Reviews with content warning for Suicide - Family of Liars

Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Family of Liars by E. Lockhart

35 reviews

m33p_m0rp's review against another edition

4.5

dark emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book was good. I didn’t see things coming and honestly idk what to make of this book. I can’t really explain how I fe but I know it’s good. I think I just feel peaceful like how the main character did at the end sort of, like it was a proper ending.

Content Warnings

corabookworm's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I think I actually enjoyed this book a little more than the first, at times. The random bits of poetry were a bit distracting and unnecessary (the writing was prose-like enough already), but E. Lockhart is an amazing author who wrote this mysterious, drama-infused, family-focused story in a gorgeous way. I loved how this book talked about family, and some of the moments between them all (especially towards the end) were absolutely adorable. Highly recommend if you enjoyed the first one or any books like it.

Content Warnings

lucyroberts's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

kibberbl's review against another edition

3.25

dark mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Content Warnings

moonbin's review against another edition

4.0

dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

mmellinger's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

andreabrown's review against another edition

4.5

dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

hunnykurls's review against another edition

2.75

dark tense slow-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

Content Warnings

deartaylorwoods's review against another edition

4.75

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I didn’t know this was coming until I saw it on the shelf one day. What an exciting day that was!

We Were Liars became one of my favorite books from the moment I picked it up & to get this story years later has been a gift.

I loved going back to the island, yet getting to know it in a different form.

I loved diving back into the E.L. writing style that felt unique to WWL.

Content Warnings

jojo_fiction_'s review against another edition

4.25

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I recommend reading We Were Liars first, as this book has major spoilers for it.

“I have been a liar all my life, you see.

It is not uncommon in my family.”

The life of the rich and privileged, who have nothing to worry about, and can do no wrong (and if they do, no one will ever know).

I was so excited to stumble upon this book in a bookstore, I had no idea it even existed so I kinda lost my mind when I saw it on the shelf. I read We Were Liars years ago and it was one of those books with characters, a setting and plot twists that stay with you. So of course I had to read the prequel.

In Family of Liars, we follow Johnny’s mother, Carrie Sinclair, as she describes: “the worst thing she ever did”. The book shows the way different people handle grief, the complexity of family and what even makes people be considered as family, sisterhood, and how far people are willing to go to protect them.

“We show our love not with honesty or affection, but with loyalty”

I won't explain the details of the plot in case there are any potential readers who don't want to get spoiled, so this will be more like my thoughts about the characters and overarching themes.

I love stories about rich, old money families. Maybe because I like the aesthetic, or more likely because I like examining the inner workings and psychological issues that a lot of these families have. We get insight into all three of the sisters, Carrie more than the others, and despite them not being good people I think they were good characters.The sisters in Family Of Liars, are not supposed to be likeable. They are spoiled, pretty, privileged, and filthy rich. But I think it's easy to forget that despite their privileges they are still just children when this story takes place (17,16 and 14). The events that happen (

like the death of their youngest sister.

) follow them throughout their lives and they are shown to have no healthy grieving processes in order to “protect” the family and their reputation. Instead they bury it inside themselves and the pain leaks out in other ways. Carrie through her drug addiction, Penny through her need for attention, and Bess through her people pleasing nature and need for order and control.

Throughout the story we are introduced to themes that shape the plot and the characters. Grief, and it’s all consuming nature. Family loyalty, no matter what. The dark origins of old money wealth. Appearance vs reality. The book handles these themes not by just telling you they are there, but by having the characters actions governed by them.

I liked how Lockhart used choppy writing and line structure at points throughout the book to show the disordered thought process of Carrie. Both due to grief and the heavy drugs she was on. As well as her back tracking near the end to tell the real story and not what happened in her head. Just like in We Were Liars, we were left wondering how reliable this narrator is, and how much we could actually believe the story we were being told.

“I did say at the start of this story that I am a liar”

One thing I didn't love, or at least don't know how to feel about is, the way ghosts were shown as being real. One thing I loved about We Were Liars was the ambiguity due to the unreliable narrator. Were the other liars ghosts? Or were they a figment of the imagination of a broken and traumatized girl? Family of Liars takes away from that as it seems that ghosts are the answer. Not that it's a bad interpretation, I just liked the open ended idea We Were Liars left us with.

Overall , E.Lockhart did an amazing job handling difficult topics while keeping the same feelings from We Were Liars. Such an outwardly perfect family, perfect island, perfect summer. But something in the back of your mind telling you something is terribly, terribly wrong.

Content Warnings

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