Status
Available
Call number
Call number
F LOC
Series
Genres
Collection
Publication
Delacorte Press (2014), Edition: First Edition, 256 pages
Description
Spending the summers on her family's private island off the coast of Massachusetts with her cousins and a special boy named Gat, teenaged Cadence struggles to remember what happened during her fifteenth summer.
Media reviews
Of course I won't reveal the twists and turns of the cunning plot, but I can say that when the secret at the heart of the book is finally revealed, it turns out to be nastier and more shocking than anything I had imagined. This is a cunning, clever and absolutely gripping novel, full of surprises,
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which sent me straight back to its first page as soon as I reached the last. Show Less
What really makes a book of the summer is when we surprise ourselves. It’s not just about being fascinated by a book. It’s about being fascinated by the fact that we’re fascinated.
The odds:4-1
We Were Liars
E. Lockhart
Pros: Rich people on an island; sharp, funny-sad writing; a
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head-snapping fourthquarter reveal.
Cons: It’s a YA novel, so some adults might pass. Show Less
Original publication date
2014-05-13
Similar in this library
User reviews
LibraryThing member jmchshannon
We Were Liars is one of those novels that proves impossible to review. To give away even one inkling of the story, however inadvertently, would be to ruin this magnificent, tautly written, highly suspenseful novel. Suffice it to say, The lines between family secrets and family love completely blur,
We Were Liars is the type of novel in which it is essential to start reading with no expectations and no idea what is going to happen in the story. The Sinclair family will entice and horrify as Cady discovers the family secrets, while the novel’s idyllic setting belies the serious nature of those secrets. This powerful, evocative story unfolds quickly, and Lockhart’s mesmerizimg prose weaves a spell over the reader, all but requiring that the story be read in one sitting, something with which readers will happily comply.
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as Cady spends one last summer with the Liars and the rest of their extended family.We Were Liars is the type of novel in which it is essential to start reading with no expectations and no idea what is going to happen in the story. The Sinclair family will entice and horrify as Cady discovers the family secrets, while the novel’s idyllic setting belies the serious nature of those secrets. This powerful, evocative story unfolds quickly, and Lockhart’s mesmerizimg prose weaves a spell over the reader, all but requiring that the story be read in one sitting, something with which readers will happily comply.
Show Less
LibraryThing member HeatherLINC
Overall, I found "We Were Liars" to have a boring storyline with obnoxious characters, especially Cadence who was an unreliable narrator and a whingy teenager. The writing style annoyed me - it was too choppy and descriptive. However, I did not see the twist at the end, hence the extra half-star.
LibraryThing member delaneycrowley
This is an awesome book, I read it in one day because I just couldn't put it down. It was very well written in a way that is fun and exciting, and for me personally Lockhart used her diction very similarly to how my thoughts are organized as a teenager. I loved the way that her descriptions of the
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characters were words that applied to the senses as opposed to just adjectives, she describes Mirren as "sugar" and "rain". Show Less
LibraryThing member Brainannex
No spoilers. That's all you hear about the book. Which is good...but the extent of the no spoiler campaign seems to artificially amp up the suspense related to the story. It's a good story but not the mind-blowing story you might have been led to believe it is.
LibraryThing member fefferbooks
The longer I think about this, the more irritated I am. Gat's behavior makes no sense to me--he pushes and pulls, keeps telling Cady he'll hurt her, and none of it makes much sense, even when the book ends. (Also: envelope full of beach roses? Someone please explain???) I enjoyed reading this,
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except for the language--I did want to know what happened, and I liked the voice--but there were several plot points for me that just didn't quite gel. Show Less
LibraryThing member bnbookgirl
Not my favorite. Heard great things about it but was not impressed. Very predictable. I knew the what had happened very early on just not how it happened. I did not like any of the characters either. I just found the whole story disjointed,
LibraryThing member emma_mc
My jaw dropped and I had tears in my eyes at the ending. Wow. Great book.
LibraryThing member Citizenjoyce
This is an OverDrive best book of 2014 about a group of poor put upon entitled rich teens, their poor put upon entitled rich mothers, their domineering yet weakening tyrant of a grandfather and the mistakes made by all. It started, for me, very badly, got interesting after the big accident then
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devolved into unbelievability as the big mystery was revealed. It certainly wouldn't go on any best list of mine. Show Less
LibraryThing member sunset_x_cocktail
Disappointing. When I finished this book I tossed it aside in disgust. I have a fascination with the lifestyles of the uber rich elite. Especially "old money" style families which was what this book was about.
However, I did not like this book much at all. The narrative style was weird and
It was quite interesting at first, the dynamics of who all these people were, despite the somewhat irritating tone of the main character. And the style of the writing. Which split off into sentence fragments and often had confusing descriptions.
In the first few chapters she is describing the pain of her father leaving her mother. She's watching him go and then says "and he shot me in the chest". Or something along those lines. Its like....huh? But strange things like this, random sentences occur a lot and I came to the conclusion pretty rapidly that they are really metaphors for how the character is feeling. I didn't find it clever....just...annoying.
Then something happened and the female lead pretty much fell apart, and the rest of the book was about her trying to figure out what the hell happened. It was the mystery of that that really kept me reading even though the more I read the more I disliked the book.
Even watching the main character's mind deteriorate I found myself unable to express much sympathy for her because I just did not like the character at all.
The twist at the end was surprising. Never saw it coming. But once again, the shock of it, is dulled by my utter distain for Cadance. I could rant on about it, but won't because of major spoilers.
Urg. Really disappointed.
Crosses off a square for my Summer Bingo reading challenge - Sky On Cove
However, I did not like this book much at all. The narrative style was weird and
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confusing, the main character unreliable, annoying and selfish. The book was pretty much whiny poor little rich girl problems and I found myself becoming more and more annoyed. Rich girl, Cadance, and family spend their summers on a private idyllic island. With family drama. It was quite interesting at first, the dynamics of who all these people were, despite the somewhat irritating tone of the main character. And the style of the writing. Which split off into sentence fragments and often had confusing descriptions.
Then something happened and the female lead pretty much fell apart, and the rest of the book was about her trying to figure out what the hell happened. It was the mystery of that that really kept me reading even though the more I read the more I disliked the book.
Even watching the main character's mind deteriorate I found myself unable to express much sympathy for her because I just did not like the character at all.
The twist at the end was surprising. Never saw it coming. But once again, the shock of it, is dulled by my utter distain for Cadance. I could rant on about it, but won't because of major spoilers.
Urg. Really disappointed.
Crosses off a square for my Summer Bingo reading challenge - Sky On Cove
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LibraryThing member jnwelch
A seemingly perfect family summers on their private island near Martha's Vineyard. The wealthy grandparents preside over three generations who play tennis and keep up appearances. They look good and sound good. But, as we learn from the harsh fairy tales cleverly interspersed throughout We Were
I raced through the pages of this young adult novel. Cady and Gat are drawn to one another, and Lockhart does a wonderful job of conveying the feeling of summer freedom with beloved pals. As to Mirren, "“She is sugar, curiosity, and rain.” Gat "was contemplation and enthusiasm. Ambition and strong coffee. I could have looked at him forever.” On an island where the family barely acknowledges the servants, Gat brings a passionate conscience to the others.
On a summer night in her 15th year, something so devastating happens that Cady blocks it from her mind and begins to have debilitating migraines. When she returns to the island, everyone steps carefully around her, but she begins to uncover the ash-covered foundations of what happened. Cady has to find out, at whatever cost.
If you're like me, my wife and my daughter, this is one of the faster reads you'll get your hands on. None of us could put it down, and my wife and I both read it on one Sunday. The language is terse and sharp, and the puzzle obsessive. Three and one-half stars.
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Liars, the king has three daughters who feud for his favor and fortune (think King Lear). Caught in the sublimated tension are four teens, narrator Cady, her cousins Johnny and Mirren, and Gat Patil, a handsome outsider who is there because his uncle is the little-acknowledged paramour of one daughter.I raced through the pages of this young adult novel. Cady and Gat are drawn to one another, and Lockhart does a wonderful job of conveying the feeling of summer freedom with beloved pals. As to Mirren, "“She is sugar, curiosity, and rain.” Gat "was contemplation and enthusiasm. Ambition and strong coffee. I could have looked at him forever.” On an island where the family barely acknowledges the servants, Gat brings a passionate conscience to the others.
On a summer night in her 15th year, something so devastating happens that Cady blocks it from her mind and begins to have debilitating migraines. When she returns to the island, everyone steps carefully around her, but she begins to uncover the ash-covered foundations of what happened. Cady has to find out, at whatever cost.
If you're like me, my wife and my daughter, this is one of the faster reads you'll get your hands on. None of us could put it down, and my wife and I both read it on one Sunday. The language is terse and sharp, and the puzzle obsessive. Three and one-half stars.
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LibraryThing member eenerd
I only gave this 2 cos I was really disappointed that it didn't live up to the hype. Its a decent enough read, but I was pretty sure I'd figured out the "twist" very early on. The book really doesn't get good until Chapter 60, and I was kind of hopeful that maybe it wasn't going to end how I
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thought it would...but then it did. Wah wah wah wahhhhhh. Show Less
LibraryThing member carlahaunted
Review: We Were Liars This review is short and sweet, mainly because I read this novel in one sitting and am still reeling, book-drunk.
More of a confession than a review, really. Can a book be violent? If so, I have been pummeled by this book, dragged all about the house in a fiery embrace.
And I
More of a confession than a review, really. Can a book be violent? If so, I have been pummeled by this book, dragged all about the house in a fiery embrace.
And I
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enjoyed it. The ache is delicious. Show Less
LibraryThing member taleofnight
I completely ruined this book for me because I just happened to flip to a page and read a sentence, which happened to be the worst sentence I could read when I was only about 50 pages in. So I knew what the big twist was before it was revealed, and I was pretty mad at myself.
I'm not sure I would
I'm not sure I would
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have enjoyed it more if I didn't do that. It was still a good read though. It was weird and strange and I was trying to figure out what was actually happening. And I still don't understand a lot of things, like why the Liars were called the Liars. But it wasn't a bad, and I'm happy I read it, but I would definitely not read it again. Show Less
LibraryThing member nbmars
Note: There are no spoilers in this review.
This story is narrated by Cadence (“Cady”) Sinclair Eastman, now 17, and concerns the summer two years prior, which Cady spent on the private island off the coast of Massachusetts owned by her wealthy family, the Sinclairs. The four teens who hung out
In the summer they were fourteen, things changed between Cady and Gat:
"One day I looked at Gat, lying in the Clairmont hammock with a book, and he seemed, well, like he was mine. Like he was my particular person.”
Gat was the only one among them who did not live a life of privilege when he wasn’t on the island, and he felt the class difference acutely. In addition, he was Indian, and he was aware of the unspoken censure of the older Sinclairs, who, he thought, must have compared him to Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights. He tried to raise the social consciousness of the others, but they were on the island to have fun, and regularly pooh-poohed his efforts at serious conversation. But when Cady fell for Gat, she began to listen.
And then, when Cady was 15, something happened on the island, something bad; so bad that even Cady doesn’t know what it was. Her story takes us with her on her search, two years later, for the truth.
Discussion: Ordinarily I try to eschew books about rich kids, but this one is by E. Lockhart, who is, as you may know, the author of the notable Printz Award Honor Book The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks. If you recall from that excellent book, this author is all about social and gender justice, and is eminently worth reading.
In this story, it is never absolutely clear why the adults called the teens “the Liars,” especially because the teens regularly refused to do the lying their parents demanded of them to ensure that Granddad, dispenser of the family fortune, was appeased. Cady’s mother in particular always tried to insist that Cady cover up her emotions and hide her feelings:
"‘Don’t cause distress,’ she said. ‘Don’t remind people of loss.’ ‘Do you understand, Cady? Silence is a protective coating over pain.’”
But Cady is overcome by pain, physical and mental, and until she unravels its cause, it will continue to feel like she (who has quite a graphic imagination) is being shot or stabbed, with her heart rolling out of her rib cage, and blood gushing from her wounds. Her mother’s primary reaction to her sloppy show of feelings is to snap at her to get a hold of herself. Cady knows that if she is to endure her suffering, she has to break through the fabric of lies that binds the family, and somehow come out the other side with the determination to carry on.
Evaluation: This book is a stunner. Wish I could tell you how and why, but it would be too spoilery…. Because there is so much to discuss, it would also make a great choice for book clubs. I'd say, don't miss it!
This story is narrated by Cadence (“Cady”) Sinclair Eastman, now 17, and concerns the summer two years prior, which Cady spent on the private island off the coast of Massachusetts owned by her wealthy family, the Sinclairs. The four teens who hung out
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together each summer were called “The Liars” by the family, and included Cady, her cousins Johnny and Mirren, and one of the aunt’s nephews by marriage, Gat Patil. In the summer they were fourteen, things changed between Cady and Gat:
"One day I looked at Gat, lying in the Clairmont hammock with a book, and he seemed, well, like he was mine. Like he was my particular person.”
Gat was the only one among them who did not live a life of privilege when he wasn’t on the island, and he felt the class difference acutely. In addition, he was Indian, and he was aware of the unspoken censure of the older Sinclairs, who, he thought, must have compared him to Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights. He tried to raise the social consciousness of the others, but they were on the island to have fun, and regularly pooh-poohed his efforts at serious conversation. But when Cady fell for Gat, she began to listen.
And then, when Cady was 15, something happened on the island, something bad; so bad that even Cady doesn’t know what it was. Her story takes us with her on her search, two years later, for the truth.
Discussion: Ordinarily I try to eschew books about rich kids, but this one is by E. Lockhart, who is, as you may know, the author of the notable Printz Award Honor Book The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks. If you recall from that excellent book, this author is all about social and gender justice, and is eminently worth reading.
In this story, it is never absolutely clear why the adults called the teens “the Liars,” especially because the teens regularly refused to do the lying their parents demanded of them to ensure that Granddad, dispenser of the family fortune, was appeased. Cady’s mother in particular always tried to insist that Cady cover up her emotions and hide her feelings:
"‘Don’t cause distress,’ she said. ‘Don’t remind people of loss.’ ‘Do you understand, Cady? Silence is a protective coating over pain.’”
But Cady is overcome by pain, physical and mental, and until she unravels its cause, it will continue to feel like she (who has quite a graphic imagination) is being shot or stabbed, with her heart rolling out of her rib cage, and blood gushing from her wounds. Her mother’s primary reaction to her sloppy show of feelings is to snap at her to get a hold of herself. Cady knows that if she is to endure her suffering, she has to break through the fabric of lies that binds the family, and somehow come out the other side with the determination to carry on.
Evaluation: This book is a stunner. Wish I could tell you how and why, but it would be too spoilery…. Because there is so much to discuss, it would also make a great choice for book clubs. I'd say, don't miss it!
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LibraryThing member smstuart
I had such high, high hopes for this book. Sadly this turned out to be my first DNF of the year. The story had such promise but was poorly executed. I got halfway through when I realized that I simply didn't care what happened. Not one bit. So for those who loved this book and sing its praises, yay
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for you. This book just wasn't meant for everyone, mainly me. Show Less
LibraryThing member thewanderingjew
My grandchild asked me to read this and discuss it with her. It is an emotionally drawn picture of a teen in distress, a teen that comes of age in the midst of tragedy, a teen who suffers from partial amnesia after a particularly devastating event which she does not remember. Her search for what
Over the period of about a decade, the reader will examine the life of Cadence Sinclair Eastman, born with a silver spoon in her mouth and afforded every advantage money can buy. Her life seems enviable. It is written so well that the reader is captured immediately and transported to an island off the coast of Massachusetts, an island near Martha’s Vineyard in the environs of Cape Cod, where the members of her Sinclair family come together to spend the summers in idyllic circumstances. Because I also summer on Cape Cod and often travel by boat to the Vineyard, I identified with many of the issues the characters embraced and examined. There are times when what appears on the surface often overshadows the underlying problems that need to be addressed and this book scrutinizes the many issues families face with honesty and depth. Parental involvement, broken homes, family life, financial status, racism, class warfare, equal opportunity, moral and ethical values that reach across several cultures are explored and their warts are exposed.
The reader will ask themselves the question, to what lengths would you go to change the world to a more welcoming place for all, to get the positive attention of those you love, to stop the negative demands and manipulation, to stop the pettiness and the fighting, to try to regain that feeling of innocence and lightness of your childhood, to run from the pain and problems of growing up? The author defines the issues that young adults face and exposes the difficulties they experience in dealing with the world in which they live. She examines their thought processes with precision. She introduces fairy tales to make a point and ends it with a moral to make the reader think, uses the device of anthropomorphism, making migraine headaches living beasts, uses metaphors to drive home a point, comparing reality to imaginings. The reader will try and identify which character in the story is closely associated with the fairy tale characters. Who is Beauty and who is Beast? Who is the little princess and who is the mouseling? What does the moral mean?
Will the young reader understand that at a certain age they are ill equipped to make intelligent decisions on their own, that although they think they have the one right way, they need adult input? What happens when the adults behave like children? What kind of an example do they set? Will they realize that every action has consequences that need to be considered or is it something that comes with age and years of experience? The author has entered the mind of a teenager and brought her to life on the pages. Through the use of fantasy, magic realism and reality, the book has many lessons to teach and enrich the reader. It would be wise to discuss it with a parent or a mentor or a teacher. The themes are difficult to deal with because they involve stark reality.
There is both a kind of innocent evil strain, as well as an innocent goodness in some of the characters, and the trauma of loss and the concept of futile dreams has to be faced squarely. The conflicts that teens face as they come of age are not easy to deal with and this book shines a light on the wonders and the catastrophes that arise. There are strong messages about the kinds of values to live by, the kinds to reject and the kinds to admire. As I read, I thought, if the whole world was blind, most of the problems we deal with would probably be eliminated, since everyone would be judged by their actions and not by outward appearance and affluence. Power would be attained through good works, not through image and the influence of the dollar. What is the ultimate message of this book? Is it hope, courage, and the strength to go on in the face of failure, mistakes and loss, is the message to dust yourself off and start over, no matter what you face? The reader will decide.
My one criticism is that the author, however subtly, could not resist the urge to put her own personal, liberal ideology into the narrative. To attempt to influence the reader in that way, giving only one side, forming their opinions with half-truths is disingenuous, at the very least, since it unfairly and unduly influences the way their ideas and goals will develop and, ultimately, the paths they will follow. However, she is not alone; this seems to have become quite a common theme with liberal authors.
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caused her lapse in memory, her migraine headaches, her emotional trauma, her separation from her family, and her ultimate realization of the cause of these events, is the crux of the story. Over the period of about a decade, the reader will examine the life of Cadence Sinclair Eastman, born with a silver spoon in her mouth and afforded every advantage money can buy. Her life seems enviable. It is written so well that the reader is captured immediately and transported to an island off the coast of Massachusetts, an island near Martha’s Vineyard in the environs of Cape Cod, where the members of her Sinclair family come together to spend the summers in idyllic circumstances. Because I also summer on Cape Cod and often travel by boat to the Vineyard, I identified with many of the issues the characters embraced and examined. There are times when what appears on the surface often overshadows the underlying problems that need to be addressed and this book scrutinizes the many issues families face with honesty and depth. Parental involvement, broken homes, family life, financial status, racism, class warfare, equal opportunity, moral and ethical values that reach across several cultures are explored and their warts are exposed.
The reader will ask themselves the question, to what lengths would you go to change the world to a more welcoming place for all, to get the positive attention of those you love, to stop the negative demands and manipulation, to stop the pettiness and the fighting, to try to regain that feeling of innocence and lightness of your childhood, to run from the pain and problems of growing up? The author defines the issues that young adults face and exposes the difficulties they experience in dealing with the world in which they live. She examines their thought processes with precision. She introduces fairy tales to make a point and ends it with a moral to make the reader think, uses the device of anthropomorphism, making migraine headaches living beasts, uses metaphors to drive home a point, comparing reality to imaginings. The reader will try and identify which character in the story is closely associated with the fairy tale characters. Who is Beauty and who is Beast? Who is the little princess and who is the mouseling? What does the moral mean?
Will the young reader understand that at a certain age they are ill equipped to make intelligent decisions on their own, that although they think they have the one right way, they need adult input? What happens when the adults behave like children? What kind of an example do they set? Will they realize that every action has consequences that need to be considered or is it something that comes with age and years of experience? The author has entered the mind of a teenager and brought her to life on the pages. Through the use of fantasy, magic realism and reality, the book has many lessons to teach and enrich the reader. It would be wise to discuss it with a parent or a mentor or a teacher. The themes are difficult to deal with because they involve stark reality.
There is both a kind of innocent evil strain, as well as an innocent goodness in some of the characters, and the trauma of loss and the concept of futile dreams has to be faced squarely. The conflicts that teens face as they come of age are not easy to deal with and this book shines a light on the wonders and the catastrophes that arise. There are strong messages about the kinds of values to live by, the kinds to reject and the kinds to admire. As I read, I thought, if the whole world was blind, most of the problems we deal with would probably be eliminated, since everyone would be judged by their actions and not by outward appearance and affluence. Power would be attained through good works, not through image and the influence of the dollar. What is the ultimate message of this book? Is it hope, courage, and the strength to go on in the face of failure, mistakes and loss, is the message to dust yourself off and start over, no matter what you face? The reader will decide.
My one criticism is that the author, however subtly, could not resist the urge to put her own personal, liberal ideology into the narrative. To attempt to influence the reader in that way, giving only one side, forming their opinions with half-truths is disingenuous, at the very least, since it unfairly and unduly influences the way their ideas and goals will develop and, ultimately, the paths they will follow. However, she is not alone; this seems to have become quite a common theme with liberal authors.
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LibraryThing member susiesharp
This book was very twisty and turny with an unreliable narrator and is very hard to review because I don't want to give anything away and I'm afraid many people will, by tags and such, which is a shame. I'm so glad I read it right away.
I can't stop thinking about this story, it is written at times
There were times I thought I had it figured out then the author would change my mind only to be partly right later on.
I read this book in 2 days and it has been a long time since a book has grabbed me that fast in a long time. Once I started all I wanted to do was keep reading. And when I was done I just wanted to start it over again.
I would recommend this to adult and young adult alike this book defies classification it just needs to be read.
If they make a movie of this one Edward Hermann must play granddad. I pictured him all the way through.
If you like a book that keeps you guessing, give this one a try. And Please Don’t Spoil it for other!
I don’t want to say anymore for fear of giving something away but I loved this book!
5 Stars
I can't stop thinking about this story, it is written at times
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like poetry, as a diary and as just rambling but beauty throughout. It is so unique and hard to describe and I would highly recommend reading it soon before the spoilers are out there.There were times I thought I had it figured out then the author would change my mind only to be partly right later on.
I read this book in 2 days and it has been a long time since a book has grabbed me that fast in a long time. Once I started all I wanted to do was keep reading. And when I was done I just wanted to start it over again.
I would recommend this to adult and young adult alike this book defies classification it just needs to be read.
If they make a movie of this one Edward Hermann must play granddad. I pictured him all the way through.
If you like a book that keeps you guessing, give this one a try. And Please Don’t Spoil it for other!
I don’t want to say anymore for fear of giving something away but I loved this book!
5 Stars
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LibraryThing member TooBusyReading
This one wins stars for creativity. The writing is clever, and there are a couple of hooks in the story that show thought and skill. I didn't like this story despite those pluses.
“Be normal. Because you are. Because you can be.” This is an admonishment from the unreliable narrator's mother to
They are rich but want to be richer. The adults are shallow and selfish and greedy and thoughtless, feeling entitled and superior but just being leeches. Okay, I can handle that, don't like it but can handle it. The kids are more interesting than the adults. The narrator takes the concept of unreliable narrator to a new extreme, part of the hook. That would have been okay, too. Actually, I liked that aspect of the story.
What I didn't like it going on and on about a teenage romance. Oh, the angst, the true love, the pain. Ad nauseam.
The ending was a surprise, and interesting, and I liked it, but I didn't like slogging through the rest of this fairly short audio book to get there. The audio narrator's voice didn't work for me – too slow, too emphatic too often, and her male voices sounded cartoonish.
Lots of people love this book, but it is not even close to my cup of tea.
“Be normal. Because you are. Because you can be.” This is an admonishment from the unreliable narrator's mother to
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her daughter. Well, if this family is normal, there isn't much hope for families.They are rich but want to be richer. The adults are shallow and selfish and greedy and thoughtless, feeling entitled and superior but just being leeches. Okay, I can handle that, don't like it but can handle it. The kids are more interesting than the adults. The narrator takes the concept of unreliable narrator to a new extreme, part of the hook. That would have been okay, too. Actually, I liked that aspect of the story.
What I didn't like it going on and on about a teenage romance. Oh, the angst, the true love, the pain. Ad nauseam.
The ending was a surprise, and interesting, and I liked it, but I didn't like slogging through the rest of this fairly short audio book to get there. The audio narrator's voice didn't work for me – too slow, too emphatic too often, and her male voices sounded cartoonish.
Lots of people love this book, but it is not even close to my cup of tea.
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LibraryThing member magiklee
It's a story that has a big air of mystery surrounding it and a whole lot of struggle, within Cady herself and with the "trapped" feeling that the Liars have within the family dynamic, which ultimately leads them to acting out with the intention of making things better. It's only afterwards that
The "voice" of the novel took some getting used to as it is written in the style of a fictional 17yr old and she speaks short but to the point. The sentence structure was different to everything I have ever read and at the beginning it was hard to get into it. But after a few chapters I was drawn into its story. The mystery behind the missing 2 years of Cady's life. Why was she found on the beach by herself with a wound to her head? What happened to her in summer 15? Why was no one telling her anything? It made it hard to put the book down because I so wanted to find out what had happened.
The short chapters also made it easy to read. They sucked you further into the story before you had a chance to realise how far you've read and how late the day or night has become. It was a very addictive novel that gets you thinking.
I have to say though that the outcome was predictable halfway through. At least it was for me. I kind of figured it out when I really started to think about it. But never made the story less interesting. In fact it made me even more compelled to finish ut and find out if I'd guessed correctly and really...did it really happen? In a way it was almost like being Cady with selective amnesia and having her memories slowly come back. She would have felt denial at any information that came to surface about that missing and tragic summer. I know I would have and so even though I predicted the ending I also didn't predict the entire ending. I needed a box of tissues! It pulled at my heart strings.
And I also have to add that seeing Cady's interaction with Gat, Johnny and Mirren allowed me (as the reader) to see the emotional connection between them, to understand the way Cady felt about them and it helped the ending speak straight to your heart, getting the desired response that the author would have been aiming for. Without Cady's interaction with her cousins and the love of her life the story wouldn't have been nearly as powerful.
Fantastic story!
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you realise that their plan worked but to what extent?The "voice" of the novel took some getting used to as it is written in the style of a fictional 17yr old and she speaks short but to the point. The sentence structure was different to everything I have ever read and at the beginning it was hard to get into it. But after a few chapters I was drawn into its story. The mystery behind the missing 2 years of Cady's life. Why was she found on the beach by herself with a wound to her head? What happened to her in summer 15? Why was no one telling her anything? It made it hard to put the book down because I so wanted to find out what had happened.
The short chapters also made it easy to read. They sucked you further into the story before you had a chance to realise how far you've read and how late the day or night has become. It was a very addictive novel that gets you thinking.
I have to say though that the outcome was predictable halfway through. At least it was for me. I kind of figured it out when I really started to think about it. But never made the story less interesting. In fact it made me even more compelled to finish ut and find out if I'd guessed correctly and really...did it really happen? In a way it was almost like being Cady with selective amnesia and having her memories slowly come back. She would have felt denial at any information that came to surface about that missing and tragic summer. I know I would have and so even though I predicted the ending I also didn't predict the entire ending. I needed a box of tissues! It pulled at my heart strings.
And I also have to add that seeing Cady's interaction with Gat, Johnny and Mirren allowed me (as the reader) to see the emotional connection between them, to understand the way Cady felt about them and it helped the ending speak straight to your heart, getting the desired response that the author would have been aiming for. Without Cady's interaction with her cousins and the love of her life the story wouldn't have been nearly as powerful.
Fantastic story!
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LibraryThing member Courtney_Chance
We Were Liars
SYNOPSIS
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. We Were Liars is a
SYNOPSIS
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. We Were Liars is a
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modern, sophisticated suspense novel from National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart. Read it.And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE. Show Less
LibraryThing member AngelaCinVA
I didn't love this book the way so many others have. I can appreciate the quality of the writing. The premise is good, too - the beautiful, wonderful family on the outside with dark secrets hidden from everyone else. The over-the-top metaphors seemed a bit much for me, though I did come to accept
On the plus side: Ariadne Meyers does a wonderful job narrating the audiobook. I liked the fairy tale variations that parallel the main story and hint at the family's ugly truths. The ending did, finally, draw me in. I had guessed part of the secret, but not all of it. I really can't explain without giving things away, but as Cady really began to remember, I finally began to connect with her. If it weren't for the way this grabbed me near the end and my appreciation for the literary structure of the story, this would have been 3 stars.
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them. But overall, the narrator seemed a bit melodramatic, even before starting to describe her accident and the after effects. I never really connected with her, though I can appreciate that part of that was because she was disconnected from the events due to her memory loss. But part of it was a gut reaction against the "poor little rich girl" with the privileged life.On the plus side: Ariadne Meyers does a wonderful job narrating the audiobook. I liked the fairy tale variations that parallel the main story and hint at the family's ugly truths. The ending did, finally, draw me in. I had guessed part of the secret, but not all of it. I really can't explain without giving things away, but as Cady really began to remember, I finally began to connect with her. If it weren't for the way this grabbed me near the end and my appreciation for the literary structure of the story, this would have been 3 stars.
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LibraryThing member acargile
This novel drops hints and then surprises the reader at the end revealing the truth.
Cadence Sinclair Eastman, known as Cady, descends from a very rich family. Her grandfather had three daughters and makes them compete for his affection, for houses, and for money in regards to their inheritance.
Cady had an accident in year 14 that has led to amnesia. She skipped year 15 and returns year 16 to try and remember what happened. As the novel progresses, the cousins continue to be close, but the three refuse to tell Cady what happened. All she knows is that she was found with only undergarments on at the beach. She had a head trauma and burns. Whenever her mother told her what happened after the accident, she would be hysterical and forget the next day. The doctors determine that her mind will have to heal itself. The cousins keep Cady company as she wonders about all of the changes on the island.
I think a lot of you will really enjoy it. The main thing is to NOT READ AHEAD. It’ll spoil the book. A,lso, there is some language, not much; but, if you are offended by a hand full of swear words, you may want to skip this one. When the end arrives, you will look back over the book and wonder how you missed the clues as to the reality of the present. It’s a sad novel about old-fashioned greed, teenage stupidity, love, and sacrifice as redemption is needed for the entire Sinclair family.
Cadence Sinclair Eastman, known as Cady, descends from a very rich family. Her grandfather had three daughters and makes them compete for his affection, for houses, and for money in regards to their inheritance.
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Cady and her cousins spend every summer with their parents on Beechwood Island, by Martha’s Vineyard. Cady has two cousins about her age: Johnny and Mirren. Johnny’s mother has an Indian boyfriend, Ed, who brings his nephew each year, Gat. Cady and Gat are a couple on the island. Each year is referred to by their age. For example, year 15 is the summer they are 15 years old.Cady had an accident in year 14 that has led to amnesia. She skipped year 15 and returns year 16 to try and remember what happened. As the novel progresses, the cousins continue to be close, but the three refuse to tell Cady what happened. All she knows is that she was found with only undergarments on at the beach. She had a head trauma and burns. Whenever her mother told her what happened after the accident, she would be hysterical and forget the next day. The doctors determine that her mind will have to heal itself. The cousins keep Cady company as she wonders about all of the changes on the island.
I think a lot of you will really enjoy it. The main thing is to NOT READ AHEAD. It’ll spoil the book. A,lso, there is some language, not much; but, if you are offended by a hand full of swear words, you may want to skip this one. When the end arrives, you will look back over the book and wonder how you missed the clues as to the reality of the present. It’s a sad novel about old-fashioned greed, teenage stupidity, love, and sacrifice as redemption is needed for the entire Sinclair family.
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LibraryThing member RobynELee
Surprising and very interesting twist. Don't allow the beginning to lull you into thinking this is a safe little romance. Well done.
LibraryThing member csweder
THis was an excellent book! The plot is part of what makes it so great, so I don't want to reveal anything. I will say though, that I listened to this book on audio, and there were times I stayed in the car for minutes after I got home just to hear more.
A definite read!
A definite read!
LibraryThing member amandacb
I recently read that movie rights to this book were purchased and I was just astonished. NOTHING in this book was believable. An entire family living on a private island? Umm, no. A bunch of kids decide to set fire to a house? Yeah, no. Something tragic and terrible happens to one of the girls and
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NO ONE will tell her what happens? I don't believe that for a freakin' second. I was so irritated that by the time I got to the end, with the "shocking" ending, I didn't even care. Show Less
Pages
256