We Were Liars by E. Lockhart: Book Review

Fiction – Young AdultWe Were Liars, E. Lockhart, young adult fiction
Released May, 2014
240 Pages
Bottom Line: Read it.
Affiliate Link: Buy from Amazon

Plot Summary of We Were Liars:

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.
– Amazon Book Description

My Thoughts on We Were Liars:

We Were Liars will be the most talked about book of the summer…mark my words! And, this review will be short on details because it’s a book best enjoyed by going in blind. That’s why I used the Amazon book description (which I never do!) and will not say any more about the plot itself in this review.

Here’s what I will tell you:

  • This is a quick, page-turner of a read. With the luxury of a beach day without kids, I think I could have read it in one sitting! 
  • I was on the edge of my seat the entire time wondering what in the world was going on…I couldn’t wait to turn the page to find out what secret would be revealed next.
  • Though this is a Young Adult (YA) novel, it has an appeal far beyond fans of that genre. I’m not a huge YA reader and really the only YA novels I love are those where I forget that I’m reading YA. And, I loved this one.
  • The writing style threw me off a bit at first. It’s somewhat halting, but I loved its simplicity once I got used to it. 
  • The backdrop of extreme wealth and its occasionally destructive forces adds depth to the secrets, lies, and twisty turns that make this book so exciting.
  • Just read it.

We Were Liars is going on my 2014 Summer Reading and Page Turners lists.

You May Also Like:
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian

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8 Comments

  1. I have this one coming from the library – can’t wait!!

    Posted 5.19.14 Reply
  2. I actually liked the writing style quite a bit. I was one of the things which drew me right in.

    Another YA book that you might like with the same sort of suspense is Ketchup Clouds (my review here)

    Posted 5.19.14 Reply
  3. i LOVED this one! And I’m with you – my review was vague as well and when I handed the book off to someone else to read I told her she just had to read it….I couldn’t tell her anything about it! great review Sarah!

    Posted 5.19.14 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      Thanks so much! This was such a hard one to write b/c there was so much I wanted to say, but felt would be unfair to those who hadn’t read it yet!

      Posted 5.19.14 Reply
  4. I’ve only heard good things about this one and it’s getting a lot of publicity, so I’m hoping to get around to it.

    Posted 5.22.14 Reply
  5. I’m glad this one was such an awesome read for you. It fell a little flat for me, but I feel responsible for my own disappointment. Thanks for linking up with The Fellowship of the Worms!

    Posted 9.15.14 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      Thank you for hosting! And, I must admit that when I read Liars, I loved it. But, after reading Bittersweet, I loved Liars a bit less 🙁

      Posted 9.15.14 Reply
  6. Karin wrote:

    What a great idea, I realize I have several of those in mount tbr, so might give them a twirl first to reduce the mountain.

    Posted 3.12.15 Reply

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