who is lying?

One of Us is Lying – Karen M. McManus

Mystery, detective, murder, high school, teens, young adult, fiction.

Rating 7/10

Five students are in detention for crimes they did not commit. Someone had placed phones into their backpacks and this one teacher who has a strong hatred for technology head searched them to find them. Each of them knows their innocent. An incident occurs in the parking lot causing the detention teacher to leave the room. One of them goes to drink their water when they experience a bad allergy reaction. The four other students scramble to try to save his life, but it is too late. The next day the four students are called into the principal’s office to tell them that the student died and now being investigated as a homicide. Each of them is a suspect. Who killed him?

This was alright. I felt this was too much like Pretty Little Liars and Riverdale vibe. The writing was good and organized with the various perspectives. Half way through the first quarter of the book predicted who did the crime and was right in the end. There was not much of a mystery but its very tame. For a teenager who might be wanting to start reading mystery novels this might be exciting for sure.

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loved this!

Five Feet Apart – Rachael Lippincott with Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis

Cystic fibrosis, teens, romance, young adult, fiction.

Rating 9/10

Stella suffers from CF, cystic fibrosis, which causes havoc on her life but that doesn’t stop her from exercising control of her life. She has a schedule and made a program application that helps one be on top of their medication. Will arrives at the hospital not wanting to be there, he wants to give up the fight for this untreatable condition he has on top of having CF that does not allow him to be around anyone. When he meets Stella, that lifestyle is challenged as he wants to be around her. Stella informs him that he always should be fighting no matter what and she has her reasons why she fights, so that her family doesn’t suffer another loss. Will reflects on that and backs off from her, but she proposes stealing a foot to get closer to him as well as offering somewhat of a romance of a lifetime. An unexpected piece of news changes their lives for the better.

I was all right reading this novel. I found it too much of a cliché about clinically sick teenagers but in a heartwarming way. The characters are lovable, but I found only Stella to be less clichéd than the other characters. I do however appreciate the author for including Claire Wineland who fought long and hard with CF and all the others who continue to fight. CF is very deadly and the changes of getting a new pair of lungs is slim to none. Sometimes there are success stories and others not so much. Always continue fighting!