From the Bookshelf of Nothing But Reading Challenges…

We Were Liars

E. Lockhart

Start date: September 9, 2014

Finish date: September 30, 2014

Discussion: Books of the Month

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What Members Thought

Aug 05, 2014 Sarenna rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, 2014-wheel-a-thon

Would have been higher, except I figured out the "plot twist" about halfway through the book. ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Aug 02, 2016 Snuffles rated it liked it

Shelves: real-world, f-m, 2016

This is one of my airport books. I bought it in Dublin and it kept me company through my ~6 hour wait in terminal 2. I finished about 3/4 of it there, then had a break of a day and finally read the rest at the breakfast table this morning.

It was an interesting, gripping read. Not too complicated for my sleepy brain and I could sympathise with the main character and her (view spoiler) to a certain extent (view spoiler) ...more

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Oct 09, 2015 Chris rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, fiction, 2015owned, united-states, young-adult, 2016owned, youth

I think what I felt the most after finishing this book was mad. The first part of the book bored me - another story about a wealthy family with hidden problems. Yawn. But just as I was about to give up, things started to get interesting. There was something going on here, but I wasn't sure what. I kept listening. And I was hooked right up to the very end. So I have to give the author props for being able to string her audience along so well. I can certainly see where more than a few young adult I think what I felt the most after finishing this book was mad. The first part of the book bored me - another story about a wealthy family with hidden problems. Yawn. But just as I was about to give up, things started to get interesting. There was something going on here, but I wasn't sure what. I kept listening. And I was hooked right up to the very end. So I have to give the author props for being able to string her audience along so well. I can certainly see where more than a few young adult readers would love this. But when you think about it, there's no there there.
Cadence Sinclair Eastman is the oldest grandchild of a super-wealthy Boston family. Granddad owns his very own island near Martha's Vineyard. And it is here that Cady and her family spend every summer. She and the two cousins nearest her in age, Mirren and Johnny, form their own group, which becomes known as the Liars - for reasons that are somewhat obscure. They are joined by Gat, the nephew of the boyfriend of one of the aunts. Gat is a dark-complected teenager of Indian ancestry. And there is the point on which everything spins - the stranger in town who can either solve everything or destroy it.
At some point there is an "accident" and the last two thirds of the book is spent trying to figure out just what the accident was. And, as I said, you will want to know badly enough to spend the time getting to the end--it is, fortunately, a relatively short book.
The problem is that when all is said and done, the story doesn't hold together, even with some magical realism thrown in. For starters, the adults are all pretty horrible people, with the grandfather being worst of all. The Liars are very one-dimensional, and worst of all, even in their mid-teens they talk and act like 10-year-olds. I would wonder if E. Lockhart had never spent time with modern teenagers, except that I loved The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks. And finally, there are things in the final summer on the island that just don't add up. Given all that we know about the characters up to that point, there is just know way they could possibly act like they do.
So I guess what this book really made me feel was manipulated, but not in a good way. ...more

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Oct 02, 2014 Dina rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

What a wonderful book! Hard to put down, I enjoyed every second. Loved the writing style. Lived up to the hype.

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Nov 19, 2015 Kim Benouski rated it liked it

I felt it was a bit cliche and a bit confusing at times, but it had an interesting twist that I kind of guessed but made it more interesting. The book was an extreme quick, one-sitting read.

My daughter, a teen, LOVED it and read it multiple times, enough that in 2022, I bought the prequel for her (and read it).

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Jun 09, 2014 Jennifer Rodgers- Cabrera rated it it was amazing

Loved this book!! Loved it more the more time went on after I finished it. Did a whole review on YouTube. Check it out! It's my first review on YouTube so please be kind.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5q74... ...more

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