“We Were Liars” by E. Lockhart
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary Fiction
Source: Publisher in exchange for an honest review [Thank you!]
Summary from Goodeads:
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.
This book is scheduled to be released May 13, 2014
I had absolutely no idea what this book was about going into it. The summary is deliberately vague. I just knew that I was going to enjoy it because I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read by Lockhart so far. I was right on the money with that.
We Were Liars is a peculiar book. Right off the bat you can tell the style is a bit off. It’s not bad or distracting. The narrator just seems cold and a bit rigid. You could definitely tell she’s an unreliable narrator but you can’t point out exactly why she’s unreliable. Despite her coldness you do grow fond of her.
The suspense was great. It wasn’t a keep-you-on-the-edge-of-your-seat thriller but there’s something always lurking in the background. You couldn’t put the book down because you felt like you were on the edge of figuring out what was going on.
The Sinclairs are what appear to be the perfect family. The cracks begin to appear soon enough though. I really appreciated seeing a different side to wealth. Normally you see rich families bickering over who gets the family yacht or the summer house. We see a bit of a rebellion against that in the book. That’s all I’m going to say on that because you REALLY must see it unfold in the book to fully appreciate it.
The final execution of the story was fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. I never saw it coming which is pretty rare. Looking back I wonder how I could have missed it but at the same time I see how there were hints along the way. I almost want to go back and reread the book to experience it all again and try to figure out all the hints again.
The bottom line? Absolutely fantastic. Try to go into this book as blind as possible.
The Cheap Reader 
Ooh, you’ve got me intrigued as to what this book is really about. I love books that aren’t cookie cutter and keep you guessing. Just added it to my TBR list. Thanks for the suggestion!
Hope you enjoy this as much as I did, H.S.!
Yes! Oh man, this book. I had no clue what was going on and absolutely loved that! I know it’s gotten some mixed responses, but I think that’s what makes this book so brilliant. It hits everyone oh so differently!
It’s been really interesting to see how everyone else liked the mystery of the book.
I love mysteries/thrillers where you never saw it coming! Normally I figure out what happens a few chapters in, and I get really pissed off.
It was really great to be kept in the dark. I always get annoyed at figuring out things.
I’m so intrigued by this book! Definitely trying to keep people from talking about what happens in the book is a great marketing tool for me! 🙂 I’m glad you enjoyed this! I hope to read it soon (waiting on it at the library).
You’re sure to love this Charlene! I know how you love a good mystery.
I never go into books blind if I can help it, but I will take your advice otherwise! It sounds like an awesome book. I promise I’ll still enjoy it even though I’m going to for sure read the end before I read the middle.
I really hope you do enjoy it even if you read the end first. 😀