Karen McManus’ novel, One of Us Is Lying, portrays an uncanny case between five young adults in which one adolescent is deceased. In this novel, five students are in detention when all a sudden Simon Kelleher drops dead on the floor and dies. As his death proves to be intentional, investigators suspect the remaining four teenagers as murderers. To grow, humans discover a way to do so. In this case, the author personifies the characters by becoming a group and going through the situation together.

As classmates found out about Bronwyn cheating in chemistry, she realized that she won’t always be the perfect role model that people imagine her to act. For example, when the juvenile prison released Nate, she responded to Mikhail Powers by stating, “I did cheat in my chemistry class and I’m sorry,” and “It wasn’t fair to them, or my teachers, or the colleges I wanted to apply to. And it wasn’t fair to Simon” (McManus 344). This analyzes that after being caught up with the whole Simon case, Bronwyn knows that mistakes happen and confesses that she’ll never live as a flawless individual by apologizing. Being supported by three other young adults who’re experiencing the same circumstances helped her grow to open up and admit that faults are natural.

After breaking up with Jake, Addy realized that she can create decisions on her own and not need someone’s approval. For instance, when bumping into her former partner, she perceives, “I’m about to say I know when I remember TJ’s words. You were so...passive. Always agreeing with whatever Jake said. ‘Well, I am,’ I say instead” (McManus 191). Going back to an acquaintance's words, Addy learns to not care what others say about her. When Addy’s secret got out and the school turned their backs on her, Bronwyn and Cooper saw her for who she was. Even when she cheated on Jake and cut her hair, they encouraged her on and didn’t judge her.

In addition, Cooper’s secret got exposed as well and throughout time, he registered that he shouldn’t be ashamed of his nature. At first, Cooper wanted to keep his affair private but once it came out, he received criticism from his father and classmates. Thanks to Nate, when students laughed at Cooper, he stood up and made them forget what they were astonished about in the first place. (McManus 260). This shows that the rest of the group did not make fun of him and were thoughtful by motivating him to sit with them. That event led to Cooper’s start to show off Kris and take initiative in feeling self-assured as a living homosexual.

The main characters in One of Us Is Lying obtain strength and change for the best when they each face their own conflicts by growing together. The four former suspects eventually did not have to worry about the police or court due to Janae’s confession about Simon’s master plan. If the conditions hadn’t happened, the personas wouldn’t have had a chance to learn about themselves and transform into the figures they turned into.