Summary

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart follows the story of Cadence Sinclair Eastman, who spends her summers at her wealthy grandparent’s private island in Massachusetts. Every summer, Cadence meets up with the “Liars”, a friend group made up of her, her cousins Mirren and Johnny, and her family friend, Gat. The summer the Liars are all 15, Cadence suffers an intense head injury, causing her to lose memory of what occured during summer fifteen. Two years later, summer seventeen, Cadence returns to the island where she attempts to regain the memories with the Liars during summer fifteen. However, the truths of summer fifteen turn out to be not as simple as Cadence had anticipated.

This book was released in 2014, quickly becoming a hit and winning the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Young Adult Fiction and a New York Times Bestseller. Though the book was released a few years ago, it continues to be a popular novel among young adults. The book’s sequel, A Family of Liars, is set to release in May of 2022.

What’s Good?

One thing I really liked about this book was its short chapters. The very short chapters make the book feel like a very fast-paced and exciting read. The chapter ends feel natural and help make the book not feel too overwhelming. It keeps readers engaged since the chapters usually switch in concept and jump between past and present.

This book is also written very beautifully. Lockhart creates line breaks in her writing that makes the book feel poetic. The immense amount of details of the small things makes the writing feel real and almost nostalgic. One very striking passage included in the book goes,

“What I remember, from the summer of the accident:
Falling in love with Gat at the Red Gate Kitchen door.
His beach rose for Raquel and my wine-soaked night, spinning in anger.
Acting normal. Making ice cream. Playing tennis.
The triple-decker s’mores and Gat’s anger when we told him to shut up.
Night swimming.
Kissing Gat in the attic.
Hearing the Cracker Jack story and helping Grandad down the stairs.
The tire swing, the basement, the perimeter. Gat and I in one another’s arms.
Gat seeing me bleed. Asking me questions. Dressing my wounds.
I don’t remember much else.
I can see Mirren’s hand, her chipped gold nail polish, holding a jug of gas for the motorboats.
Mummy, her face tight, asking, “The black pearls?”
Johnny’s feet, running down the stairs from Clairmont to the boathouse.
Grandad, holding on to a tree, his face lit by the glow of a bonfire.
And all four of us Liars, laughing so hard we felt dizzy and sick. But what was so funny?
What was it and where were we?
I do not know.”

I also really enjoyed that this book is purposefully disorganized. The disorganization and quick changes of thought help the reader really feel like they can feel the spiraling of Candence’s mind. Lockhart does a great job portraying Cadence’s stream of consciousness and she uses the disorganization of thoughts in a very purposeful and realistic way.

The twist at the end might have been my favorite part of the book. It is unpredictable and is guaranteed to leave the readers with their jaws hanging. The ending leaves the readers with conflicted thoughts on character’s they have grown to love, and begin to question the morality of them.

The subjects of this book are also relevant and introduce contemporary ideas that are important to be discussed. Lockhart introduces complexities on the subjects of racism, wealth, love, family, and morality, that all serve as important areas of thought for readers to ponder on after reading.

What could be better?

A common complaint about this book is that the middle of the book feels slow-paced, and lacks anticipation until the end. I can agree that some parts of the book may feel slower than others, but I think that by the time you finish reading, the details that felt small and irrelevant begin to have meaning.

Some reviews have also complained that the ending of the book feels rather morbid and somewhat whiny. Many reviews felt frustrated that they could not relate to any of the characters. However, Lockhart explained that was exactly what she was going for. In a note at the end of the book Lockhart writes, “…I worried people would find it overdramatic and pretentious…But I would rather try and fail than never try at all. There is no point to writing fiction without risks. I would rather anger a reader than bore her. I would rather speak my truth and be laughed at or ignored than stick to what is easy and familiar”.

Building off that, I don’t believe that it is necessary to relate to the characters. I think that Lockhart purposefully wants to make her characters lovable but tainted, because it messes with the reader’s head. Through this book, Lockhart provides commentary that she believes everyone is made out of both good and bad traits, and if they are not, they probably are not being honest.

“If everyone likes you- you’re probably a liar,” wrote Lockhart.

Verdict:

Overall, I would give this book 4.5/5 stars. There is a good reason that this book is as popular as it is. If you’re looking for a thriller that will keep you hooked from start to finish, then We Were Liars is definitely the book for you.