A review by etherealisnt
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

dark emotional mysterious tense
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I am speechless. What just happened??

I'm genuinely so confused. Partially because of the book, but also because I don't know what I'm thinking. However, that's also because of the book, so..
One thing that instantly excited me was the fact that this book has a fricking map of the island and even a drawn family tree!! It's so cool.

Most of the time tho, I was hungry for answers; the suspense was making me antsy. I felt like every word had a double meaning, everything felt like a lie, an illusion.

I like a twist of meaning.

Cadence, dear Cadence - your life is a whole twisted MESS. Beautiful and privileged, but oh so tragic. They might have a private island and money, but almost every one of them is broken beyond repair. A shell of a human. Seriously, who wants to live such a life?

Grandpa Harris and his three daughters - Carrie, Penny, and Bess - are making me lose my mind. Of course, they have their own tragic pasts, as well as generational trauma, but holy ****. This wasn't a family, it seemed more like a prison created from manipulation and mind games. They might've loved each other in some ways, but I guess that money and greed are WAY stronger.

That's why I liked their kids more. They seemed to have more thoughts of their own and had a sense of self. They knew when not to get involved in their mothers' shenanigans.
But, my god, were they messy too - The Four 'Liars'. I liked Johnny the most, because of his sarcasm, jokes, and overall behaviour. I'm not sure why, but he just appealed to me the most. Mirren was okay too. She was in some ways similar to me. Now, our outsider Gat.. I don't understand what Cadence saw in him, she was so smitten. He felt too perfect to her (even though we could see that he wasn't). Things didn't work out, and I think they never would've.

Cadence was interesting. She is the firstborn Sinclair, the oldest. And she had A LOT to deal with. I can't spoil the ending, but all the twists and turns made me dizzy. In the end, we kind of find out what happened to the 'Liars', but it's not easy to understand nor unravel. I think readers can interpret the book however they like.

After all,

You decide which are lies and which are truths.

Read it.

And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.
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