Title: “One of us is lying”
ABSTRACT
Editorial: Delacorte Press
Year: 2017
Pages: 344 (Hardcover)
ISBN-13: 978-1524764722
Mark: 7,5/10
Pay close attention and you might solve this.
On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High
walk into detention.
Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a
rule.
Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming
princess.
Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for
dealing.
Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher.
And Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview
High's notorious gossip app.
Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom.
Before the end of detention, Simon's dead. And according to investigators, his
death wasn't an accident. On Monday, he died. But on Tuesday, he'd planned to
post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates, which makes
all four of them suspects in his murder. Or are they the perfect patsies for a
killer who's still on the loose?
Everyone has secrets, right? What really matters is
how far you would go to protect them.
PERSONAL VALORATION
Justification
I had this book marked as “to-read” in Goodreads since it was published late last year, so
when I found it in one of my many visits to the library, I had to buy it.
Although the cover is very striking (with the four faces covered with pieces of
paper), the title and the abstract were the ones that ended up convincing me.
So I bought it, I started reading it and I finished it in two days.
Plot
The story is a mix of
"Gossip Girl", "The Five's Club" and "Little
Liars" in an American high school: five students go to detention (Super
American) and only four of them come out alive, all of them are suspicious and
everyone has something to hide.
The boy who has died is Simon
Kelleher, a social outcast who had created the application "About
that" (a kind of Gossip Girl) in which he unveiled the darkest secrets of
all Bayview High students. After his death the page is updated and reveals some
of the most disturbing secrets of the four students who were with him in
detention and who automatically make them suspects of murder. This has clear
implications for the four teenagers, but the situation is complicated when it
also moves to social networks and the media echoes it. As the investigation
progresses questions begin to appear: Would any of them be willing to kill
Simon to prevent these secrets from coming to light? Is it a coincidence that
everyone was in that room? What do the Four of Bayview High hide?
Characters
Undoubtedly the most important
characters of the novel are the five students who are in the punishment room:
- Simon: it's the boy who dies. Desperate to be accepted into the popular
group, he creates the application "About that" to make public the secrets of his classmates and
make himself respected through fear. As soon as he dies, the application
continues uploading updates that implicate the rest of the students and
make people doubt the innocence of all of them. Where does Simon get all
the people’s secrets? Who is helping Simon?
- Bronwyn: the brain; she is the prototype of the
perfect student: her file is impeccable, she has never broken a rule and
she is looking forward to studying at Yale. Would Bronwyn be willing to
kill to keep her secret from coming to light?
- Addy: the beautiful; blonde, is the princess of the homecoming dance
of the high school and the girlfriend of Jake. Would Addy be willing to
kill to prevent her secret from coming to light?
- Nate: the criminal; thousands of stories are circulating about him at
the high school and he is already on provisional release due to substance
trafficking. Would Nate be willing to kill to keep his secret from coming
to light?
- Cooper: the athlete, the perfect southern boy, the
gold boy of baseball who has a multitude of offers from different
universities. Would Cooper be willing to kill to prevent his secret from
coming to light?
As you can see: five
characters and five American students stereotypes. Throughout the book these
stereotypes (initially fixed) are breaking and shaping: is the brain so
perfect?, is the beauty so silly?, Is the criminal so bad?, is the athlete so
gold-boy? Personally I think both the stereotypes that are raised and the
evolution that takes place are a bit predictable: there are so many movies,
series and novels that have dealt with these issues that it is difficult for
something to surprise. However, it is always good to meet characters who are
not circular or flat, but evolve throughout the novel (even if it is a bit
predictable).
Regarding the relationships
that are established between the different characters, obviously the theme of
love (teenage hormones) and friendship is discussed. There is much to say in
this section both positive and negative but the spoilers are dangerous so I
will simply say that I liked that it has deal about abusive and toxic
relationships in different areas (family, friendship, couple).
Atmosphere
The story takes place in an
American high school shaken by the continuous stories and secrets of the
students through the application of Simon. However, apart from the gangs, the
secrets and the detention we also have representation of four different family
environments following the four suspects of Simon's murder: broken homes,
alcohol, social pressure, illnesses, neglect, incomprehension, mistreatment...
A cocktail of reality and representation that allows us to observe the
multidimensionality of the characters and understand the situation that some of
them live and how this shapes their character. When dealing with the subject of
social networks and the media, the formation of images and stereotypes is also
addressed: the speed with which certain characters are sanctified and with
which others are rejected ....
Writing
style
As it usually happens when
there are several important characters, in the chapters the different points of
view of these are used to show the situations and experiences of each one. To
give an account of this in the book it is adress the name of the character that
narrates and the day, the date and time in which the narration takes place
(which helps to clarify the temporal moment). I believe that one of the biggest
challenges is to get the "internal monologues" of the characters
differentiable. I think Karen M. McManus manages to do this properly and each
character has a way of telling and explaining what happened.
In general, the writing is
dynamic and enjoyable and the rhythm it uses is appropriate. The structure that
it raises is the traditional one of three parts (introduction, knot and end)
each one of which is titled with names of typical games ("Simon
says", "The hiding place" and "Truth or audacity")
what makes of the novel a simple and accessible reading.
GENERAL COMMENT
"One of us is lying"
is a refreshing and entertaining reading, a book to read quietly and disconnect
from your problems. A hybrid between "Gossip Girl", "The club of
five" and "Little liars" with a murder in between and many
stereotypes that are breaking along it. A slightly predictable book
(development of the characters, evolution of the plot) although with some
surprises that surely you will not wait. Although my 15-year-old self would
have enjoyed this book to the fullest, my current self has been able to value a
well-written entertaining reading. If you like the mysteries, the American high
schools, the secrets and the not-so-stereotyped characters and teenager
romance, this is undoubtedly your book!
-R.
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