(75)We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Saturday, August 23, 2014


Cadence Sinclair Eastman has grown up privileged.  For generations the Sinclair family has been spending their summers at the family's private island off of Cape Cod.   Cady has grown up spending her summers with her cousins and and aunts on the island and it was about idyllic as a childhood could be.  One summer her aunt brings her boyfriend's nephew to spend the summer with them and everything changed.    She was drawn to Gat like no other human being and they both looked forward to their summers.  The summer of their fifteenth year was the year that everything changed.  Most of that summer is gone from Cady's memory due to a traumatic brain injury.  She doesn't remember what happened to her and she knows that her family is keeping something from her about that summer, but what?

Now it is two years later and Cady is back on the island. So much has changed in two years and Cady is not sure why.   The rustic house of her childhood has been replaced with something sleek and modern. The "Liars" are also acting funny and refuse to tell Cady what happened that summer.   Cady is slowly starting to remember the events of that summer and she knows the she is on the verge of the truth.  But what will she do when she pieces everything together?  They say the truth will set you free, but what if it only destroys you?

Oh my gosh. I have been seeing We Were Liars at the top of a lot of "Must Read" lists this summer and now I know why.  Despite their wealthy background, Cady and her cousins are your typical teenagers.  Magazines, books, and iPods entertain them throughout the summer.  And they have a growing disdain for their parents.  Listening to their mothers bicker over their late mother's estate is completely ruining their summer and they all want to do something about it.  There were a few times when I found myself annoyed by Cady and her spoiled cousins, but it was more like an annoying fly.   Her summer romance with Gat was sweet and tender and almost like a fairy tale.  As the book went on, the pain that Cady experiences is so profound that I can almost feel the headaches myself.  And that ending, oh boy.  When Cady finally remembers everything from their 15th summer it will leave you stunned. I don't remember an ending leaving me so shocked.    You would think that having the truth will help Cady start to heal, but I really wonder if Cady will ever be healed again.

Bottom line, We Were Liars is one of those books that as I was reading I was imaging it on the big screen. It starts out as your run of the mill Young Adult novel, but by the end it left me breathless. If you are looking for a wonderful read, you must add We Were Liars to your "TBR" list.


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Lisa Mandina said...

Awesome review! I've been hearing so much about this book as well. I need to get around to reading.

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