We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Review:

Title: We Were Liars

Author: E. Lockhart

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Publication Date: May 13th 2014

Format: Hardcover

Source: Library

Genre: YA, contemporary, mystery

Blurb:

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.

Thoughts:

This book was the talk of the summer on the blogesphere.  As always, I waited out the initial hype and here I am, in the middle of autumn, having just finished this book.  As I felt myself getting into this book bit by bit my nostrils were filled with the aroma of nostalgia.  This We Were Liars’ characters were faded in a gentle way, as if they were weathered.  I bounced along the book until I became antsy as the plot came to a head before my eyes.  I feverishly read the final pages in-between classes at school and a few people can vouch for my frustration the rest of the day.

It wasn’t that I was frustrated with the book, per say, it was that I felt that the climax was awkward. I didn’t like the wrap up afterwards; it was forced and uncharacteristic for our tired protagonist.

Overall, I liked the different characters that Lockhart created.  Even though they all carried Mary-Sueish qualities (even our protagonist!), they each had a unique air about them that set them apart from other YA characters.  The island world that she built was breathtakingly real.  I felt more connected with the scenery than the characters or the situations that they were in.  That’s not exactly a good thing.

In Retrospect: 

While yes, this wasn’t my favorite YA contemporary that I’ve recently read, it isn’t on my bad list.  The raw emotions spilling out of these pages almost had me in tears, and will surely enthrall other readers.

As much as this book surprised me, and confused me at times, I truly did in enjoy it. Fans of Eleanor and Park will dive into this book.

If you end up liking this, I recommend Far From You by Tess Sharpe