Lying Out Loud

Lying Out Loud

by Kody Keplinger

Sonny is one of the best liars ever born. She's so good at lying that she can even lie to herself. But the one person she's tried to never lie to is her best friend, Amy. 

That changes when Sonny is forced to stay at Amy's house for reasons that even Sonny won't admit to.

At the same time, a new student enters Hamilton High. Ryder is extremely handsome, but he's also an extreme jerk. Sonny can't see anything to like about him. When Ryder asks Amy on a date, Sonny decides it's time to send him a message.

Things get more complicated when she sends more and more messages and they start online chatting. All the time, as Sonny begins to like Ryder more and more, Ryder likes Amy more and more, all because he thinks he's chatting online with Amy.

Sonny knows she needs to own up to the truth, but she gets so far in that there may be no way to get out without hurting everyone she loves.

Final thoughts: From the author of (and set in the same universe as) The Duff, comes this retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac. The writing is solid and the characters are well-built. I like Sonny, though I felt like shaking her from time to time. In this new world of online anonymity, Ryder's honesty in chat vs. his behavior in front of people is actually pretty realistic. Sonny's catfishing, whether intentional or not, was also pretty realistic. I liked Sonny and Amy and Sonny's situation is one that I've actually seen too often in teens. This is a good, solid read.

Rating: 4/5