The book One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus, starts with five students going into detention at Bayview High School, but only four come out after a student named Simon suddenly dies. Simon made a gossip app that was called “About That” where he posted secrets about other students, so when he died, the four other students in detention, Bronwyn, Addy, Nate, and Cooper become the main suspects for his death. One part of the book that stood out to me is when it becomes clear how much power Simon’s gossip had over everyone at the school. His app didn’t just share rumors, it actually affected how people saw each other and could ruin someone’s reputation very quickly.
Simon’s whole life was about secrets. Not just knowing them, but owning them. Knowing that the right piece of information, shared at the right time, could destroy someone’s reputation in seconds. Everyone at Bayview High was afraid of what might show up on About That the next day, because once something was posted there, it spread everywhere and you could never take it back. (p. 20)
I chose this quotation because it shows one of the main ideas in the book, which is how powerful rumors and secrets can be. Simon had a lot of control over other students because they were scared that their secrets would be posted online through his app. This also helps explain why so many people didn’t him and why there are so many suspects in the story. I think this quotation from this part of the book is important because it shows how quickly gossip can spread and how damaging it can be when people’s private information becomes public.