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A review by thewallflower00
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
5.0
At first I thought I wouldn't make it through this book. Right off the bat, we start with entitled rich people. I mean really rich. Like, they own their own island off the coast of New England. The grandparents and their three daughters' families (including grandchildren, whom the story's about) all own houses on the island and spend their summers there. That alone might have caused me to put the book down.
Because rich people aren't like real people. There is no problem they have that they can't throw money at and solve. It's the same reason I can't get into "The Great Gatsby" or Jane Austen. Problems like "my family is deep in debt so I gotta marry someone with money, but they're all jerks or my aunts are jerks or trying to get the family fortune" and so on. Hard to care when you you know people whose kids can't breathe. These people don't even know the names of their "help". Jeez, even Billy Madison wasn't that much of a jerk.
My point is, don't let the setting turn you off, because for some reason I got deep into it. I wasn't that impressed with Lockhart's "Fly on the Wall", but this one has such a strong voice of the main character. For some reason you care about her well-being even if she goes to Europe for the summer with her Dad. I got 45% through within 12 hours. I don't know why, maybe it's the easy reading -- the short "Dan Brown" chapters keep the book a long summary of events than a novel. There are no real scenes, and it's full of simple sentences but with good word choice. A little teen angsty, but poetic. Super poetic.
The title "We Were Liars" makes it sound like some drama/mystery/thriller full of scandals and betrayal like "Pretty Little Liars". And the size gives it earmarks of a beach read. But it's not. It's about growing up, becoming mature, and seeing your family for what it really is. It's months later and I'm still trying to put my finger on why I like it so much. Maybe the fairy tale elements? (A princess, a castle, a king, the rule of three.) Little people against the world? Kids with hearts in the right place versus adults with money and "pure-bloodedness" on their mind? All I know is there's a reason this book is a "best of year".
Because rich people aren't like real people. There is no problem they have that they can't throw money at and solve. It's the same reason I can't get into "The Great Gatsby" or Jane Austen. Problems like "my family is deep in debt so I gotta marry someone with money, but they're all jerks or my aunts are jerks or trying to get the family fortune" and so on. Hard to care when you you know people whose kids can't breathe. These people don't even know the names of their "help". Jeez, even Billy Madison wasn't that much of a jerk.
My point is, don't let the setting turn you off, because for some reason I got deep into it. I wasn't that impressed with Lockhart's "Fly on the Wall", but this one has such a strong voice of the main character. For some reason you care about her well-being even if she goes to Europe for the summer with her Dad. I got 45% through within 12 hours. I don't know why, maybe it's the easy reading -- the short "Dan Brown" chapters keep the book a long summary of events than a novel. There are no real scenes, and it's full of simple sentences but with good word choice. A little teen angsty, but poetic. Super poetic.
The title "We Were Liars" makes it sound like some drama/mystery/thriller full of scandals and betrayal like "Pretty Little Liars". And the size gives it earmarks of a beach read. But it's not. It's about growing up, becoming mature, and seeing your family for what it really is. It's months later and I'm still trying to put my finger on why I like it so much. Maybe the fairy tale elements? (A princess, a castle, a king, the rule of three.) Little people against the world? Kids with hearts in the right place versus adults with money and "pure-bloodedness" on their mind? All I know is there's a reason this book is a "best of year".