This week we are discussing One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus, Chapters 21- Epilogue.
Spoiler Warning!!! This post contains spoilers for One of Us is Lying.
Trigger Warning!!! Violence, Discussion of Death, Discussion of Suicide
Discussion:
Jacilyn: Alright y’all….. Here we are, our final discussion of One of Us is Lying. This part of the book was intense, to say the least, so let’s dive in! I just wanted to start by talking about the budding friendship between the Bayview Four. They could have easily turned against each other, especially with the police trying their hardest to make that happen, but they’ve continued to inch towards ally-ship throughout the whole book and it’s incredible. And, considering the ostracization that Cooper and Addy have suffered, they really needed the support that Bronwyn and Nate were able to give. Which, speaking of ostracization…. Vanessa and Olivia are the epitome of mean girls, and I hate them.
Michaela: I love how they’ve all become actual friends. I imagine you can’t go through all of that without either becoming close or turning on one another. But I’m so glad they went towards friendship. Them hanging out in the “epilogue” was the epitome of adorable and I love it so, so much. Vanessa and Olivia were absolutely horrible. Vanessa was the worse of the two I think. She wrote ‘whore’ on Addy’s locker and made fun of Cooper in front of the entire cafeteria, two people she was supposedly friends with. Also, she tripped Addy on purpose to physically hurt her. It’s disgusting how horrible she was. I can’t imagine what her life is like for her to think she needs to do that.
Jacilyn: I did enjoy the scene that came from Vanessa making fun of Cooper in the cafeteria, though, not gonna lie. Nate walks in right on cue, and immediately calls her out for getting around. Which, I will say, was slut shaming and isn’t cool at all, but it did turn the attention away from Cooper. Then they walked to their lunch table together, and Bronwyn and Nate kiss right there in front of everyone…. What a great fucking scene.
Janae was an interesting addition to the friend group also. It seemed like she and Addy actually clicked a little bit, but she kept herself distant. So of course, when she asked Addy if she could come over to hang out, I knew something was up. And when she sent Addy downstairs to get a drink…. At first I thought she was snooping, but of course we find out later what she was actually supposed to do there.
I was getting worried about how Maeve kept talking about her findings about Simon online, also. I really thought that was going to end up landing them in hot water. But at the same time, she was tearing into Leah for believing the rumors when she’s happy Simon is gone, considering what he did to her. I was surprised when Leah actually decided to talk to Mikhail Powers, but I think that started turning the tide for the Bayview Four in the eyes of the media. And then when the police start questioning students about Cooper’s sexuality, the tide shifts even more because Powers was also outed against his will and he did not hide his anger.
Michaela: That scene was amazing *chef’s kiss*. I love that Nate stood up for him in such a Nate way though he definitely did not need to slut shame Vanessa. Having any level of a sex life is not something shameful. Also, I loved that Luis came over to sit with Cooper right after it, while Keely just sat there looking down at the table. Standing up for your friends and what you believe is so important.
At first Janae being in their group was kind of cute but then she started to get weird. Then when she was at Addy’s I totally thought she had stolen something or planted something. I guess I wasn’t totally wrong in thinking that except she never actually planted anything. Pays to be kind though. Literally Addy being nice to Janae saved her life because literally everything would have pointed right to her. Those tumblr posts would have been super easy to pin on her since Jake used her own words and he could have been the witness to say so.
Maeve was too vocal about secret things for me. I just kept wanting to yell at her to be quiet. Everything with Leah definitely distracted me from the other clues. She was so angry and just okay with him being gone. I think Leah talking to the four in the cafeteria really made her change her mind.
Watching the media’s opinions change about the Bayview Four was amazing. The police really started to screw themselves over. Singling out Cooper like that was ridiculous and definitely illegal. Cooper’s lawyer even said “disclosing information about sexual orientation violates constitutional rights to privacy”. That whole thing was disgusting and I’m so happy that Mikhail Powers talked about it so seriously, especially considering he had a similar thing happen to him. AND the police asked students questions about Cooper but said that ‘they weren’t asking anything specific’. Obviously it was all specific enough because everyone figured it out. That whole situation was horrible.
I felt so bad for Cooper but honestly he handled it like a champion. Nonny was totally supportive which was beautiful, love her. His little brother couldn’t care less, which why would a 12 year old care, he would just want his big brother to be happy. We knew Cooper’s dad was going to be a problem but it seems like he could be getting better, eventually. Then Kris is amazing. He never pressured Cooper to come out, supported him through being forced to come out, went with the public displays of affection at Cooper’s speed, and helped solve the mystery. A+ boyfriend right there people.
Jacilyn: The information that Maeve found definitely helped the group figure out what actually happened, but she was definitely a little too reckless about it. I think the switch in the media attention was the straw that broke the camel’s back for Jake and, by extension, Janae. At first, I honestly thought the police planted the evidence on Nate (come on…. There’s no way he would keep a bag of all the Epi-pens in his locker at school, that’s ridiculous) because they didn’t have the media to help back up their suspicions anymore. But really, it was the perfect opportunity for Jake and Janae to pounce. Even if the police had any suspicions regarding the anonymous tip, I doubt they’d look too far into it at that point. Honestly, the police could have done what Maeve did and looked into Simon’s presence online outside of About That, also. That’s what they should have done. Because that comment on the post about the school shooter, about “being creative” was the key.
I feel awful for Cooper. His dad wouldn’t even look at him. He only got an offer from Cal State after the news of him and Kris broke (and I love that he decided to accept that offer, because they supported him). And he was dealing with a lot of internalized homophobia. But Kris was so supportive, and understanding, and that’s exactly what Coop needed. Between Kris, Nonny, and the rest of the Four, he has a good support system. I really loved that Kris is the one that put the dots of the Simon mystery together. He had an outside perspective, which helped a lot I think.
Michaela: It really felt like the police weren’t looking anywhere but at the four of them. No one ever looked into Mr. Avery, I’m still suspicious of him even though we know it wasn’t him now. Also, having the knowledge that Nate was a drug dealer why on earth would they think he was stupid enough to leave the Epi-pens and everything in an unlocked house and his locker. It was such a cop out (oh the irony) to use Nate, they didn’t even care how suspicious all of it was. None of it made any sense for it to be Nate, he would have been the least likely on motive alone. I hate everything about the police in this book and it's not even inaccurate to real life.
I realized as Janae was saying everything that was going on with Jake and had happened with Simon that in our first discussion I totally said “Simon did it himself” and then I said “but I think that’s too dramatic for this book”. Boy was I incorrect about how dramatic it was going to be. I thought the end of this book was super dramatic but not really unrealistic. What Simon did and his social presence that hinted to it is something that happens a lot unfortunately. Jake going along with everything was different but someone who is so abusive going that far is again, unfortunately, not uncommon.
Jacilyn: I think Simon had some serious mental health concerns. Janae said at one point that Simon took About That too far, and that when he was “himself” he wouldn’t want all of these horrible things to happen. I’ve been a little suspicious of how distraught Janae has been throughout the book also. Obviously it was her best friend, and that would be horrible to go through, but it definitely seemed like the author was pointing us to look at it a little more closely. I think it would be hard to be in her position. Simon was a true friend to her, and her only friend, really, so watching him decline and become more extreme really put her in a bad place. And then once Jake got involved, she was stuck. I remember saying a while back that I thought maybe Jake might be a police informant, but now that we know his role, his questioning of Addy makes sense. His manipulation throughout this entire thing was the most disgusting thing about the book. That he was able to keep his cool, knowing the truth that entire time, and then he STILL reacted violently when Addy told him the truth? It was no wonder he almost killed her in the woods behind Janae’s house.
I hated that Nate took the fall at first. When he was arrested, my heart broke. And if it wasn’t for Bronwyn’s determination to get Eli to take on his case, and her continued sleuthing, I think Jake would have gotten away with all of it. I really do. This is another parallel to real life, also. Someone with a minor criminal history is pinned with a crime they didn’t commit, and they don’t have the resources, or the support that others have. It makes them an easy target. An easy case closure for the police. An easy case for the district attorney. There are so many wrongful convictions based on practices like that. Even if police don’t intentionally choose the more vulnerable target, those with less resources are left at a disadvantage when trying to defend themselves and have a fair trial.
When I read that he was being arrested, my heart broke. That started my tears. Bronwyn is honestly lucky that her “tips” to Eli didn’t get anyone in trouble, because that could have easily led to issues if Nate had ended up at trial. Since Bronwyn was an alternate suspect, if the state got word that information came from her, it would have been thrown out at trial, thus leaving Nate with no defense. But at the same time, her ferocity and determination kind of led everyone to their happy ending…. Except for her and Nate. Ashton and Eli became a couple, Addy was able to let go of Jake, move in with Ashton, and be true to herself (purple hair, my kind of girl), Cooper and Kris were public, and they all had each other for support.
Michaela: Simon definitely had issues and him asking Janae to assist him had to be traumatic. Also, Janae watching the lives of those four dissolve in front of her while being threatened by Jake. I can’t imagine what she went through. I’m interested to read the book again at some point and seeing how many clues there were that pointed to Janae and how many times I can see Jake’s manipulation. He was an expert manipulator to be sure and it was horrible. And he was fully capable of controlling his emotions since he knew the entire time that Addy had been with TJ and only reacted when she said it out loud. It makes his actions towards Addy in the end so much worse because we know he wanted to do that, he was in complete control. I’m sure for Addy and Janae it’ll take a long time to work through all of that.
Nate being considered the most likely suspect just because he had a criminal history is overly familiar. This book really pointed out how messed up the justice system is and how unfair it treats those who are low income and have less resources.
I was so afraid that Bronwyn’s actions were going to make everything worse for Nate. Luckily it ended up okay. I think Bronwyn and Nate will be okay, long distance is always hard no matter what. I think them being so young is a lot of the reason they have the on and off thing, I think that’s more common with younger couples. Also, Nate is most likely still dealing with how he felt after being arrested. Cooper and Kris are adorable. And Addy has grown so much since the beginning of this book. I’m so proud of her and everything she’s done, I hope she is actually happy now that she has freedom. It will take her a while to fully get the hang of being free of Jake but she is doing amazing. They all still have each other, which is my favorite part about the ending of this. Even though they’ve all gone separate ways they still make the effort to support one another and be a friend group.
Jacilyn: Nate always felt like he wasn’t good enough for Bronwyn, and when he said he didn’t want her to come see him in jail… I knew that wasn’t good. He was very traumatized after what happened. I think he has some PTSD. And that’s a big part of why he ended things with her. And since he was in jail while everyone did the unraveling, he felt worthless. But if it wasn’t for him being in jail, the secret may have gone on forever. Bronwyn probably wouldn’t have tracked down Sam, the kid Simon paid to get into a fender bender in the high school parking lot, she probably wouldn’t have had the meeting of the “murder club” at the cafe, where Kris cracked the case…. He’s worth so much more than he knows. He was simultaneously dealing with the reappearance of his mother and her affection for him, and the affection of Bronwyn, and he has seen himself as unworthy for a long time.
In the epilogue, when Bronwyn played that same piano song in her performance that she played for Nate at her house, I was hoping against hope that he would be there. And then he shows up, apologizes, and asks her out on a real date (to see the new Divergent movie, no less).... My heart. My whole heart. And Bronwyn says she’s been charging her burner phone for the last three months, just in case…. Cue the sobs. She obviously didn’t feel the same way about Evan that she did for Nate. They’ve kind of been destined for each other since the beginning, and the beauty and romanticism of it all just gets to me.
Michaela: I think Nate started out very unhappy and possibly depressed then with Bronwyn, even with the case, he felt so much more happiness than he was used to. Then when he was arrested he fell from that happiness high really quickly and did not know how to handle it. I think Nate reached a point of too many emotions all happening at once and his brain immediately shut down, even Bronwyn could see it in the news clip. Without Nate there are so many things that never would have happened so the end of all this would have been so different.
Everything with the concert gave me so many feelings. I love how open and honest Nate was with Bronwyn and how willing he was to not be the tough guy in this moment. He also was not trying to pressure Bronwyn into getting back together. Just these two. They get to me so much, I can’t help it. Hits me right in the feels.
Jacilyn: The ending in the epilogue is about as much of a happy ending as we could get in this book. I was prepared the entire ride through for one of the four to be guilty, but I’m so glad none of them were. I loved learning about their lives and watching them grow, individually and together. This was definitely a good one.
What did y’all think? Did you see the twist coming? When did you realize? Who had your favorite interpersonal glow-up? Let us know below, and we’ll see you next time!
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