even though the characters start out very one-dimensional, they are still true to the people you find in school today. We all knew the student who was obsessed with perfect grades, and we all knew the student who was attached at the hip with their first love. While these characters change drastically from the beginning to the end of this book, they never lean towards cartoonish or unrealistic in any way which is why this book is so compelling. 

     I really did enjoy this book and I am very much looking forward to picking up the sequel. As far as I know, the sequel follows a different cast of characters which I am a little disappointed about, but I am excited for another exciting mystery nonetheless. 5/5 stars to One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus.