One of Us Is Next

Does a really good job of following on from One of Us is Lying. Not as strong, partly because it takes a very long time to set up the death that the reader knows is coming, while making things unpleasant for a lot of people, and I found that stressful.

Having said that, McManus does an amazing job at looking at how life has changed for the people, the school, and the community affected by the events in the first book. And creating a new lot of characters which are beautifully rounded for the reader to love, while allowing several of the existing ones smaller roles.

Content warning: extreme bullying, shaming people for both sexual activity and lack there of, possibly some body shaming

Gah! That last line!
A great sequel to One of Us Is Lying, with familiar characters and setting, but an entirely new mystery. McManus writes teen dialogue really well, including romance that's sweet and not corny, mean-spirited gossip that has teeth but doesn't sound like she's trying too hard, and friendly banter that makes you want to join in. The mystery was well-plotted, with clues scattered throughout, but enough held back to make guessing hard. Satisfying.

Just in case it isn't obvious, you shouldn't read this book, or even this review, unless you're comfortable with the possibility of getting major spoilers for the first book in the series, One of Us Is Lying. You've been warned.

It's been a year since the events of the first book, and although Simon copycats have occasionally popped up, none of them have stuck around for long - it's hard to be as devious as Simon was, and as well-informed about everyone's secrets. When Bayview High students suddenly get texts from yet another Simon copycat telling them that they're going to be playing Truth or Dare, everyone figures it'll fizzle out like the other times. The anonymous texter picks Phoebe as their first victim, and she ignores them...only show more for one of her most hurtful secrets to be revealed to everyone when she misses the deadline to play along.

Who is this person, and what's their goal? Those questions are on everyone's minds as the game goes from hurtful and/or dangerous to deadly.

It's been a couple years since I read the first book, but there were enough details in this one to remind me of what happened and the basics of who all the returning characters were. A lot of familiar faces (the Bayview Four, Luis, Eli, etc.) made appearances and had varying levels of involvement in the story, but the POV characters, this time around, were Maeve (Bronwyn's younger sister), Knox (Maeve's best friend, and currently an intern at Unproven), and Phoebe (works as a waitress at Luis's family's restaurant).

Although the setup for this book wasn't as intriguing as the first one, I liked the new POV characters well enough. Maeve was the relatively familiar core - readers already knew a bit about her, her past struggles with leukemia, and her actions in the first book. She spends a large chunk of the book secretly worried that she's having a cancer relapse (I worried right along with her every time she got another nosebleed), but it's later revealed that she's still cancer-free. Knox was probably the least interesting of the three POV characters, but he was still a decent guy I could root for, and I ended up liking Phoebe a lot more than I initially thought I would.

Bronwyn and Nate continued to be kind of exhausting - it would have been weird not to have any updates about them and their relationship, but I was much less interested in them than I was in the POV characters' potential romances. That's one thing I definitely liked about this book more than the first one - the romantic subplots. They developed nicely and didn't feel overdone in the face of everything else going on in the story.

I guessed one of the book's big revelations well before the end, and certainly well before the other characters, although there were still aspects that surprised me. I didn't see that final piece coming at all, and I'm doubtful that the decisions certain characters made about it would hold up well if the story had continued any further.

As usual, McManus delivers a decent but not stellar YA mystery/thriller.

Extras:

Includes a book discussion guide and an interview with the author.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) show less

I gave it 4 stars because it was a solid, twisty follow-up that kept me hooked from the start. It brings that same mysterious, high school drama vibe as the first book, but with a new crew and a fresh game that gets way out of hand. I loved that it still had that fast-paced, bingeable energy while diving into new secrets and drama.
The characters were fun to follow, and each of them had a different personality that made the story feel layered and interesting. I liked seeing how they dealt with the pressure and the chaos that came with this new twisted game. It felt like a mix of suspense, teen drama, and just enough emotion to make you care. And of course, I kept trying to guess what was going to happen next and was still surprised more show more than once.
Even though I liked the first book a little more, One of Us Is Next is still a really fun read. If you liked One of Us Is Lying, definitely give this one a shot. It brings that same vibe, just with new players and a whole new mystery. show less

What a ridiculous ass book.

Okay. I am going to say something more substantial. I have eaten flavorless oatmeal that had more to it than this book. Character development is non-existent. You get to see characters from the previous book briefly, but we don't get to get into their heads. McManus decides to bring in a new crop of people for the most part that I didn't care about.

I saw the twist coming as soon as a certain scene happened. And then I saw the next twist after that. Nothing was a shock and the why behind this was not even believable.

I had a huge problem with her last book, "Two Can Keep a Secret" because she has young adults acting in ways that other teens would scoff at. The whole truth and dare game made zero sense. But how show more did no adults even hear about it? Seriously? Considering social media today no one talked about it for this to get discussed?

The jumping back and forth between 5 or I think 6 characters did not help matters either. There is zero tension going on. There was some tension in the first book because people were accusing teens of murdering their own. The murder in this book happens I think more than halfway through and I ended up loathing the characters so who cared in the end? Not me.

The romance between all of the leads were lame and I didn't care about who ended up with who even a little bit. I think McManus was trying for some epic romance up there with Logan and Veronica with two of the characters and I was over it. show less

What a ridiculous ass book.

Okay. I am going to say something more substantial. I have eaten flavorless oatmeal that had more to it than this book. Character development is non-existent. You get to see characters from the previous book briefly, but we don't get to get into their heads. McManus decides to bring in a new crop of people for the most part that I didn't care about.

I saw the twist coming as soon as a certain scene happened. And then I saw the next twist after that. Nothing was a shock and the why behind this was not even believable.

I had a huge problem with her last book, "Two Can Keep a Secret" because she has young adults acting in ways that other teens would scoff at. The whole truth and dare game made zero sense. But how show more did no adults even hear about it? Seriously? Considering social media today no one talked about it for this to get discussed?

The jumping back and forth between 5 or I think 6 characters did not help matters either. There is zero tension going on. There was some tension in the first book because people were accusing teens of murdering their own. The murder in this book happens I think more than halfway through and I ended up loathing the characters so who cared in the end? Not me.

The romance between all of the leads were lame and I didn't care about who ended up with who even a little bit. I think McManus was trying for some epic romance up there with Logan and Veronica with two of the characters and I was over it. show less

Fieldnotes:
Bayview, CA (near San Diego), Contemporary - 18 Months after One of Us is Lying

1 New Cyber-Bullying Game
2 Life-Destroying "Truths" Leaked
2 Silly Dares
1 Death

4 Original Bayview Students
3 New Bayview Sleuths
2 Potential Romantic Pairings
1 Upcoming Wedding

1 Revenge Pact
1 Law Internship
1 Possible End to Remission
1 Spelling Bee
Consequences???

The Short Version
I sped through this so as not to spoil it with Season 2 of the Netflix show. I needn't have bothered as they aren't the same storyline.

In this novel, the Original Bayview Four have graduated, but a new cyberbully has it out for Bayview High - and Maeve Rojas (Bronwyn's little sister), her best friend Knox and Phoebe Lawton who works at their favorite hangout seem to be in the show more crosshairs. When a student ends up dead after a Dare and Maeve discovers disappearing posts on a revenge forum, they do some serious sleuthing to work out who is responsible.

A fast-paced thriller. I enjoyed it, especially Maeve and Luis Santos getting closer, but in a popcorn sort of way. Not sure I'll remember much about it in a week. show less