Sunday, January 12, 2020

Book Review: "One of Us is Next" by Karen M. McManus

In One of Us is Next, a game of truth or dare causes massive chaos.

We return to Bayview High, the scene of Karen McManus’ explosive debut novel, One of Us is Lying. Time has passed since scandal and murder rocked the school, and everyone has (mostly) been able to put their lives back in order, except for those who still seek to cause chaos, either to avenge the last troublemaker or to one-up him.

And then one day an anonymous text appears on students’ phones, initiating a game of truth or dare. A student will be chosen, they’ll have a fixed amount of time to decide between truth or dare, and if they fail to answer the question or complete the dare, a painful truth will be revealed about them—to the entire school. Some students want to report this to the principal immediately, but others worry that might lead to everyone's phones getting confiscated again.

Phoebe, the first student chosen, doesn’t believe this stuff is happening again, so she blows the game off. Then a truth she hoped would remain secret gets revealed, and it sets off ripples that will ultimately leave murder and recrimination (as well as a little romance) in its wake. Once again, Maeve tries to play detective, but she has her own issues she wants to keep secret—and then there's the embarrassing stuff.

Who is behind this latest scheme? What do they want? Is anyone's life safe from scrutiny?

McManus definitely has a talent for creating drama and angst, and that makes for a twisty and fascinating book. I wouldn’t read this one before One of Us is Lying, because while it focuses on a different group of students, the old group is peripherally involved, and many things from the first story are mentioned throughout this book.

There’s no shortage of crazy twists, and at times it gets a little confusing. The book is also narrated by multiple people, and more than a few times I had to figure out who was talking, because there wasn't a real distinction between the characters. But I couldn’t wait to see what happened next!!

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