Review: We Were Liars

Title:  We Were Liars
Series:  None
Author:  E. Lockhart (Website | Twitter)
Age Group:  Young Adult
Publication Date:  May 13, 2014 by Delacorte Press
Source:  Bought

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.

We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart.
Read it.
And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.

Find We Were Liars online

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My Review:  This book blew my mind.  Seriously, I'm still reeling from reading it.  I'd heard all the hype, I was extremely excited and had tons of guessing bouncing around my head and I still did not see the end coming.  It was amazingly woven.  I'm applauding the author right now for how well she tied this novel together.  

Honestly, this is an extremely hard review to write without spoiling everything.  What I will say, I'm going to be pretty vague about.  I don't want to ruin the end for anyone still planning on reading this.  

I was torn abut the characters, honestly.  All of them rubbed me the wrong way.  I both disliked and pitied them as I read until I realized they had all wormed their way into my heart and I loved them.  They had some seriously terrible family drama that just broke my heart into a million pieces.  I was absolutely horrified by the way their family manipulated and backhanded each other.  I couldn't imagine living in an environment like that and I could understand how the kids ended up so messed up.  I was torn between this half the time

And this the other half of the time

As far as plot goes, there wasn't a ton happening but it always felt fast paced and interesting.  The mystery kept me going in this novel.  I just needed to figure out what was happening and why.  I was surprised at how strongly it held onto me.  I really couldn't put this book down.  I read it all in one sitting.  

I enjoyed the writing style whole-heartedly.  I've heard some complaints about how the prose was a little too flowery and confusing but I enjoyed it a lot.  It painted a better picture in my head of what the main character was dealing with and feeling.  It packed a more emotional punch while I read and I loved that.  

This is the sort of novel that you have to just experience for yourself.  If you're having doubts and wondering whether you should get it or not, just make that leap and get it!  It's well worth the chance with this amazing novel.  

“We are liars. We are beautiful and privileged. We are cracked and broken.” 

“He was contemplation and enthusiasm. Ambition and strong coffee. I could have looked at him forever.” 

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