This week we are discussing One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus, Chapters 11- 20.
Spoiler Warning!!! This post contains spoilers for One of Us is Lying.
Trigger Warning!!! Discussions of Death, Mentions of Suicide
Discussion:
Michaela: Welcome to discussion #2 of this month's book! One of Us is Lying has been giving me so many feelings. I want all four of these kids to have everything. They especially all need hugs and someone to talk to who isn’t suspecting all of them of murder or some other “crime”. Bronwyn’s parents feel betrayed that she cheated her chemistry grade. Nate’s dad is present physically but absent in every other way. Cooper is micro managed by his father and feels like he can’t be himself ever. Addy didn’t realize until now that she doesn’t know who she is without Jake because he was so abusive! I’ve developed love for all of these kids.
Jacilyn: Me too. They all have such different backgrounds but they’re all struggling, and they’ve been brought together by this super traumatic event. My heart already hurts because I have a feeling that by the end of this book, we may not be looking at all of these people the same way.
Bronwyn and Nate’s late night phone calls are the sweetest thing. I don’t think either of them realize how badly they need the others’ support. I don’t think Nate knows what it feels like to actually be himself with someone. To actually show vulnerability. I think he fights against it whenever he starts to open up, which is why he still answers Amber’s texts there for a while even after talking with Bronwyn every night. I keep expecting Bronwyn’s burner phone to be found, too…..
Also, I love the relationship that Bronwyn and Maeve have. There’s so much trust. I always wanted that type of sister, someone who I could talk to about anything and everything, to always have their support.
Michaela: I’m so nervous for the end of this book. I feel that one of these characters is going to be destroyed. I won’t be able to handle it. Though I still find it hard to suspect any of them there are some things a couple of them have said that have shot up some red flags. I love how nonchalantly the author throws those flags in there too.
Brownyn and Nate’s growing relationship gives me life. I ship it so hard. I expected them to be frustrating and not talk to each other like so many other couples in YA novels. But they actually communicate and talk through things right now. And I live for it. I don’t think either of them know how to be themselves with someone. I don’t know that Bronwyn is ever truly herself with her family, maybe only with her sister. I feel like Nate substitutes his friends with benefits stuff for a real relationship thinking that it will distract him from having emotions and I think that’s made him even more secluded. I do appreciate how neither of them just outright tell the other one everything, we get to read the thought processes of them deciding to tell the other certain things. I feel like so many relationships in fiction books go from 0 to 100 in a day. But I like that we’ve watched Bronwyn and Nate’s relationship grow at a relatively normal rate.
I love how Bronwyn and Maeve are with each other…..but…...I have some suspicions about Maeve. She’s been a little too secretive about being able to hack into Simon’s account and she has told Bronwyn twice that she cared more about the article than Maeve did. I feel distrust.
Jacilyn: I totally agree about Maeve. I’m a little worried that the police are going to catch onto her hacking activities and try to pin the murder on her. But at the same time I also don’t think she’s the one writing the Tumblr posts, because I can’t see her putting suspicion on Bronwyn. Which just further reinforces my idea that I really don’t think the Tumblr poster and the killer are the same person.
Speaking of Maeve, she found out that the post about Cooper was date stamped for the night before the murder, and also an encrypted file that she can’t figure out how to open. We know now that Cooper’s actual secret is that Kris is a man and that he is gay, so I am expecting that that’s what’s in the file. It’s awful that Cooper is so terrified of what his dad will say about the truth. And his dad was the one who thought it would be a good idea to hold back his skills so that he really caught peoples’ attention senior year? I seriously can’t believe he thought that was a good idea. But I’m glad that Cooper finally broke up with Keely. Nonny was right…. She’s not the one for him.
And then there’s Addy. Her mom is useless. I’m so glad she has Ashton for support. They need each other. Addy is chopping off her hair, having opinions, riding bikes again… she even stands up to Jake. I feel like there might have been two reasons he invited her over to talk; he saw her talking with TJ and wanted to try to exert control over again and/or police are trying to use him to get information out of Addy. Out of all of the suspects, I think Addy seems the most suspic, but it still feels like a stretch to me. She knows that peanut oil has to be cold pressed in order for someone with a peanut allergy to have an allergic reaction…. I highly doubt she heard that on the Food Network.
Michaela: It’s like Maeve is overly confident about not being caught and it makes me nervous. I agree, I don’t think the Tumblr poster and the killer are the same person. I think the poster could possibly be a friend of Simon’s we don’t know about. That's just grieving in a weird way. Or possibly they’re automated by Simon himself in case something were to happen to him but this seems highly unlikely because I don’t think he would have suspected someone would want to kill him.
His dad is a ridiculous person when it comes to baseball and obviously homophobic. I don’t think he will tell his dad any time soon unless he is forced too. Which I feel like might happen before the end of this book. I think everyone’s second secrets are going to come out before this book is over. I loved that Nonny wasn’t afraid to state her opinions to Cooper to help him, it was very sweet because there was zero judgement on her part. She truly just wanted him to be happy. Keely is obviously trying to make Cooper jealous or mad, maybe, by going out with their other friend right after the break up. None of these teenagers know how to handle break ups that’s for certain. Cooper and Addy’s “friend” group is so toxic.
I hate Addy’s mom, you’re right she is completely useless and emotionally abusive. I think Addy reached that point where she realizes she can be a person now. She is allowed to have a personality without a boyfriend, which she has to unlearn from a lifetime with her mother telling her that’s how it should be. I’m so glad she has Ashton to coach her through this time. I really enjoy reading through Addy’s point of view of how she slowly realizes the things she never used to do like have opinions, choose her own outfits, choose when she could leave a party, etc. There’s so much that Jake micromanaged in her life that I feel like Jake just saw her as an accessory and not a person.
I think both of your theories about why Jake invited Addy over could be possible. I think either way he would love the chance to try to control her again. I think after doing it for years he’s probably missing having her to boss around honestly. He disgusts me to say the least. The cold pressed stuff was super suspicious and I don’t know why she would have learned that on Food Network. Addy has her suspicious moments but I don’t think she’s hiding murder. It just doesn’t fit in my brain but I guess we’ll find out.
I’m so glad that that lawyer on Mikhail Powers Investigates brought up Mr. Avery! I still find him so suspicious and I’m so pissed off that the police are just ignoring everything else besides the four kids. It drives me insane. There are other angles to look at and yet they just keep questioning all four of these kids with the same questions over and over again. I can’t stand it! Simon obviously would have crossed so many lines having been doing this app for a couple of years now.
Jacilyn: Maeve found that Simon was posting on 4chan, and found comments of his on a post praising a school shooter from nearby. The lawyer from Until Proven is right…. There’s so many other places to look for leads on Simon’s death. Mr. Avery is suspicious, and I 100% think the car accident was staged. Which also points more towards Mr. Avery because it got him out of the room when Simon starts having his reaction. I just really feel like Mr. Avery is more involved than anyone thinks. And I agree that Maeve is kind of throwing caution to the wind…. I’m concerned that the police are going to accuse Maeve and Bronwyn will take the fall just to save her. Especially now that the post about Maeve has come to light from a while back. Do you think Maeve really isn’t as bothered by all of that as Bronwyn is? I can’t really tell. And to be honest, there’s no way Bronwyn is the only one who ever told Simon to “fuck off and die.” There’s no way.
I also wonder about Janae. She’s having a strong reaction to her friends’ death, which is of course totally fair, but the author keeps including references to her and I just… I wonder. But I was so proud when Addy forced Janae to accept some comfort from her. I think that was an important moment for Addy, also, as far as coming into who she is. I also like that Janae and Addy are spending time with Bronwyn, Maeve, and their friends. I don’t know that they’ll be having sleepovers anytime soon, per se, but I like the blending of different cliques happening.
Jake is awful. He tells Cooper that his mom cheated on his dad when Jake was in junior high, so I’m sure that’s where his sense of control over Addy is. But that’s not a justification for abusive behavior. It’s just not. I’m worried about his role in all of this. It seems like TJ actually really likes Addy, for the person she really is. If that’s what Addy wants, then I want her to go for it, but I hope she realizes, truly, that she doesn’t need a boyfriend for her to be someone worthwhile.
I think Keely was trying to make Cooper jealous, and Cooper even admits that he hasn’t paid enough attention to her. I think Keely was clingy because she felt that Cooper didn’t feel the same way about her as she did for him. I kind of feel bad for her.
The amount of national attention that these poor kids are getting is awful. They’re all doing various things to avoid the press outside of schools and their houses…. Talk about harassment. Although you can’t deny that Nate and Bronwyn’s escapes by the bike through the woods is kind of romantic. Really, one of those escapes is what led to their first kiss.
And then there’s Nate’s mom. Bronwyn was understandably upset about being lied to, but I get where Nate is coming from. Especially when you’re a kid, going through all of that? I’ve lied about my own mother also. It’s much easier than telling the truth. And like he said… for all he knew, she was dead. I know exactly how that feels. And to see her on his doorstep like that after all these years? I get his lack of distrust. I understand it to my very core. Especially with a mother who goes through ups and downs with addiction and mental illness. He has every right to feel the way he does, and I so desperately hope that his mother’s sobriety continues and that she shows him that she can be trusted. Nate deserves that. I related to every single feeling Nate had towards his mom, and it hit me hard.
Nate’s mom always liked Bronwyn, and Bronwyn was fond of her interactions with her also. It feels like those two are meant to be together, but I’m just waiting for something to go wrong. When Bronwyn snuck him into her house, I kept expecting them to get caught. But it was good that they finally had an actual discussion about their feelings. It seems like they’re going into this with honesty and vulnerability and I just hope beyond hope that they come out of this happy.
Michaela: I think Maeve is very bothered by it. I don’t believe for one second she isn’t bothered, especially since she stopped going out to social things after it came out. I think Maeve might be using the protection of Bronwyn doing all the social stuff for the two of them as a cover to do other things. The comment Bronwyn made on that post is such a stretch for the police, it really is. If you’ve ever been a teenager you know you used to say stuff like that all the time to people. Not that it’s okay that she said it but for the police to use that as actual evidence is utterly ridiculous.
I think Janae’s character is there to remind us that Simon did have some friends in the world and wasn’t completely horrible. I was very proud of Addy for comforting Janae and of Bronwyn for inviting Addy and accepting Janae into her friend group. They both needed it. I think TJ is actually a nice person but I hope Addy doesn’t choose to have another boyfriend before she’s learned a little more about herself. She needs time to be herself and be feel free, not that TJ would be smothering like Jake.
The news reporters are definitely harassing these kids, literal minors. Also the principal decided to interrogate these kids too which was just horrible, under some pretense of protecting them. I don’t believe that bull at all. At least the school has kicked the reporters off of school property but clearly the school and local police are not going out of their way to protect these minors. The attention this case is getting is bringing up fan pages for the kids and stuff and that makes me so uncomfortable. Stuff like this actually happens in real life and it’s just so weird, everyone is so used to consuming media that real life events get treated like its a television show. It’s creepy and sad.
I can only relate to Nate on a very surface level. But I was very curious about how realistic you found his feelings to be because I know you have experienced similar things when you were younger. I appreciate how the author continually has her characters react realistically no matter how hard the situation. I also think representation of Nate’s family and well as all the other families is so important. Many young people go through just as much, if not more, than many adults and I think it’s important that teenagers in particular can read about characters who have gone through the same difficult things.
This whole last section of the book I think I’ll just be waiting for the shoe to drop. Something is going to happen and it won’t be good. I can feel it coming and I’m not ready!
Jacilyn: I think the author has done an incredible job of really illustrating how there’s so much more to people than what you see on the surface. Each one of these kids have so much more going on in their life than anyone would have guessed, and it is really important for people to realize that. Honestly, this whole book is a lesson on being kind to others.
I definitely feel the anxiety of something big coming soon. Things have gone a little too smoothly so far, so I’m on edge as I read. It’s extra difficult because I’ve become so fond of all four of them. Which, I’m sure, is the whole point. I’m simultaneously excited and terrified to keep reading.
Well, friends, what do you think? Is Maeve suspic? Does Mr. Avery have a motive? Who is about to crumble under the pressure? Will the police ever actually do their job? Let’s discuss!
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