We Were Liars is a 2014 young-adult novel by E. Lockhart. Centred around a rich family that owns their own private island and visits it each summer, this book follows the story of protagonist Cadence Sinclair and her extended family and friends. The story explores self-acceptance, family morals and the consequences of mistakes. At first glance, the book is not what you’d expect. Filled with many different twists and turns, it keeps the reader captivating and craving more. To be frank, I haven’t felt so addicted to a book since I read The Hunger Games, which is definitely a positive.
The cover features three blurry figures wading in the ocean, and it looks like any other summer-focused teen novel, but a quick glance at the text inside it and the synopsis will reveal that this book is much more than just a summer romance story. What drew me in was the mystery and particularly the writing style. E. Lockhart wrote in the standard prose style, but occasionally wrote in poem form too. As well, she often used nouns as adjectives, which I very much enjoyed and found refreshing.
“Gat seemed spring-loaded. Like he was searching for something. He was contemplation and enthusiasm. Ambition and strong coffee.”
~ Quote from We Were Liars
We Were Liars is a story that is quite literally “more than meets the eye”, and I loved that. The story feeds you enough mystery and suspense to keep you hooked. While most of the characters are very conservative, the stories surrounding them make them so much more complex and interesting. The Sinclairs are seemingly perfect, but as you make your way through the book, details and stories are revealed little by little and finally at the end, it all clicks. It’s like one huge puzzle piece that you slowly fit together and you get this beautiful picture in the end, although I must warn you that it might not be so beautiful at the end of this puzzle.
I went into this book completely blind, and that’s the best way to enter it. The twisted fairy-tale that is We Are Liars is begging to be discovered, and if you’re looking for a YA novel that is tragically beautiful, poetic, suspenseful and gripping, this is it. I didn’t know what to expect jumping into it but it’s become of my favourite books. Soon after finishing it, I quickly went to Social Media to share my feelings because my pain demands to be felt (Yeah okay that was a TFIOS joke.. You got me.) and this book deserves to be shared. It’s a book that makes you go “Wait, what?” by the end of it and it’s definitely worth reading in all.
