Review: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

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Goodreads

Hardcover, 227 pages

Published May 13th 2014 by Delacorte Press

Source: Purchased

My Rating: 3 Stars

From Goodreads:

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 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.

I wanted this to be amazing for me. I really, really did. I did all the “right” things: I stayed away from reviews, didn’t know what to expect, didn’t even read the blurb! But ultimately, it fell short for me a bit. This isn’t to say I didn’t like it, because it was an enjoyable book, but the “wow factor” that I’d heard about just wasn’t there for me.

What I liked: The writing was really unique and lovely. The setting is of course, gorgeous, and easy to picture. There is mystery, and intrigue, and all kinds of ridiculous family drama/first-world problems. It is a quick book that is definitely easy to read.

What I didn’t: I guessed the twist early on, at one point in the story that perhaps others would overlook, but immediately, I read one particular sentence and knew at least part of the big plot point. So maybe that’s on me, but it does dampen the excitement for the book. Also, every time I read “Cady”, all I heard in my head was Tim Meadows saying “Cady Heron” ala Mean Girls. Again, that one is probably on me too. And I didn’t really connect with Cady a ton either, which probably made it less enjoyable. Ultimately, the ending just didn’t live up to the hype, and I was left kind of feeling a bit let down.

What confused me: I still don’t have the faintest clue why they’ve always been called The Liars. Seriously, someone going to fill me in? Did I miss something?

Bottom Line: 

I’m kidding, I just needed to throw in a Tim Meadows gif, because Mean Girls makes everyone happy. It wasn’t a bad book by any means, it just didn’t “wow” me in the way I was expecting. Perhaps I went in with too many expectations. Either way, I still think is definitely a book worth reading. Obviously, you’re going to want to form your opinions on this one, and it really is quite well written and a quick read.

Posted July 21, 2014 by Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight in Review / 4 Comments

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4 responses to “Review: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

  1. Totally agreed! I just read this one last week and I was definitely disappointed in it. I didn’t guess the twist, but it was still a very lackluster ending for me. My biggest problem was that I felt like I couldn’t connect with any of the characters.

    Also, I was SO right there with you about the Cady thing haha. It was so distracting! Like, seriously, just…don’t name anybody that ever again, because nobody will be able to think of anything else but Mean Girls 😛

    • I am so relieved that someone else agrees! I felt like the only person on earth who just didn’t feel this one. And you’re right- I think the lack of character connection made me feel like I almost didn’t care about the twist anyway!

  2. I really enjoyed this book but it’s one that I feel like the more time that passes the less I remember WHY I liked it. Also I totally agree, I never understood why they were called the liars I feel like that should have been explained better!

    • Hahha I like that! I have so many books like that too- you kind of look back and wonder why you loved it. And yes- why were they the liars?! It really doesn’t have a thing to do with the outcome!

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