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