Lying Out Loud (The DUFF #2) by Kody Keplinger

Title: Lying Out Loud
Author: Kody Keplinger 
Series: The DUFF
Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Young Adult
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Publication date: April 28th 2015
Pages: 304 (hardcover)
Source: Netgalley






Sonny Ardmore is an excellent liar. She lies about her dad being in prison. She lies about her mom kicking her out. And she lies about sneaking into her best friends's house every night because she has nowhere else to go. 

Amy Rush might be the only person Sonny shares everything with - secrets, clothes, even a nemesis named Ryder Cross. 

Ryder's the new kid at Hamilton High and everything Sonny and Amy can't stand - a prep-school snob. But Ryder has a weakness: Amy. So when Ryder emails Amy asking her out, the friends see it as a prank opportunity not to be missed.

But without meaning to, Sonny ends up talking to Ryder all night online. And to her horror, she realize that she might actually 'like' him. Only there's one small catch: he thinks he's been talking to Amy. So Sonny comes up with an elaborate scheme to help Ryder realize that she's the girl he's really wanted all along. Can Sonny lie her way to the truth, or will all her lies end up costing her both Ryder and Amy? 

Goodreads

Earlier this year if finally read The DUFF  and I loved that book. So when I saw that there would be a sequel I knew that I had to read it. And I have to say that Lying Out Loud lived up to my expectations, it might even have surpassed them.

I had a very hard time putting this book aside to do other things. The story swept me up, thanks to Sonny and her lies, and it was just impossible for me to put this book down. I just wanted to know which lies Sonny would tell next, how it all would work out for her, if Amy would keep standing by her side no matter how many lies Sonny told, how Ryder would react when he found out the truth.  There was so much going on that I could not give this book up. Besides I was looking forward to the scenes were Wesley and Bianca turned up. There were only a couple of scenes with them but they made me happy, I just love those two!

Like in The DUFF, Lying Out Loud also tackled a couple of issues. The first one being Sonny and her impulse to lie about everything. She was a pathological liar; she just could not help herself. She knew it was bad but she could not stop because she was caught in her web of lies. We all know that lying is bad but who can say that they have never lied to anyone. I think that there is no one who can claim such a thing. Sometimes it is just easier to tell a lie than the truth. But in the end the truth always catches up with us. And that is what this book shows us. But Lying Out Loud was about more than that. It was also a story about friendship and forgiveness. Friendship is a fragile thing no matter for how many years you have been friends with each other. There is always something that can come between you: lies, boys, money… And that is what happened to Sonny and Amy. Sonny was always the loud one, the confident one. While Amy was more the shy and quiet one. So Sonny at times overlooked Amy’s feelings because she had a hard time standing up for herself. And most of the time she did not need to because Sonny was around. But both Amy and Sonny grew so much in this department. Amy learned to speak up for herself and Sonny learned that she had to consider other people’s their feelings as well. Most of all Lying Out Loud was about forgiveness. Forgiving each other for the mistakes they make and for the hurt they might have caused you.

Overall I really enjoyed Lying Out Loud. I even enjoyed it more than The DUFF. I loved Sonny as a character just because she had all these flaws. It made her so real and I could easily connect with her, although that I am not a pathological liar. This book was a quick read with a lot of great elements. If you have not read any of Keplinger’s book yet than you really should because she writes wonderful books. So if you are looking for you next contemporary read than you might consider this book. I personally cannot wait to read more books by Keplinger!

Elien