We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Amy         
Lynnie 



young adult, mystery

The liars in We Were Liars are four teenagers who spend their summers on the family-owned private island every year.  The summer they are all 15 years old, Cadence has an accident.  The book goes back and forth between the present when Cadence is 17 years old, as Cadence attempts to reconstruct the memories of what happened two summers ago, and the past, when Cadence recalls many good times through the years on the island. 

Amy's Review

E. Lockhart never really explained why the four “liars” were called “liars”. I think this book would have been better titled We Were Spoiled. Or We Were Stupid. Or We Were the Children of Spoiled, Stupid Women. However, despite the multitude of despicable characters, the novel was well-crafted and pulled me in to find the answer to the question of what, exactly, had happened. I did figure out the main “what” fairly early thanks to Cadence’s memory clues. But, wanting to know the “why” is what kept me really interested. And then there was a surprise. (Sorry—I can’t say more without giving things away.)

I had seen rave reviews about this novel and it appeared on many “Best of” lists, but my sister had rated it only 2 stars. She and I tend to agree on novels. So, I had not intended to read it based on her rating. Then, I won the autographed novel from a prize pack from First In Line. This caused me to put it on my To Read list. Four months later, I needed an audiobook to accompany me on my outdoor walks and this one was available from the library. So, I listened to the first 90% of this novel. I knew I was near the end and I could not stop thinking about the story so I picked up my hardcopy and finished it.

I liked this novel! This is one where my sister and I disagree. But, that’s okay. It’s happened before and will happen again. I enjoyed the suspense, the twist, and the liars.

Lynnie's Review

I wanted to like this book, but I couldn't.

First of all the writing 
style was annoying 
beyond 
belief. 

If I hadn't been on vacation, I probably wouldn't have even continued reading based on the style of writing alone. And second the characters- vapid, superficial, spoiled, one-dimensional... I just didn't enjoy a single one of them.

I don't understand all the fuss about this book.