We Were Liars by E. Lockhart Review

Cady Sinclair Easton is a Sinclair through and through. Every summer Cady and her mother embark to the Sinclair family island with her two aunts, their children, and her grandparents. Yes, to the family island. Everything seems grand until Cady’s 15^th summer on the island, when she has an accident. For two long years after she cannot remember what happened and no one will tell her. As Cady heads back to the island in hopes of uncovering what is haunting her, we are introduced to the Sinclairs…and the Liars.

I picked up We Were Liars by E. Lockhart because it is the September pick for the Forever YA Book Club, plus it coincides nicely with my September YA/NA Challenge. I was just recently introduced to E. Lockhart when I read the first two Ruby Oliver books, which I thought were great. One of my regular patrons checked out We Were Liars before I could and I was interested to hear her thoughts. I was surprised to hear that she didn’t like the story. She thought it was too dark and melancholy. I don’t think she even finished it. With her thoughts fresh in my mind plus a few Goodreads rumblings about how sad the book was I admit that I was a little reluctant to read We Were Liars.   

Within 20 pages of starting We Were Liars, I knew I was hooked! I loved the hauntingly beautiful writing style. It was almost poetic to me. Yes, this story is sad but Lockhart did an extraordinary job creating a dynastic and dysfunctional family. As Cady travels back Beechwood Island to expose what her family is hiding about her accident, we are introduced to the Liars. Cady, her cousins Mirren and Johnny, and Gat, a family friend, band together as the Liars. They don’t take part in the pettiness of the family and see the world through the eyes of idealistic youth.

I don’t think We Were Liars is for everyone. If you like happy go lucky novels, then definitely skip this one. If you are fans of mysteries, suspense-fill novels, or of dark novels in general then I think you will appreciate We Were Liars. I know I did.

Also…if you don’t like spoilers then stop reading. I just have to warn you (because I like when people warn me of this)…

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