We Were LiarsAuthor: E. Lockhart
Publisher: Random House
Publication Date: May 13, 2014
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Review:
I’ve been going through an East Coast prepster, Vineyard
Vines, old money, monogram phase. Don’t ask me why since I am definitely from
the West Coast, have no money, and the closest thing to something Vineyard
Vines I own is a Kiel James Patrick bracelet. When I read the synopsis of We
Were Liars though I knew it was the perfect read to match this phase and dove
right in.
We Were Liars is told in flashbacks and in the present. Summer
fifteen (as the narrator calls it) something happened to Cady. Now, in summer
seventeen, Cady is trying to piece together her repressed memories and find out
what happened that fateful summer.
Cady has been going to her family’s private island every summer
since birth. She spends the Summer
with her two cousins Mirren and Johhny and a boy named Gat. These four are the
Liars. And I liked every single one of them. Lockhart does a fabulous job of
using prose to her advantage when describing these characters. Even a ton of
time wasn’t spent detailing what a character looks like I felt like I knew them.
“He was contemplation and enthusiasm. Ambition and strong coffee.”
The prose and choppy writing style were my favorite part of
this book. I liked that it was different and felt fresh as I was reading. If
the writing was my favorite part then the twisty plot was my least favorite.
One of my biggest pet peeves is when authors keep readers in the dark for too
long. There is a fine line between creating tension and just being annoying. We
Were Liars traipsed in to annoying territory. Everything was a set up for the
big twist at the end. I would have preferred if this story was written
chronologically rather then in flashbacks and present. The characters were
interesting, likable, and there was enough tension that if it was just written
straight through I, probably, would have enjoyed it more.
Overall, I enjoyed We Were Liars. It was an emotional story
of family, friends, and lies. I even caught myself tearing up at the end. I
have a feeling there will be a huge split on this book. Either you like it or
you don’t. For me, there were things I loved and other things I didn’t like.
But I’m glad I read this story.
*The rating of this book was changed from 3 to 4 stars are part of my post In Which I Reconsider Book Ratings
*The rating of this book was changed from 3 to 4 stars are part of my post In Which I Reconsider Book Ratings
I liked it too! But I think the thing that was holding me back was that I didn't feel like I really knew the characters by the time that I finished. I think that the chronology helped to add more mystery to the story. I don't really remember how I feel about it though, I think that I just accepted it.
ReplyDeleteThat annoys me as well. I feel like the story drags on the longer we're kept in the dark. I've very little patience for that.
ReplyDeleteGreat review. I guess it's a book that I will be putting off reading for now.
Interesting review. I'm intrigued yet not ready to move it to the top of my TBR list. ~Sheri
ReplyDelete