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We Were Liars

E. Lockhart

Start date: May 25, 2014

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We Were Liars

Part 4 & 5: Look, the Truth | Page 151 - The End
By Booksplosion · 197 posts · 1475 views

last updated Oct 13, 2014 01:02PM

Welcome to the #DenyTheLie Read-Along!
By Booksplosion · 72 posts · 1295 views

last updated Sep 14, 2014 05:31AM

What Members Thought

Jul 15, 2014 Jacob McCabe rated it liked it

I don't know how to explain my thoughts other than this, and it probably won't make sense: We Were Liars is the best worst book I've read, and the most sloppily-written book with the best prose I've read. ...more

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Jun 05, 2014 Teddy rated it liked it · review of another edition

originally @ my blog

There are books that are simple to read. Books that are interpreted well, their characters are transparent and the plot is understood in the first few pages. But the truth is that if all books were like that, the reading prosess would not be so fun.

This is not an easy book. Not that it's not terribly well written. Difficult in perhaps the characters. Those who are real, and those who are not. Or maybe the plot, whose tangle of wires blends and blurs, giving us a "good" unders originally @ my blog

There are books that are simple to read. Books that are interpreted well, their characters are transparent and the plot is understood in the first few pages. But the truth is that if all books were like that, the reading prosess would not be so fun.

This is not an easy book. Not that it's not terribly well written. Difficult in perhaps the characters. Those who are real, and those who are not. Or maybe the plot, whose tangle of wires blends and blurs, giving us a "good" understanding of how the mind of Cadence works.

If we assume that something happened in summer 15 (when Caddie was 15) it becomes easier to understand. The puzzle pieces are being put in place, and when we reach the end we get to see the whole picture. And I'm not sure if I'm digging it.

"There is not even a Scrabble word for how bad I feel."

For me, the real gem of this book is, however, the critical subliminal families who live off of appearances. Families who put pride above all, their name and the supposed power that comes from their antiquity. This group of people who survive at the expense of their feelings, the truth and other things.
And there are a lot of this kind of people around. Unscrupulous people who would rather pretend do not feel than give you a vent to their feelings and be happy. We find them everywhere.

Cadence was born and raised in a family of this kind. She spent every summer with her cousins on the family island. Until the year she turned 15 when something happened. Something she does not remember it but caused tremendous trauma and made her embark on a journey of suffering and pain.
Now, some years later, she's back on the island in an attempt to solve their problems.Will it end up unlocking the trunk of her mind or will it continue to hide behind the lies that her family has created around it?

I'm not sure how to rate this book, it was a good read, but I think it was very OVER-hyped and didn't live up to my expectations. However, I still really enjoyed the novel and I'd say it's worth reading.
...more

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Nov 22, 2014 Mia rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, must-read, drama, 2015, for-later-reviewing, original

This was the hardest book to rate! It was a 2 all along, until the last chapter, a 4! then a 5, because I keep thinking back about how good it really was. So, it's settled 4.5.

It's haunting, and beautiful, and poetic and full of feelings and horrible and stupid sometimes.. Boring, then suspenseful. All in all totally totally worth it. I'm glad I read it, and right now I feel like rereading it, because it was smart written! And because I probably won't be able to read it again later because of th ...more

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Jun 16, 2014 Fien rated it really liked it

*spoiler free* (If you've already read the book, you can read this with spoilers on my blog: Touched by the Page)

We Were Liars takes you on an epic and mysterious journey towards finding the truth of what happened in summer fifteen. The writing is metaphorical and poetic and the style is beautifully thought out to support the chaotic mess that is Cadence. There were moments when I had to stop and re-read certain paragraphs to let the feeling sink in and appreciate it at its fullest but not in a *spoiler free* (If you've already read the book, you can read this with spoilers on my blog: Touched by the Page)

We Were Liars takes you on an epic and mysterious journey towards finding the truth of what happened in summer fifteen. The writing is metaphorical and poetic and the style is beautifully thought out to support the chaotic mess that is Cadence. There were moments when I had to stop and re-read certain paragraphs to let the feeling sink in and appreciate it at its fullest but not in a bad way (I always do this when I love the way an author phrased something).

I loved how E. Lockhart played with the style and broke apart sentences into different lines. Brilliant, although I understand it might annoy some people who don’t like the meaning of such a simple, but efficient, way of portraying a character’s personality and emotions. Things like these give me butterflies in my stomach because sometimes, a character is more than the words you are presented with; sometimes it’s all about reading between the lines, fill up the voids and figure out the meaning of broken apart sentences.

However, as much as I loved the style, metaphors and the poetic feeling of the story, I had a hard time finding a connection with the characters. They came across as selfish, arrogant, naïve (so, so, SO naïve) and as stereotyped rich teenagers that I was so disappointed with them at first, although in hindsight, I kind of understand why they were acting the way they did but that wasn’t good enough for me to accept them.

I suppose I could easily say this book was more plot driven than spending time on character development and for once, get ready for a shock, it’s something that doesn’t bother me at all now I have finished it.

Big gasp!

I was more captured with the mysteriousness of the whole story than its characters. Although I had figured out most of it by the time ‘the truth’ part began, I have to say that the hints were cleverly hidden and would have easily been read over if you just picked up the book knowing nothing about it except for the summary.

This book is perfect for a quick read between monster books and you still want something decent and challenging (plot-wise) to read. Overall, this deserves a four-point-five on the five stars’ scale. ...more

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Jun 02, 2014 Michael Burns rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Wow. I heard a few different opinions of this book going into it, but as soon as I read the first page I was hooked. The writing style is so unique and beautiful, and E. Lockhart manages to keep a really unsettling feeling throughout the book. I thought that I had figured out what was going on--what the big, mysterious secret that was being kept from Cady was--but then when the truth is revealed, and it becomes so obvious what had actually been happening, I couldn't help but glance back to the b ...more

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Apr 15, 2016 Ruhi rated it liked it

My heart is bleeding out. And I don't want to talk about it. ...more

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May 30, 2014 vaneza rated it really liked it

THAT WAS AWESOME!!!!

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Jul 19, 2014 Rachel Whelen rated it it was ok · review of another edition

I liked the allegorical fairy tales through out, but that was about it. I completely understand why people like this book but I found it really painful to read. Despite being a short book it took me forever to finish. The characters were irritating and the twist so painfully obvious.

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