We Were Liars

For as long as Cadence Sinclair Eastman can remember, it has been the four of them—Cady, her cousins Johnny and Mirren, and the only outsider, Gat. Every summer, spent on the family island, left to run free and explore. On the surface, it seems idyllic, but there is more broken about the family than divorce and finances. Early on, we learn of a tragic accident that involved Cadence. It left her with debilitating headaches and amnesia, and she travels far away from the island for years. The family’s dark secrets are confounding, and behind every closed door is a new clue. Lockhart threads a slowly changing fairy tale throughout the novel, dropping hints, like breadcrumbs, for the reader to follow. When the time comes for Cadence to remember the truth, Lockhart is a master at the unexpected twist, and she leaves the reader gutted.

Rarely does a book so rapidly become an “it” book—but We Were Liars is one of them. National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart delivers an exquisitely wrought “other world” for readers in this realistic (with a touch of the mystic) novel. From the first chapter, Lockhart had me questioning what was real and what was metaphor, and the last chapter left me seeking out others who had finished the book, to become fellow “liars” by not telling anyone of the unexpected ending. As the author told me when she autographed my (first) copy--when anyone asks about the ending--LIE.

Note: We Were Liars is a Young Adult novel.

Lockhart, E. (2013). We were liars. New York: Random House.