REVIEW: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.

We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart.

Read it.
And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.

REVIEW:

  

WE WERE LIARS by E. Lockhart is without a doubt one of the best books I’ve read this summer…possibly this year! It was impossible to put down - I couldn’t turn pages fast enough. This novel reminded me a lot of The Great Gatsby in many ways, the clique of friends on the tiny island for the summer.

The writing is lyrical, easy, and smooth. Lockhart weaves a bit of mystery into the novel as main character, Cadence, has lost her memories of one pivotal summer and of the entire accident shrouded in mystery. As the story progresses, so do her memories.

As we find out what transpired in what Cadence calls “summer fifteen”, we learn how the Liars (her group of friends and cousins) acted and shaped the events surrounding the accident, how they were affected, and why in fact, they are called “the Liars”.

Lockhart writes so beautifully, in the first person, then intersperses the dialogue with whimsical, sometimes dark prose that highlights the writing in an unbelievable way. The ending of this novel couldn’t come fast enough…I had to find out what happened during summer fifteen, but I dreaded the end because it was so perfectly written. And the ending absolutely took my breath away and gave me goosebumps over my entire body. Stunning work, Ms. Lockhart, absolutely stunning!!

Published by Random House Books

Publication Date:  May 13, 2014

Rating: 5/5