We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

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.

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⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

As it is written on the back cover: If anyone asks me about the end I will just LIE. Well… maybe not lie, but omit. I wouldn’t dare to spoil this for you. It is a must-read: let me tell you why.

This book was written by (genius) E. Lockhart in 2014. It is quite a short standalone YA novel that follows a group of friends that spend their summers on their private island. There are money issues, family drama, and just the right amount of romance. However, you get to a point when you discover there is so much more- The protagonist, Candance, is a brilliant damaged girl that takes us on with her every summer, and we get to experience her adventures and her convoluted feelings. But, I assure you, you will not be prepared for the turning point.

This book and specially its ending, hits you very hard. Some scenes are strong and that is why I do not recommend it to for people of 10-11 years old. Your emotions will be really altered with this novel so, believe me when I tell you that putting them right up, will become a difficult job.

I had been reading a lot of reviews about how people wept at the end of this novel, thus, I was skeptical: I don’t usually react the same way to intense dramas as most readers. Nonetheless, and as I said before, I won’t lie: I cried too. Quite a lot. We Were Liars is a book that urges you to devour it in one go. The building of the plot is exquisite: from its rising action and development of the climax to its outbreaking, when every detail is finally connected, making your mind explode. At least mine did.

Candance is not a typical girl; I loved her complex characterization. I could identify with her in some situations since she would act and think the same way as I would. For example, she will not let herself be trampled by the boy he likes. She will keep strong for herself if that is what she must do in order to keep going.

The story takes place on Beechwood Island, the island that keeps Cabdace’s clique, The Liars, together, but that, with time, will also see them grow apart. The fact that there is a map in the book got me flying high. I love it because it helps me get a visual image of the context where things are happening and well… who doesn’t love book maps? Plus, there is a family tree alongside the map and, I have to admit, it was a really helpful detail from the author. I understand her not wanting any confusion in terms of that because when it comes to the plot, confusion is all I felt: the good type of confusion though, the one that makes you obsess with mysteries clearing out. With such an intricate story, it's great that the author helped us get the setting and the family connections straight, so that we could turn our detective skills for unraveling the plot.

Reading the book was like going on a trip blindfolded; I wanted to know what was going to be my next destination but was only able to see darkness and unknown land. E. Lockhart weaves little by little, thread by thread, but doesn’t tell you what she is weaving until you are caught in her net. I don’t normally read books where romance isn’t the main genre, but I started expanding my horizons and We Were Liars is a marvelous book to begin with it.

-------Minor spoilers ahead--------

As to the love story between Candace and Gat, a passionate and political boy, I found it a tad confusing, since it is so intense, and suddenly they don’t talk all year? When it comes to love, are you not supposed to be with him all the time? Write to each other every single second? I enjoyed the moments where they were together, hiding from her family because their love was “impossible”, which in my opinion it was not. But I also loved that it led me ask myself those questions; I found it riveting that their relationship was heterogeneous and unpredictable, that it challenged me to dig deeper to find out what each of them felt behind what they showed. Furthermore, what many authors tend to do, that in my opinion, doesn’t go along with the characters’ development, is that the sweet, kind, respectful boy cheats on his girlfriend for this newfound love he shares with the protagonist. And that is what E. Lockhart did in this novel. I am not saying I didn’t smile when it happened, but that does not cloud the fact that if I was picturing a good boy, so having him not break up with his girlfriend before doing something disrespectful, was something out of character. I love the story plot but the way she wrote it sometimes was disturbing. She has a way of writing in the novel where sentences are divided in half and continued under, in a sort of verse, in where I believe she was trying to create suspence. But instead of doing so, at times, that was like a needle exploding the bubble in where I was, stopping the movie that was going on inside my head.

An example: (one of the first sentences):

“So much

in love

that equally desperate measures

must be taken”

Do you like books that have unexpected plot turns? Crying until your eyes get dry? Do you enjoy the uncertainty? If your answers were yes, then I unquestionably recommend this book. But I am telling you... it will destroy you. Just keep that in mind.