We are injected into the lives of four students who are unjustly called to detention in One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus. These four students could not be more different: A “know it all”, a “bad boy”, the jock and the homecoming queen come together in detention for having a cell phone on them during their infamous biology class lead by the notoriously cranky Mr. Avery. Told from all four perspectives, it is clear that each of these students have been framed, but by who and for what reason?
Simon is also in detention, which makes 5 total students and 1 teacher. He is the schools main source of news and gossip. Simon knows everything that is happening to everyone at at all times in Bayview High. His gossip app is popular and everyday the students of Bayview find out deep, personal secrets about their classmates.
The five students and Mr. Avery begin their detention session, all five students trying to figure out why they are there when a car crash happens right outside the window and Simon drops to the floor. Bronwyn the smart girl, Nate the bad boy, Cooper the jock and Addy the pretty one, are blindsided by what happens next as all four students are interrogated for the death of Simon Kelleher.
This young adult novel takes jumps in time as it switches in from one main character to the next, however, it is an easy read as McManus flawlessly separates each character’s point-of-view. As the “who done it” continues the reader explores social norm issues and the weight of society on students.
This sounds like a fun read for a grey weekend!
I second that!