One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus

Simon Kelleher is known around school as the author of the school’s gossip column. He leaks every student’s secrets; the only way to be safe from exposure is to do absolutely nothing wrong. But during after-school detention, Simon drinks a glass of water that also contains peanut oil, and he dies of anaphylactic shock.

Four other students had been in detention with Simon. Now, Bronwyn Rojas, Addy Prentiss, Nate Macauley, and Cooper Clay are murder suspects and must prove that they were not involved in his death.

Reading Level: Ages 14+

Although the four main characters in this book are high school students, very little about the book itself is suitable for high schoolers. The students use foul language, see below.

All four of the suspects have something to hide. Several of them engage in casual sex (closed-door, thankfully) and cheat on each other. One suspect is a drug dealer before being accused of murder, and he has an unending supply of burner phones to contact his buyers, suppliers, and casual hook-ups.

Another character is hiding a homosexual relationship. When he finally comes out of the closet, most of the other characters support his lifestyle. His father is depicted as the bad guy for not accepting his son’s homosexual relationship.

The suspect with the most minor offense is Bronwyn who cheats to pass science class. She confesses her sin and is shown extreme grace (perhaps an unrealistic amount) by her dream college.

High school students certainly face these challenges and situations in their everyday lives. Literature should reflect everyday life, but it should do so in a way that glorifies God and condemns sin. This book, however, glorifies the sins, presenting the characters as victims who should be pitied regardless of their wrongdoings.

Despite the book’s popularity, I do not recommend One of Us Is Lying due to its depraved content.

Language:
Terrible in this department. Uses of sh*t, f*ck, and more.

This review is written by Good Book Mom contributor, Kathryn. To learn more about Kathryn, click HERE.

This is a Mom Stop book.