One of Us is Lying

A jock, a princess, a delinquent, and a nerd. One of Us is Lying is a young adult novel about four teens with totally separate social lives that each confront their own issues and grow into their own person.

There’s something almost comforting about One of Us is Lying. Even with all the drama going on, it still presents a sanitized, almost rosy picture of high school, for two reasons. First, the worst and boring bits have been cut out. We don’t need to sit through classes, or do homework, or spend any actual time as a social pariah. Second, this is just a story to us (the reader), so we can simply enjoy the protagonists’ everyday lives without seriously worrying about the issues they’re confronting.

I thought McManus handled the four protagonists really well. Each protagonist has their own storyline, and McManus carefully controls the ebb and flow of each story. When one plot thread enters a lull, the parallel plotline structure allows McManus to cover to cover it with the action and excitement of another. Typically only one plot thread at a time will heat up, meaning the book as a whole maintains a consistent level of intensity without ever becoming too intense or sluggish.

The characters—especially the protagonists—are well-rounded and relatable. The four protagonists each occupy a different social stratus, and have different interests, hobbies, and thought processes. They’re distinct but not overbearing. On top of that, over the course of each of their stories they grow and learn more about themselves. They’re good kids (excluding the titular liar), so watching their process of self-actualization and learning how to be happy and live true to themselves is reassuring and almost heartwarming. It may be just be a made-up story, but it’s still feel-good.

Most of the characters are in high school, and... Man, I already feel too far removed to be able to accurately judge whether the book represents current high school student habits well or not. (Or perhaps I should say high school student habits as of 2017.) A couple of times in the story, tumblr posts become plot points. Do kids these days still use tumblr? (Or did they in 2017?) The tumblr posts are just meant to be “online anonymous messages” so in that respect it doesn’t really mater which platform they were posted on. But isn’t Snapchat way more popular? (In 2017?) Could you even do that sort of post on Snapchat? Kids these days...

Oh yeah. The catalyst for all the drama and growth is the fact that the protagonists become the primary suspects in a murder investigation when another student dies while in detention with them. The arc of the murder as it happens is obvious (at least to us readers who are expecting a death), and tumblr posts also confirm the method (and the fact that it wasn’t just a freak accident). But the student’s death isn’t that important. As I said, it’s a catalyst for the development of the protagonists. The explanation for the death is satisfying and accounts for all the clues and hints dropped over the course of the novel, although I think the case was open enough that the author could have pinned anybody as the culprit.

If you want a feel-good YA book but your pride prevents you from delving into that genre, I definitely recommend One of Us is Lying as a totally legitimate and serious mystery novel.