Ohhh you guyssss. This book was good. So, so good. Lying Out Loud: A Companion to The DUFF by Kody Keplinger is everything The DUFF was (funny, heartwarming, totally angsty in an amazing way) and more. What’s that? You haven’t read The DUFF? It’s okay, I haven’t either – but I watched the movie (starring Bella Thorne) and then made my husband watch it a couple days later, and we both thoroughly enjoyed it. So go rent it from RedBox stat.
Back to Lying Out Loud. The main character, Sonny, seems to have it all figured out. Not in the “her life is perfect and she’s gliding through it” type of way. More in the “everything is falling to pieces and she’s still managing to be a mostly fully functioning human being” type of way. You know, the way that is actually relatable to real life. But, this is a book, not real life and so – of course – there are plot points that seems a bit … well, ridiculous.
For starters – Sonny’s mother seems to have mysteriously kicked her out, and not only is no one asking questions about it, but no one seems to have caught on. She’s living at her best friend’s house, and it takes a few weeks for said best friend’s parents to even mention to her that they know she’s been crashing there every night and sneaking out in the morning. When they do finally bring it up, they offer her her own room and accept the vague story that her mom kicked her out over breaking a rule and don’t seem at all concerned by what that rule might have been. Eventually though they fully catch on to the situation and things start to unravel for Sonny.
If being able to skate through life were a superpower, it would be Sonny’s. She manages to talk her way in to and out of situations with ease, and never spends nearly as much time answering questions when she finds herself in sticky situations as she should. Basically, she’s an A+ liar.
Eventually though, that lying catches up with her. While using her BFF Amy’s computer to complete some homework, she finds herself getting involved in late night chat sessions with a guy from school. Turns out, said guy really likes Amy – and so Sonny pretends to be Amy … as you do. Meanwhile, Amy has literally no idea this is happening. The situation eventually necessitates that Sonny ‘fess up to her friend, and she comes clean – but by that time Sonny is crushing on the guy and needs her friend’s help making the ruse last just long enough to convince the guy that he likes her – Sonny – and not the Amy.
Unfortunately, Sonny’s penchant for talking herself into trouble continues, and the charade doesn’t wrap up as neatly as she had intended. Whoops! Throw in a dad in jail, a few dramatic fights with the Amy, and a car that craps the bed constantly and you’ve got yourself an amazing beach read. There were parts of this book where I literally laughed out loud, and some parts where I had tear streaming down my face and was trying not to audibly sob.
All-in-all, this book was a great read. Fun, quick, well written… I highly recommend it!