One of Us is Lying

Chapters 1-9

Reading Check

1. About That (Chapter 1)

2. He is actually left-handed, but his father wants him to save his good arm for pitching. (Chapter 1)

3. His southern accent becomes stronger. (Chapter 2)

4. Yale University (Chapter 3)

5. She was in the nurse’s office on the day Simon died. (Chapter 5)

6. Simon’s funeral (Chapter 6)

Short Answer

1. Bronwyn is sent to detention because she was found with a phone. She realizes that the other students were sent to detention as well for being found with phones that were not theirs. The group thinks there is something suspicious happening. (Chapter 1)

2. He needs an epinephrine (i.e., epi) pen because he has an allergic reaction. Neither Cooper nor the teachers can find one on him or in the nurse’s office. They think it is odd that he collapsed after taking a drink of water since he has only a peanut allergy. (Chapters 1-2)

3. Nate lives with his alcoholic father in a decrepit house, and his mother struggled with her mental health before leaving the family. Nate sells drugs to pay the bills. (Chapter 4)

4. The first post admits that s/he was inspired by the Dateline show, and that s/he chose Simon because he was “someone everybody else want[ed] dead.” The second post says they watched him die, after planting the peanut oil and taking the EpiPens. (Chapters 4-6)

5. Addy is anxious that the post will be published because it reveals that she cheated on Jake with TJ. Cooper is surprised that his other secret is not written in the blog post. Both leave the police station without giving too much information away. (Chapter 7)

6. Addy admits to Jake that she cheated on him with TJ. Jake becomes infuriated, punches a wall twice, and tells her to leave. (Chapter 9)

Chapters 10-18

Reading Check

1. Gourmet or cold-pressed peanut oil (Chapter 12)

2. Clingy (Chapter 13)

3. Moved in with his new “girlfriend” (Chapter 14)

4. She cuts off her hair. (Chapter 15)

5. He breaks up with her. (Chapter 16)

Short Answer

1. Robin, her lawyer, advises Bronwyn to limit her contact with three other three students. Despite this, she approaches Nate in the hallway and he gives her a disposable flip phone so they can stay in contact without the police knowing. Soon after, they start to speak to each other on the phone every night. (Chapters 10-12)

2. Bronwyn’s parents immediately hire the best lawyer for her, and support her with continuing to attend school and proceed with business as usual. Addy’s mother, on the other hand, does not care if Addy continues school and blames her for having to spend money to talk to a lawyer. (Chapters 10-11)

3. Addy feels lonely and confused with her sense of identity. Although she misses talking and spending time with Jake, she does not miss the control he had on her life (telling her what to wear, who to talk to and how long to stay at a social event). (Chapter 14)

4. In order to escape the news vans, they take the back way to the local mall. After almost kissing, they walk through the mall and Bronwyn suggests Nate gets legal counsel. The two argue, until Bronwyn kisses Nate on the cheek and apologizes (Chapter 15).

5. Janae is a fellow student who was in love with Simon. She takes his death particularly hard, and as a result Addy suggests that she start to eat lunch with her and Bronwyn, who are “pariahs” now after the news coverage at school. (Chapters 10-18)

6. Through some computer sleuthing, Maeve is able to log in to the backend of About That, where she reads some of the unpublished posts and finds his username to track his comments on other forums. Maeve and Bronwyn learn that he posted supportive comments on forums related to school shootings. (Chapters 15-18)

Chapters 19-26

Reading Check

1. He “thought she was or probably would be soon.” (Chapter 19)

2. Mikhail Powers (Chapter 20)

3. Vanessa (Chapter 21)

4. Mikhail is gay and was also “outted” without his consent. (Chapter 24)

5. To ask Luis’s brother about the red Camaro that was involved in the accident on the day of Simon’s murder (Chapter 25)

6. “The four of us even caught Detective Wheeler eating a pile of doughnuts in the interrogation room.” (Chapter 26)

Short Answer

1. Bronwyn invites Nate over to give him an opportunity to tell the truth about his mother. He admits he made up the lie and did not know how to start telling the truth that she was alive. Eventually they agree to try a relationship and kiss. (Chapter 19)

2. Kris is a male pre-med student who Cooper realizes he is in love with. He is worried about how his father will react to him being gay, and how his sexuality might affect his chances of playing professional baseball. (Chapter 20)

3. The police found a second-file encrypted file that would have “outted” Cooper on the About That platform. The police question Cooper to see if this is true and to find commonality with the four suspects who are also trying to hide secrets; however, Cooper’s lawyer encourages him not to speak, as questions regarding “information about sexual orientation violates constitutional rights.” Cooper knows this information will be publicized and dreads telling his family, but he knows he must do so. (Chapter 22)

4. The four students meet in an under-construction house “to get together and compare notes” about the murders. They discuss possible suspects, including Leah and Janae. Nate realizes that he likes the others more than he expected to and does not think any of them did it. (Chapters 23-24)

5. After seeing Nate being led away in handcuffs on the news, Bronwyn arranges a call with lawyer Eli Kleinfelter to ask him to consider representing Nate. She also calls Nate’s mother to set up a meeting between the two of them. (Chapter 25)

6. The missing EpiPens were found in Nate’s locker (after an anonymous tip that he had drugs in his locker), and a computer was found in his room with the Tumblr posts saved. (Chapter 26)

Chapter 27-Epilogue

Reading Check

1. “‘I’m the omniscient narrator.’” (Chapter 28)

2. Juvenile detention (Chapter 28)

3. Addy gives Janae a hug. (Chapter 29)

4. Jake (Chapter 29)

5. The fact that Jake is being held at the same detention that Nate was (Chapter 30)

6. She describes it as “the belief that [a person is] owed something he[/she] didn’t get and everyone else should pay because of it.” (Epilogue)

Short Answer

1. After learning about the red Camaro’s owner from Luis, Bronwyn tracks the car to a student in Eastland High. She learns from the student that Simon paid him and a friend to stage the accident in Bayview’s parking lot. (Chapter 27)

2. Based on Simon’s history of depression as well as his interest in violent incidents at school, the students conclude that Simon might have committed suicide. (Chapter 28)

3. Janae confirms the students’ suspicions that Simon committed suicide. She also reveals that, with the help of Jake, he was able to frame each of the Bayview Four to seek revenge for being excluded or rejected by the students. (Chapter 29)

4. Jake arrives and Addy begins to secretly record an admission of his guilt as he talks to Janae. When her phone rings, he recognizes her ringtone and chases her out of the house into the woods, eventually catching up to her and knocking her to the ground. He violently attacks her and Janae, but Cooper rescues her in time. (Chapter 29)

5. Cooper is still dating Kris and has decided to play college baseball as opposed to joining the minor leagues right after high school; Ashton rents an apartment in Bayview and invites Addy to live with her; Bronwyn applies for Yale University and begins dating Evan Neiman. She eventually reconnects with Nate. (Chapter 30-Epilogue)

6. Bronwyn’s friends, including Addy, Cooper and Kris, attend her piano recital. At Addy’s request, Nate comes and apologizes for breaking up with her three months prior. He asks her out on a date to see a movie and she accepts. (Epilogue)