We Were Liars: Now a major TV series on Amazon Prime!

It was a coming of age like no other.Wealth , manipulative adults and a group of friends who meet once a year.I loved it and didn’t see the shock twist at the end coming.I found it deep and meaningful. How adults manipulated each other and their children until the children tried to destroy the focus of desire and ultimately destroyed themselves and their bright futures.

Intriguing.And a difficult review to write without putting in spoilers. Let's just say this story is not what it appears and the author keeps that very well hidden until she decides to reveal it in the final quarter. To say anymore would spoil the surprise.So, what did I think? This is many people's YA novel of 2014 and it is easy to see why. The writing is beautiful, simple, clean and, by turns, poetic and rhythmic. The first person POV is delivered faultlessly, keeping us looking over there when what is really happening is underway over here. Clever, clever. But...I'll come back to that but in a mo.The story's protagonist is Cadence, a rich girl who suffers a terrible accident on a regular summer retreat to the island home where her family have spent June, July and August for generations. She is falling in love, beautifully, slowly and so, so intensely with Gat, an Indian boy who travels up to the island every summer too. The time-line of the narrative is choppy and episodic matching Cadence's flickering consciousness and recollection of events as a result of the head injury she suffers one summer. And it is this accident and what really happened that provides the intrigue. A whole summer is blank in her mind.The story is laggardly, almost languid in places, because of course, it is not what it appears. We think it's about love and recovery from a tragic accident but it is about something else entirely, a volte-face in the story which casts everything that went before in a very different light. Like I said, clever, clever.And this is where the but comes in. Because the story is a very beautifully constructed sleight-of-hand, not one thing or the other until that big reveal, nothing much happens. This is YA because the protagonist is YA and the publishers publish YA and that is the genre where it seems to fit best, but actually I am not sure this is what older teenagers would naturally read. It is a story about rich people and families and twisted inheritance and difficulties with houses and money and young lovers and liars and running and jumping in the sand. The prose is poetry in places. I think it hits the spot of where we adults think YA would want to read, but not exactly where they might be. It has a classical feel, like a Great Gatsby or something early 20th century, grand and full of poise. But YA? Really? It's a clever piece of writing, a mystery disguised as romance.E Lockhart has accomplished an amazing thing, a story that is a beautiful trick, so beautiful you continue to explore its twists and turns in the aftermath, but as a result, there is no arrow of a story, straight and true, this is a corner rather than a straight forward journey from A to B, there is a flipping great hinge toward the end that brings about a total change in direction.Very clever. Very literary. Very haunting. Did I enjoy it? Mostly, but it didn't compel me because the mystery was so well hidden it snuck up on me. I read it like a love story and I don't really read those. You should read it, it's well worth it, she writes beautifully, like a young Margaret Atwood, but more simply.Challenging stuff.Four stars (****)

“The island is ours. Here, in some way, we are young forever.”I’ve read a lot of books in the last few months. Spending nearly 3 hours a day on a train commuting to work and back has made reading the highlight of my day. But despite all of the classics I’ve read ‘We were liars’ is the book that has stuck with me. I know that it’s in no way more sophisticated. I know that many will claim that it’s not in the same league because it’s ‘YA’ and therefore of lesser value somehow. But frankly I feel like there’s not enough space in the world of literature for newness, that literature is very much a closed off category of the past.‘We were liars’ is a work of the present. Through her depiction of the Sinclair family, Lockhart paints a surprisingly authentic metaphor of modern day American society, touching on relevant issues such as insidious racism and power struggles within the family dynamic. Though the Sinclairs may be beautiful, rich and powerful on the outside, they are riddled with corruption and tragedy underneath.Cadence Eastman Sinclair is the American golden girl; she’s rich, pretty, loved, however beneath the facade she is struggling with chronic, debilitating migraines, which doctors believe to be a symptom of a post-traumatic brain injury. She believes this was caused by an accident she had swimming in the sea, while holidaying on her family’s island two summers ago. However she’s not really sure, since the accident also caused amnesia.From there Cadence takes us on a trip down memory lane, back to when she first went to the island with the rest of her family, including her cousins Johnny and Mirren and Johnny’s best friend Gat. The four of them quickly become close friends, calling themselves the ‘liars’. Cadence falls in love with Gat and they start a summer fling, one that Cadence’s grandfather, the patriarch of the family, disproves of since Gat is ethnically Indian. While the grandfather never says this outright and speaks more in veiled threats than clear statements, the situation becomes tense and Gat mysteriously breaks off the budding romance.Heartbroken, Cadence tries to move on, however when she finally returns to the island 2 summers later everything has changed and it’s clear that something isn’t right. What really happened on the night of the accident? To discover the truth, Cadence is forced to dig up old memories that are probably better left buried.Lockhart’s prose flows effortlessly as she describes lazy days on the beach of a paradise island cut off from reality. Everything about this book has a dreamy, semi-lucid quality to it, evoking emotion and imagery with every paragraph. It’s truly a masterpiece to read, and even better when you find out what the twist is at the end. Though I had my suspicions, it still took me by surprise and I thought it was very masterfully constructed. I was satisfied with the ending and, though I was sad it was over, it felt like the story had come to a natural close.I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys mysteries, suspense, psychological thrillers and general YA. It really is an excellent read and definitely worth the time investment.

Omg this book was literally the best. It was fast pace and kept me interested the whole time. It’s set on an island that makes it a perfect beach read. Not to mention the heart dropping plot twist at the end that will have you thinking about it for hours. This is definitely a book you could read over and over again and still have it be interesting like a brand new book. At the end everything clicks and it’s really just so outstandingly written and is truly my favorite book yet!

Loved the story! I was very surprised by the twist! I knew there was gonna be one, but did not expect at all what it would be. Makes me want to read it again to see the hints I've missed.I also loved the author's writing style.

Sobre a entrega: chegou rápido e sem avarias.Sobre o livro: inglês super didático porém história muito juvenil, dá um pouco de preguiça. A personagem principal tem sido insuportável até então kkkkkk 👍🏼

Preso per mia figlia

El puntaje es porque el producto llegó rápido y bien cuidado. Es de pasta blanda y no tenía dobleces en sus hojas ni maltratado. Al final tiene contenido "extra", como preguntas para grupos de discusión, recetas, y comentarios adicionales de la autora. Muy lindo detalle.Con respecto al contenido del libro, :/. No fue especialmente de mi agrado. Tengo varios conflictos con los temas y la forma de cómo se presentan. Así como en la forma de escritura en general, que me pareció pobre. Pero claro, eso es mi opinión muy personal. Yo soy adulto que disfruto leyendo este género. Recomiendo este libro para jóvenes 16+ (esto por los temas que se tocan, ya que me parecen delicados, no por el vocabulario ni la escritura)