One of us is Next is a spinoff of the best selling YA novel One of us is Lying (shameless plug, I did a review of this back in 2019). It has a nice mix of characters from the first book as well as some new ones to get invested in. Just over a year after the death of student Simon, there is a new scourge on the students of Bayview High. Instead of a gossip site, this time is a game of truth or dare which leads to secrets being revealed that tear apart families and ultimately leads to the death of another student.
There are plenty of clues dropped by the author for the reader to guess who is responsible for the game early on in the book but all three of the main characters are so likable that the mystery doesn’t even really matter. Maeve is the younger sister of Bronwyn (who we met in One of Us Lying) and is feeling the pressure of following in her sister’s footsteps. She is also worried that her leukemia may have returned when she starts to get some familiar symptoms. Phoebe is dealing with the sudden death of her father three years earlier and the effect this has had on her relationship with her sister. Knox is Maeve’s ex (and still best friend) and is working hard at the law office of Eli (another character from the first book) but he cannot seem to please his father.
The growth of the characters is what I enjoyed, more so that the mystery. I read to the very end to see if everything would work out for them as it’s so rare to find a book where all the main characters are likable. Personally, I preferred the mystery of the first book a little bit more but it was nice to revisist Bayview High for a while. One of us is Lying was scheduled to debut as a TV show last year but due to Covid restrictions it has been delayed. I would be very interested in seeing this book turned into a TV show as well.
Michelle O’Brien
Contributing Writer
Girl Museum Inc.