Janae Character Analysis in One of Us is Lying

A Goth girl with few friends at Bayview. She was extremely close with Simon Kelleher before his death; after he dies, she is visibly distraught, and spends much of her time crying in the bathroom at school. She befriends Addy and Bronwyn, but her skittish behavior and rapid weight loss worry them and cause them to think she might have something to do with the About This posts that have been cropping up. When Addy confronts Janae, she reveals that Simon killed himself and framed the Bayview Four for his murder, hoping to “take down” the people who’d hurt him or out-achieved him over the years.

Janae Quotes in One of Us is Lying

The One of Us is Lying quotes below are all either spoken by Janae or refer to Janae. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Stereotypes and Unlikely Connections Theme Icon

Sexism is alive and well in true-crime coverage, because Bronwyn and I aren’t nearly as popular with the general public as Cooper and Nate. Especially Nate. All the tween girls posting about us on social media love him. They couldn’t care less that het a convicted drug dealer, because he’s got dreamy eyes.

Same goes for school. Bronwyn and I are pariahs—other than her friends, her sister, and Janae, hardly anyone talks to us. They just whisper behind our backs. But Cooper's as golden as ever. And Nate—well, it’s not like Nate was ever popular, exactly. He’s never seemed to care what people think, though, and he still doesn’t.

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Page Number and Citation: 175

Explanation and Analysis:

“I'm getting what I deserve, right? That’s what everybody thinks. I guess it's what Simon would’ve wanted. Everything out in the open for people to judge. No secrets."

"Simon . . ." Janae’s got that strangled sound to her voice again. "He’s not . . . He wasn’t like they said. I mean, yes, he went overboard with About That, and he wrote some awful things. But the past couple years have been rough. He tried so hard to be part of things and he never could. I don’t think . . ." She stumbles over her words. "When Simon was himself, he wouldn’t have wanted this for you."

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Page Number and Citation: 243

Explanation and Analysis:

I look up from the papers. "Why?" I ask, bile rising in my throat. "How did Simon get to this point?"

"He'd been depressed for a while," Janae says, kneading the fabric of her black skirt between her hands. The stacks of studded bracelets she wears on both arms rattle with the movement. "Simon always felt like he should get a lot more respect and attention than he did, you know? But he got really bitter about it this year. He started spending all his time online with a bunch of creepers, fantasizing about getting revenge on everyone who made him miserable. It got to the point where I don’t think he even knew what was real anymore. Whenever something bad happened, he blew it way out of proportion."

Related Characters: (speaker), (speaker),

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Page Number and Citation: 322

Explanation and Analysis:

Janae Character Timeline in One of Us is Lying

The timeline below shows where the character Janae appears in One of Us is Lying. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...carefully at Bronwyn, Cooper, Addy—and Nate himself. Simon’s only friend, a weird Goth girl named Janae, reads part of the Walt Whitman poem Song of Myself, including the section that reads,... (full context)

...the day, she spots the only person on campus who looks worse than she does: Janae, Simon’s Goth friend, who has crying ever since Simon died and looks to have lost... (full context)

...classes, Addy goes to the bathroom, where she overhears another girl crying—she recognizes her as Janae from the black combat boots, and asks if she needs anything. Janae tells Addy to... (full context)

Janae points out that Addy has never really spoken to her before—Addy admits that it was... (full context)

...her phone, reading coverage of the investigation and trying to share it with Bronwyn and Janae, who have both been trying to avoid the coverage. (full context)

...the threads for days, and is disturbed by the way the posters discuss school shootings. Janae becomes upset, grabbing Maeve’s wrist and proclaiming that no one really knew Simon before stomping... (full context)

...teacher comes over and inspects her scrapes, then instructs her to head to the nurse—with Janae’s help. Addy heads to the locker room, however, instead of the nurse’s office, insisting she... (full context)

...she’s getting what she deserves, just like Simon wanted—everyone’s secrets are out in the open. Janae quietly says that though Simon went overboard with About That, he wasn’t what everyone thought... (full context)

Addy heads off for the library, and asks Janae to cover for her and tell the gym teacher she’s still at the nurse. Janae... (full context)

Janae arrives at Addy’s house shortly after Addy herself. The two girls make small talk with... (full context)

Janae asks for something to drink, and Addy heads downstairs to get lemonade for the two... (full context)

...“creepy stuff” on the internet and had potentially angered someone from there. Addy adds that Janae told her Simon “hated being an outsider,” and nursed an attraction to Keely. The others... (full context)

Bronwyn insists she’s more interested in Janae, who’s been spending time with her and Addy; the details in all the About This... (full context)

...kids to stage an accident, he had a “creepy online persona,” he was fighting with Janae, he had a thing for Keely, and used to be friends with Jake. Cooper adds... (full context)

...Kris points to the notes in the folder which indicate that Simon was, according to Janae, depressed. Everyone realizes the possibility that Simon committed suicide. (full context)

...speculating about does sound kind of impossible. Kris points out one more sticky note, about Janae, suggesting that she might be a way to get proof. (full context)

Addy has been trying to get in touch with Janae all week, but Janae has been avoiding her texts and calls. Addy has finally decided... (full context)

Though Bronwyn has coached Addy about what to say to Janae in order to slowly and carefully get information out of her, that all goes out... (full context)

When Addy finishes speaking, Janae gets up and goes into the other room; Addy worries that Janae is about to... (full context)

Addy looks up from the papers, shocked, and asks Janae how Simon reached this point. Janae reveals that Simon was depressed for a while—he always... (full context)

Janae reveals that Simon was angry at Bronwyn for cheating her way to valedictorian, an honor... (full context)

Janae reveals that Simon and Jake were excited about working together because no one would ever... (full context)

Janae reveals that while Jake kept posting to the new About This blog, Janae urged Jake... (full context)

Janae reveals that she was supposed to plant all the evidence not on Nate, but on... (full context)

As all of this sinks in, Addy begs Janae to tell the truth—she can’t let Nate go to prison for murder. Janae laments having... (full context)

Addy tells Janae to let Jake in and do to him exactly what he did to Janae. She... (full context)

...flips on the lights; he is enraged at the sight of Addy. Addy runs out Janae’s kitchen through the back door, heading for the woods behind Janae’s house. She runs and... (full context)

Addy can hear Janae somewhere in the woods, begging for Jake to stop, but Jake doesn’t listen and begins... (full context)

...the fact that one of his best friends turned out to be such a monster. Janae, meanwhile, is cooperating the police and will receive a plea bargain; she and Addy are... (full context)

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Janae Character Analysis

Janae Quotes in One of Us is Lying

Janae Character Timeline in One of Us is Lying

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