Book Review → We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Monday, June 30, 2014


We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Young Adult Fiction // Categories: Contemporary, Mystery
Release Date: May 13, 2014
Publisher: Delacorte Press (Random House)
Format: Hardcover • 240 pages
Rating: 5 stars


Before starting We Were Liars, I knew about all the hype and buzz that was going around. However, I wasn't really affected by it because the summary being passed around didn't convince me that it'd be a good read. I still wanted to read it because of all the attention surrounding this book, so I ignored as many comments and opinions as I could.

I can see why it would be a good idea to go into this book without knowing anything, but I don't think it hurts to have a general idea of what it's about and where the story takes place. We Were Liars follows a girl named Cadence who spends her summers on a private island with her extended family, The Sinclairs. As you can tell from the words "private" and "island", they are a rich bunch and seem to have everything they want.

It was such a beautifully-written book. I don't think I've ever read anything that has such strong and expressive metaphors, especially when representing emotions.

"So many stars, it seemed like a celebration, a grand, illicit party the galaxy was holding after the humans had been put to bed." (p. 21)

E. Lockhart's use of words was truly something, and I wish more authors wrote as freely as she did. ALSO, can we just talk about how short this book is?! Only 219 pages (if we're going to get really technical) and I feel like my brain is about ready to explode. It may be a short book, but the story is longer and much more dense than any 500-page book would be.

When I started this book, I kept thinking of different ways to read into it (i.e., how certain sentences were written.) I kept thinking, "should I believe that every sentence is a lie?" I assure you, if you decide to read this, that you don't need to worry about anything. Just read it and don't overthink like I did :p

As the story developed, I found it harder and harder to resist flipping to the last page to find out what the big reveal was. I am terrible at looking for clues—I just want to know what's going on!!! Yes, the twist was mind-blowing, but I found that there is much more to this book that just figuring that out.

PLEASE read this book if you haven't yet. It is a book worth reading (and worth discussing, which I have done here!) What was your experience like while reading We Were Liars? What do you think about all the attention surrounding it?

3 comments

  1. I enjoyed this one and was completely surprised by the twist! I made my Mom read it just after and she guessed the twist, but still enjoyed it, so I completely agree with you that there is much more to this book than the twist. But even though I thought everything about it was clever, I wasn't always engaged with the story - I know it's a personal preference though. It's still a great and intriguing book!

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  2. Great review! So glad to hear you loved this one. I did as well, but I did fall victim to the hype a bit - but I was still completely shocked by the reveal. I completely agree about it being dense. Although it was a short book, it took me longer than any other book of that length to read, and I loved every second of it! :)

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