Scan barcode
sweetsorrows's review against another edition
5.0
you can actually feel the heavy water weight of this book. the entire thing feels like a cloudy shore on an angry beach. i loved the incorporation of memories and stories and headaches and trauma.
katykelly's review against another edition
4.0
Here's one I read for the hype and for the twist.
Like 'One Step Too Far', there's a lot of publicity regarding a 'sensational' twist in the story.
Tina Seskis's tale had me in tears as I realised what was going on. This one, I wasn't really bothered. Left me cold. And annoyed actually.
On a private island in Massachusetts, a rich family gather each year for a summer with their patriarch and his wife, in their own separate and specially designed houses. The children, each in age-related groups bond and play.
The eldest of the youngest generation are (for some reason) known as the 'Liars'. Of them, the eldest, Cadence, narrates. Except a few summers ago, something happened. She has a head injury and amnesia and tries to piece together the mystery through the story.
It wasn't easy to like any of the characters - all rich, a racist grandfather, lots of squabbling (the adults) over their inheritance and possessions. All seeking (Granddad) Harris Sinclair's approval.
There are slow reveals of what happened, a lot of teenage naval gazing and mooning over a boy. I liked the fairy tale aspect, with the traditional 'three sons/three princes' format played out repeatedly to enhance the plot.
I don't like the twist. Felt a bit cheated actually and as I said, annoyed. Bit of a cop out and negated all that went before for me. With that kind of twist, there's nothin really to take away from the book.
Many have loved it though, and it's just how I felt about what the author decided to create.
Like 'One Step Too Far', there's a lot of publicity regarding a 'sensational' twist in the story.
Tina Seskis's tale had me in tears as I realised what was going on. This one, I wasn't really bothered. Left me cold. And annoyed actually.
On a private island in Massachusetts, a rich family gather each year for a summer with their patriarch and his wife, in their own separate and specially designed houses. The children, each in age-related groups bond and play.
The eldest of the youngest generation are (for some reason) known as the 'Liars'. Of them, the eldest, Cadence, narrates. Except a few summers ago, something happened. She has a head injury and amnesia and tries to piece together the mystery through the story.
It wasn't easy to like any of the characters - all rich, a racist grandfather, lots of squabbling (the adults) over their inheritance and possessions. All seeking (Granddad) Harris Sinclair's approval.
There are slow reveals of what happened, a lot of teenage naval gazing and mooning over a boy. I liked the fairy tale aspect, with the traditional 'three sons/three princes' format played out repeatedly to enhance the plot.
I don't like the twist. Felt a bit cheated actually and as I said, annoyed. Bit of a cop out and negated all that went before for me. With that kind of twist, there's nothin really to take away from the book.
Many have loved it though, and it's just how I felt about what the author decided to create.
wannabeninazenik's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
3.0
biobooksbirdsnerd's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Twist ending that will stay with you.
gema_blondeandbookworm's review against another edition
4.0
La primera vez que eché el ojo a este libro fue hace unos años cuando buscaba libros YA interesantes. Lo encontré (como casi todo en esta vida) en una lista de Pinterest sobre libros que habían ganado los Premios Goodreads (Mejor YA 2014) y os cuento que, aunque es muy, muy entretenido, tengo que reconocer que me dejó con bastante mal cuerpo...
Creo que cuanto menos explique, mejor porque ¡MADRE MÍA! Lo leí en unas horas y debo deciros que es fantástico (por si no os ha quedado claro en el párrafo anterior): me encantó la ambientación, la historia de la familia "perfecta", los cuentos -inspiradísimos en El Rey Lear de Shakespeare (una de mis obras favoritas), el PEDAZO DE PLOT TWIST...
No me encantó que la autora decidiese escribir fragmentos en prosa
como si fuese poesía: se carga por completo
el ritmo de una narración bastante ágil y entretenida
(así, tal cual os lo escribo aquí).
A pesar de esa forma tan peculiar de narrar algunos momentos, la historia me enganchó muchísimo y cuando llegó el giro argumental ¡me quedé alucinada!. Sólo por eso merece un puesto en mis libros favoritos de 2020. Recomendadísima lectura (qué ganas tengo de leer algún otro libro de esta autora, espero que el hype esté a la altura).
Creo que cuanto menos explique, mejor porque ¡MADRE MÍA! Lo leí en unas horas y debo deciros que es fantástico (por si no os ha quedado claro en el párrafo anterior): me encantó la ambientación, la historia de la familia "perfecta", los cuentos -inspiradísimos en El Rey Lear de Shakespeare (una de mis obras favoritas), el PEDAZO DE PLOT TWIST...
No me encantó que la autora decidiese escribir fragmentos en prosa
como si fuese poesía: se carga por completo
el ritmo de una narración bastante ágil y entretenida
(así, tal cual os lo escribo aquí).
A pesar de esa forma tan peculiar de narrar algunos momentos, la historia me enganchó muchísimo y cuando llegó el giro argumental ¡me quedé alucinada!. Sólo por eso merece un puesto en mis libros favoritos de 2020. Recomendadísima lectura (qué ganas tengo de leer algún otro libro de esta autora, espero que el hype esté a la altura).
vaguelyredhead's review
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, and Death
Moderate: Medical content, Racism, and Animal death
kitkenyon's review against another edition
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I have never craved a complex sentence more than when I was reading this book. Like, I get what Lockhart was doing (or trying to do) with the choppiness, but it seriously did not land right for me. Also, the first few pages were an absolute INFORMATION DUMP of characters and how we’re supposed to feel about them. Telling, not showing, made me not believe (or care about) any of the characterizations or relationships moving forward. Also, the dialogue??? The twist??? I guess my problems boil down to either I am so far removed from the ridiculously wealthy that this reads so incredibly foreign to me OR I simply have no sympathy in my heart left for filthy rich people and their self-inflected trauma. Nothing really sold me on this book other than I appreciate the courage, research, and effort it probably took to write something so heavy as a first-person narrative.
jovanas_cloud's review against another edition
3.0
Priča je dobro osmišljena, ali pisanje je na nivou mog sastava iz srpskog u šestom razredu. Nije bilo ništa vau ili drugačije samo je bilo normalno pisanje, kao da pisac ne piše već samo kaže prvu stvar koja mu padne na pamet i nije mi se svidela ta jednostavnost. Takođe ponavljanje nekih reči, fraza i rečenica da bi stvorili ili to jest pokušali da stvore neku sentimentalnost nisu to odradili već sam se još više iznervirala što moram da čitam dodatne reči koje nisu bitne za tok radnje. Knjiga je lako mogla da bude mnogo boljeg kvaliteta uz složenije pisanje, ali dobro, ne može sve biti savršeno i to smo savršeno shvatili uz cenjenu porodicu Sinkler.
themushroom's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
anthropologistinthefield's review against another edition
3.0
So this is a hard one to review. I think I won't say much, only that the book surprised me at 3/4 through. Furthermore I liked it but it was a little bit boring, I read through because I wanted to know what happened at the ending. So therefore three stars; the ending was pretty good in my opinion, but the other part I found a little bit boring at times, I didn't flow through it.