Book Review: We Were Liars

I enjoy reading a good young adult book. I want to be able to tell my grandchildren (when they get to that stage in life) about great books that I think they will enjoy.

We Were Liars by e. lockhart is definitely on that list of great YA books. I absolutely lOVED it.

Here’s a brief synopsis of the plot.

The Sinclair family is rich. (They own their own private island.) The three beautiful adult daughters drink too much, greedily fight over who will get the biggest slice of the family fortune, and are fiercely obsessed with keeping up appearances.

During summers, they take their children to their island to spend idyllic, carefree days filled with sunshine, swimming, swinging, and playing with their cousins.

Then, one summer, one family brings a friend along. A boy named Gat. He is handsome, charismatic, and politically passionate — sometimes expressing thoughts that differ from the Sinclair’s Democratic views.

Cadence (the narrator) falls in love with Gat. Even though he has a girlfriend back home, Gat likes Cadence, too. She feels angst over just who he likes best. (The love scenes are sweet and amount to holding hands and kissing. No graphic details.Phew!)

The summer when Cadence is 15, she suffers a catastrophic accident on the island that leaves her with crippling migraines and total amnesia about her accident. Everyone in the family is hush-hush about the accident and won’t talk to Cadence about it.

The summer when she is 17, she returns to the island and is fiercely determined to find out just exactly what happened. Painstakingly, she comes to understand the events of that terrible night.

I’m not going to tell you the ending because I don’t want to spoil it for you. However, let me just say this. The twist at the end knocked my socks off with a surprise that I totally didn’t see coming. Totally!

I loved Lockhart’s writing — a fresh phrase here, a clever description there. The story is well-told in an engaging voice. It immediately captures the reader and won’t let go until long after the reader finishes the book.

That being said, I feel that this book is best for young adult readers on the older side. The plot jumps back and forth in time which could confuse a younger reader. Fairy tales are interspersed along the way which gives the readers insights into the characters in the story. But, those tales could be confusing to a young reader.

So, this is a suspense story, a coming of age story, a love story — a story that you’ll keep thinking about long after you put it down for the last time.

I highly recommend this book and suggest you read it and share it with your grandchildren who are mature enough to understand it.

(Code Name Verity is another great young adult book!)

This book is for kids agers 12 – 17. You can get a paperback copy of the book for $6.