A New York Times Bestseller
"Haunting, sophisticated . . . a novel so twisty and well-told that it will appeal to older readers as well as to adolescents."--Wall Street Journal
"A rich, stunning summer mystery with a sharp twist that will leave you dying to talk about the book with a pal or ten."--Parade.com
"Thrilling, beautiful, and blisteringly smart, We Were Liars is utterly unforgettable." - John Green, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Fault in Our Stars
"You’re going to want to remember the title. Liars details the summers of a girl who harbors a dark secret, and delivers a satisfying, but shocking twist ending."
- Breia Brissey, Entertainment Weekly
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 New York Times bestselling author, National Book Award finalist, and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart.
Read it.
And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.
"An ambitious novel with an engaging voice, a clever plot and some terrific writing."--New York Times Book Review
"No one should be talking about the shocking twist ending. What we can talk about is...[Lockhart's] razor-sharp portrayal of a family for whom keeping up appearances is paramount and, ultimately, tragic."--The Chicago Tribune
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
190 of 216 people found the following review helpful.
SO MANY FEELINGS.
By Sab H.
This is not the type of book you are expecting. But don't judge or stop reading till the very end. I promise you, it will be far beyond worth it. Expect feelings. All the feelings. Every single one. And expect LIES. Be ready to be mind-blown and to have infinite emotions all bubbling up at once.I will LIE too, as to not spoil your reading. This is a book about a girl, about friendship, about summer. It's a book about money and a wealthy family. It's a book about values and about pretending. It's a book about LIES, those that we tell others and the ones that we tell ourselves. The LIES that are exposed and also, the hidden lies.Brilliantly poetic writing brings to life this amazing jaw-dropping suspense story that is nothing like anything I've read from E. Lockhart before or like anything I had ever read before, period. A perfectly plotted psychological tale that will leave you astonished. Twisty, so very twisty, and so unbelievably gut-wrenching and beautiful. The mystery of it, everything surrounding the mystery, was done stunningly.It's a book you'll NEED to read again right after you finish it. And you'll enjoy it twice as much the second time around. You'll be awed that you did not see this coming. Sigh. I wish books like this one came around more often.
505 of 592 people found the following review helpful.
We were gullible.
By Maria Beadnell
I was warned.Now, YOU are warned.I'm a librarian and this book brings out everything I strive not to be. I'll have to hand this over, quietly, without judgment.Dozens of people will be asking for this because of the cutesy marketing (LIE about the ending, wink wink!) and whiny, self-absorbed characters that tap into our martyr syndrome and the simultaneous escapism (they are as rich as the Kennedys but no paparazzi! perfect life) and "surprise" ending that didn't surprise me, except in that how could "bright" people not understand how fire works? My job will be to hand it over without saying, "Pick anything, Lurlene McDaniel, anything--I don't care, walk blindfolded down through the stacks and you'll find something better," or "If you are gullible enough to be surprised by this ending, do you invest a lot in Nigeria?"The writing style, which changesFor no reason,To novel-in-verse,and the unreliable narrator's voice,That of a moderately bright twelve year oldRather than a smart eighteen year old.IsREALLYreallyannoying
48 of 56 people found the following review helpful.Engaging and compelling
By K. Blaine
Count me among those who were immediately involved in E. Lockhart's "We Were Liars." Readers both young and old will be captivated by the characters and the superb writing, which combines everyday life with a hint of magical realism.As other reviewers have noted, the plot revolves around the Sinclair family. When you imagine this family, think of a cross between the Kennedy clan and a Ralph Lauren print ad in an upscale magazine. This is an old money family, with more than its share of secrets, prejudices, rituals, and customs. The patriarch of the family owns an island off the coast of Massachusetts, to which his three daughters and their families come each summer for a golden idyll in a magical place. At least, this is the way it is supposed to be, but that is a lie, and it is just the beginning of lies.Now think of King Lear, and you will have an idea of the sort of father this patriarch is. The daughters are not exact parallels to Lear's daughters, but there are enough resemblances to keep the reader interested. The focus of the book is on the next generation, the children of the three daughters (and their friend, a contrast both in culture and social status).I hope no one reviewing this book has revealed the plot in too much detail. You will have to trust me when I say you will not see the final plot twist coming, though when you re-read the book (as you will feel compelled to do), you will see all manner of foreshadowing and hints. This book is an examination of the lies we tell ourselves and each other to live harmoniously on the surface of our world, and the price those lies exact. I am recommending this book to all my reader friends, and I will be sharing it with my nieces, who I am confident will love it.A final note on style: You will occasionally encounter a disconcerting narration that seems at first literal, but is in fact magical realism. For example, when Cady Sinclair Eastman, the 15-year-old narrator of the book, is recounting her parents' divorce, she describes her father packing his things into his Mercedes. Then you read this: "Then he pulled out a handgun and shot me in the chest. I was standing on the lawn and I fell. The bullet hole opened wide and my heart rolled out of my rib cage and down into a flower bed. Blood gushed rhythmically from my open wound,then from my eyes,my ears,my mouth.It tasted like salt and failure. The bright red shame of being unloved soaked the grass in front of our house, the bricks of the path, the steps to the porch. My heart spasmed among the peonies like a trout.Mummy snapped. She said to get hold of myself."My first thought upon reading this was that Cady's father had lost control and actually shot her. The mother's comment makes clear, however, that this passage is a poetic description of how devastated Cady was at her parents' separation. This sort of thing happens throughout the book, and I came to enjoy the poetic imagery. Just don't take these passages literally.I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did. Highly recommended.
