How is it that I could finish reading this book only in two and a half goddamn hours, you may ask. Well, here's the truth, folks. I already know how the story is going to go down.

Wow! You might say. That's really cool, Maddy. Can you actually predict the whole book just like that? Oh well, that's really flattering, but I couldn't have done that without the help of the author herself, of course, for writing such a big fucking cliche. It's like reading a book written from a template!

Here's the formula.

A problematic teenage girl in denial who has no goals in life, no hobby, and practically just cruises through high school because she HAS to. Has no interest or anything she's passionate about + A boy. Much unique. Very Hipster. Hates people. Very Judgmental. An asshole but boy, who cares! He's kinda nice sometimes, kinda hot too. He likes Hipster-y Stuff but never actually admits that He is a hipster because that would defy the whole purpose of being a Hipster. Plus he wears glasses IRONICALLY. Or because it's FASHIONABLE. + Shy best friend, practically perfect. So smart. So Beautiful. Her life is so easy. Rich white girl who has everything and says things like "my family isn't loaded" but has porsche and a lexus. Because she's so NICE. So HUMBLE. Yeah right. + DRAMA + UNRESOLVED FAMILY CONFLICTS because they're just there to make this main character relatable but we don't need to solve that, right? we only care about how she's going to end up with this BOY & how this conflict could help boost her lost puppy image. I mean, she's kind of a big fat liar, but hey, she has issues, give her a break. + GRAND ROMANTIC GESTURE from OLD FAMOUS ROM COMS. Yeah boi, bring in that stereo like John Cusack or punch the air with your fist or whatever because it's so ROMANTIC and will literally solve EVERY MAJOR PROBLEMS. NOT.

1/5 Stars. Would not recommend this shit show to anyone.

Additional note: you MIGHT like this book if you like dumb YA books with cutesy romance with no message to deliver at all except falling in love is so nice and complicated! But if you actually want to learn something and not waste two hours of your precious time just to read about a couple of teenagers doing dumb shit and flirting back and forth then you shouldn't probably bother with this one.

I really liked this book, it was interesting and had compelling characters.
I really liked Sonny, I think that her story was interesting and I think that she was the perfect main character.
The rest of the characters were really fleshed out. I also really liked how Wesley Rush and Bianca made appearances as well as the authors characters from her other books. It was nice to see where they all fit into the world that has been built and to see where all those characters end up (sort of).

I really liked this book and ended up binge reading it. I really recommend it to anyone who wants to read a compelling and even heartwarming story with great characters.

Fans of The DUFF must read this book! A companion novel to The DUFF, Lying Out Loud follows the story of Sonny Ardmore, who has had a rough life, with a flake of a mom and a dad who’s always been in and out of prison. Over the years, Sonny has learned how to lie very effectively. One night she begins talking to her nemesis, new kid Ryder Cross, over IM and realized much to her horror that she might actually like him. Even worse, at the end of their conversation, she realizes that she was signed in to her best friend Amy’s IM account the whole time. Ryder thought he was talking to Amy all night. So Sonny, being the master of lies that she is, comes up with a scheme to get Ryder to realize that she’s the girl of his dreams, not Amy. Hilarity and drama ensues, as one might imagine.
While I didn’t feel that this novel was as strong as The DUFF, I very much enjoyed it. It definitely held my attention and kept me guessing as to what would happen next. One thing that I really appreciated about this one what that it has less bad language than The DUFF did. Again, not that I’m a prude, but I enjoy reading sentences that feel well thought out, and cussing just doesn’t cut it for me most of the time.
Kody Keplinger is a genius when it comes to getting her characters into situations that actually make the reader cringe for them, which I love because I then feel so involved in the story. While aspects of the story may be more exaggerated than they would be in real life, a lot of times I felt that I could relate to what the characters were feeling and the situations they found themselves in.
I would give this book 5 stars, I really had a great time reading it, and when Wesley and Bianca showed up it was a bonus that I LOVED, they are two of my all-time favorite characters. So definitely give this book a read, I guarantee you won’t be disappointed!
-Katie

This is a beautiful book.

I loved every minute of it. Kody writes characters that you believe, fall in love with and want the best for them. They are raw, real and not made up.

Hope this also gets made into a movie.

Kody is breaking the boundaries of what a typical heroine looks like, and everyone is eating it up.

We all love a underdog story.

lastly: How cute was that ending? :)

How I feel after reading this:

I love how messed up Sonny is, and as my therapist says--we all come by our shit honestly.

Liked it a lot. Not as good as The DUFF but still a good story and more about friendship than romance. Didn't like all the characters all the time but that's kind of good in the end, it meant they were convincingly flawed and more like real people. But, of course, being a contemporary YA did not make it above some super unrealistic situations/contrived conversations.