Having already read The DUFF and being surprisingly impressed by Kody Keplinger’s writing style and moxie. I was really excited to sink my teeth into the companion novel LOL.I think what impressed me most about Keplinger’s style is just the amount of sass she puts into her stories and her characters. At the minute in YA fiction there is a macabre trend of stories about incurable illnesses or suicide so it is refreshing to have a story that is about solvable problems that are still real and relevant. This is exactly what you get with Keplinger’s writing and it is no different from her latest offering – LOL.

In Lying Out Loud, our protagonist Sonny has a problem. She is a bit of a liar. She has learnt that she is a quick thinker and can make up excuses on the spot. However, sometimes her lies can’t get her out of real life desperate situations she manages to get herself in.

In a Cyrano de Bergerac-esque novel Sonny responds to the amorous emails from new student Ryder. As the conversation flows, Sonny realises that she likes him. One problem, she is replying on her best friend Amy’s email account. Ryder likes Amy, not Sonny. Sonny begins to weave a crafty web of lies to make Ryder fall for her instead but eventually her perpetual mendacious behaviour catches up with her.

LOL is a really great read that is hard to put down. It deals with themes of unrequited love, friendship along with deeper issues such as abandonment and poverty. It definitely should be a part of all young adults’ libraries.

Hamilton High: Lying Out Loud: A Companion Novel to The Duff by Kody Keplinger is available now.

Follow Kody Keplinger (@Kody_Keplinger) on Twitter.

Got it on my ereader off Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Really liked the novel! Can't think of any actual criticisms right now, it just wasn't mind blowing so that's why it's not a 5.

Here is the full-length review: https://blubimnotafish.wordpress.com/2015/07/20/lying-out-loud-by-kody-keplinger/

4.5 es genial pero necesito más. Solo por eso le quite 5(?

First I was surprised to see there was a sequel of The Duff. Lying Out Loud came already out in April, but I haven't heard anyone talking about it but then I saw it on Netgalley.

I've read The Duff at the end of 2013 and I started my blog in 2014, so I don't have a review up for that book, but I liked it. I have a rule that if I've read the book and there is a movie, I want to give that a shot as well, so I did. I watched the movie at the end of May this year and I loved it even more than the book (I gave The Duff 3 stars as well, but the movie is a 4 or maybe 5 star to me). So I remembered the story so I decided that is was perfect time to read the sequel as well (the paperback comes out on July 2nd, in case you prefer that to hardcovers!).

The sequel (or you might say companion) was good as well. Just a reminder: a 3 star rating isn't a bad rating for me! When I give a 3 star rating it just means it's a bit cliché, didn't surprise me but it's still worth the read. It has a great moral in it, but I think I could've enjoyed it more if I was much younger. However, if you've read The Duff and like that one, you'll also like Lying Out Loud. You can also read Lying Out Loud if you haven't read The Duff, because it's companion novel, so with other characters (but some side characters are main characters in The Duff, so basically the same as the Anna and the French Kiss trilogy).

Cute, but definitely not my fave. I didn't really connect with the characters or the story all that much.

3.5 LOL stars!

Kody Keplinger is an author I turn to whenever I don't know what to read. She has such a great voice as an author, laced with wit and humor and I always enjoy her books. Lying Out Loud was a fun read, but not my favorite by her. Not because of the writing, but I'll get to that in a bit.

Lying Out Loud is the story of teenage girl Sonny who is a compulsive liar. It's been a kind of survival technique for most of her life when avoiding the bigger issues. Now as a senior in high school, she's crashing at her best friend's house because her mom "kicked her out" (or so we are told). When Sonny accidentally IMs a guy using her friend Amy's account, she finds herself stuck in another position where she is lying to them, even as she is falling for him.



This book was good, I just didn't love it. Mostly because I felt the main character was a really shitty friend, and while I understand why, it really bugged me. For someone who was so affected by the actions of others, she didn't think about how her own actions affected others, most of the time in a negative manner. Plus, I didn't love the romance aspect of this book, it could have been more developed.

Like I said before, I did enjoy the book and the writing style, but this would probably be my least favorite of all of Keplinger's works I've read so far. Not even the cameo of Wesley could bring this book up more.

4 out of 5 Stars

The Duff was a fun and enjoyable read. The Duff was the first book by Kody Keplinger that I have read and it won't be the last. I loved Bianca and Wesley.

Book 2 for #THEREADINGRUSH!

Cute easy read, not much to the plot but it was still entertaining :)

3.75/4*

***I’ve received a free eBook copy in exchange for an honest review***

We all know about book the DUFF, which recently became a movie. Well, guess what this book is. It is companion novel to that. I was freaking out when I got the chance to read it before its realising date.

In this one we follow girl Sonny, girl who just can’t stop lying. She just doesn’t know how. It is her way of getting control over things, way of staying safe from other people’s judging. She is best friend of Amy Rush, Wesley’s sister(you will know who Wesley is if you read the Duff). She was getting away with lying until one day she finds more about the new kid Ryder who recently came to their school. At first she thinks that he is jackass and she pretty much hated him. He had one wickness Amy and one night when he emails her, girls decide not to miss that opportunity and make a prank(or pretty much just Sonny). Things get complicated when Sonny finds herself texting with Ryder whole night. But there is one problem, he thinks he was talking to Amy. From that point Sonny is trying to make her plan, of getting him to like her not Amy, become reality.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked that some characters from previous one were in this one too. It just made sence. I liked that it was not all about romance, it mentions some deep issues about friendships and family. It was really entertaining, and kept my attention from first to last page. Also there was humor aspect which i really liked. I found myself laughing out loud at some parts.

Our main character Sonny was reliable. I understood her need for lying and protecting herself. She had some deep issues, but she performed as strong person. She had a development from beginning until end. She just grew as person and i enjoyed that. But at some parts i just wanted to scream WHYY? WHYY WOULD YOU DO THAT!? She knew she will get hurt if she don’t stop the lying, but she just couldn’t help herself. But everything was resolved at the end.

I also liked Amy as character. She was shy girl, girl who needed someone to stand for her, because she was to polite and didn’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings. She thought more about others that herself. That made her amazing person and friend. She also grew as character. She was so forgiving it and amazing and I kind of related to her the most.

I loved their friendship. Without each other they wouldn’t be a whole. They needed each other in their life. Amy needed Sonny to protect her, to get her out in the world. But Sonny needed Amy to calm her down, made her better person. It was just beautiful to read about.

I like the romance. At first I thought that I needed more, but then I realise it was more realistic and reliable this way. They were so cute together. That’s all I am going to say.

I liked this book, but i didn’t love it. Something was just missing but i don’t know why. That’s the only reason i will give it 3.75/5 stars, but i recommend it to everyone.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley and I don't think I've ever been more happy to get an email saying a book has been approved because I adore The Duff and this being a companion to it, I was dying with excitement. I was totally stoked about this book and I've got to say - this book did not disappoint.



Sonny and Amy have been best friends for pretty much forever. Sonny is the loud, outgoing and kind of obnoxious one whereas Amy is the sweet, quiet, reserved one. The two give a balance on each other, I thought this was quite a good example of where 'opposites attract'. The two are best friends; they're soulmates. Throughout the book we see them have their ups and down and I feel like it can go back to where it all started. Near the beginning of this book, Amy said all the bad things happening to Sonny was 'karma' and I thought it was a sneaky foreshadow as this book feels like a very big, fat book of karma being finally delivered to Sonny.

Sonny has bad things happening to her because she's a liar - a big, fat, compulsive one at that. We learn she uses it to protect herself from all the bad things going on, she likes to be in control when she isn't. She doesn't want anyone to get close because the two people who are supposed to always be there for you, have let her down. No one, but Amy, has been there for her.

Amy, is Wesley Rush's little sister - I'll get onto Wesley in a second, don't forget I'm skipping Bianca - and is pretty much the opposite of him. Wesley, in The Duff is flirty, outgoing, loud, the 'school slut' was his reputation pretty much and Amy is shy, peaceful and a bit of a pushover. I thought her character development was great in this book - she went from shy to fierce - and I get all happy thinking about the amazing character development Keplinger produces but I'll talk about it later.

Now, lets talk about Ryder. Ryder's the new kid to Hamilton High and he's missing his life in Washington DC and keeps complaining about what a deadbeat town Hamilton is and that his mother dragged him from his friends and family. Lets get this out in the clear, at the start of the book (once again, amazing character development) Ryder's the most pretentious douche bag you have ever met in your entire life. Everyone at school hates him for his negative views on the town and for his annoying positive views about DC and he has a pretty big crush on Amy.

And it doesn't help when Amy and Sonny write a mean email reply when he's sent a polite one asking Amy on a date. The thing is, Amy doesn't want to go on a date with him but she's too nice to say no so Sonny takes it into her hands and the two write an email that was meant for their eyes only.

Until Sonny's hand slips and it sends.

So when Sonny apologizes through IMing him, he accepts it and the two talk all night and Sonny thinks she might have a crush on the pretentious, snobby, preppy new boy - and then it all goes crashing down in flames for when Ryder thinks he's been talking to Amy for the whole night. Let me tell you, this is the beginning of the disaster. I'm not going to give anything more away because I don't think I can without writing about this book for hours.

Now onto Wesley Rush. Oh Wesley. Wesley Wesley Wesley. I have loved Wesley ever since Bianca threw a cheery coke in his face and I will continue to love him until the day I die and the days after. Wesley Rush will always be hot - even when he's old, I'll bet money on that. I adored Wesley's little cameos in this book and it made me feel all gooey inside.



And Bianca with Wesley and their little squabbles made me die with cuteness inside and Kody Keplinger I know this is one of many blog posts but PLEASE just make a sequel to Bianca and Wesley's college life or after college or anything about them, please. They make me cry, in a good way. I missed them when I finished The Duff and I miss them now. I loved their appearances and some of the little quotes.

"The way Wesley looked at her,"

"I let her do whatever she wants," he said.

Yeah, they make my heart melt over and over again.



Okay, moving on because this post is going in a very different direction - the character development. The character development in this book is the best I've read in a long time and it made me really happy. Sonny went from a lying, okay she really only went from lying to being honest but seeing her at the start of this book, that is still quite a good feat for her. I also liked that she had to be reminded by Amy or had to scold herself, I liked that she didn't do it straight from the hat - it seemed much more relatable. Amy went from being quiet and allowing people to talk over her to being someone who doesn't let them - I admired that, she stuck up to her best friend which I would find pretty hard. Ryder, in my opinion, had the smallest development now I think about it. I believe Ryder was always who he was, his character outlook just changed because Sonny saw him in a different light or he saw people in a different light aka his Mother. I'm gonna bring up Wesley one more time because I can.



Also, Kody that ending was too mean. Too, too mean. You should make up for it by writing a road trip novel about Sonny, Ryder, Wesley, Bianca and Amy going on a road trip. Just saying!