We Were Liars by E. Lockhart Book Review

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.
If John Green says 'Thrilling, Beautiful and blisteringly smart. We Were Liars is utterly unforgettable.' about any novel I will read it. 

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart is a novel that is utterly heartbreaking, in both the worst and the best sort of ways. Our main character Cadence (Cady) is going through her parents divorce, but her breaks away to her Grandparents home seeing her relatives and friends she escapes this drama, or so she thinks. 


The Summer while she was the age of fifteen did not go as all of the ones previous. That year her Grandmother had passed away, leaving behind land, homes, and family objects. She arrives at her Grandpa's land to find the house of her childhood had been torn down and rebuilt. Being away with her father for the Summer when she was sixteen she can not remember much of her fifteenth summer, and no one will tell her why. 
With her parents divorce and the mystery that surrounds her loss of memory especially around her fifteenth summer at the beach house but there are somethings that keep her together. 
Mirren, Johnny and the boy she loves, Gat. All these characters have a vital role in Cadys life. 

After the summer which Cady cannot remember, she suffers heavily from migraines and a lot of pain. Almost like PTSD, she knows something has to have happened but she cannot remember and no one will tell her what it is, other than she hit her head.

 But she doesn't believe it.

This book is written beautifully. Some parts in story form others in almost stanza form, like poetry the way it is laid out. E. Lockhart does a very good job of making this story unexpected and heart wrenching. 

The ending of this book is something that I did not expect in any form. But it wasn't as if the twist wasn't believable when it happened, because it was. But it made me incredibly sad for Cady, for the families and especially for those who were involved. 

SPOILERS.


Cady believes she had been swimming late one night and she hit her head on a rock, she endures headaches and mass pain which she accepts for the most part. That is until she goes back to her Grandfathers house when she is seventeen and nothing is the same, nothing feels right. 

Her mother protects her, coddles her almost and is going to 
extremities to make sure that she remembers nothing, only when she is ready and remembers by herself. 


Cady returns when she is seventeen after the house has been reconstructed, everyone and everything is different once she arrives including her friends the Liars. But the reason behind it is still unclear to Cady. 

Cady and Gat's relationship is something that I find rather strange. They love each other, but they only know the person they are when they are on their summer break. They have no idea about one another apart from those three months of the year, sometimes even less. But it is clear that they care for one another. I love the simplicity of their relationship though, although their situations are not always simple, but rather how easy it is for them to get lost in themselves, forget everything around them. 



I really admire the relationship between the Liars, they are always on one anothers side and although their relationship outside of summer is strained and not always constant, they are the best of friends, and most of all Cady knows they are the only true friends she has. 



Now for the heart shattering, twist of the novel. 

MAJOR SPOILER STOP, REALLY STOP IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THIS BOOK! 

The house as burned down by a fire. 

The house that still had the dogs in it. 

A fire that the liars set. 

A fire that not all members of the liars escaped from. 

Mirren is sick.

Johnny is tired.

Gat feels hated. 

Cady has been separated from her family and friends for nearly two years, from the summer of 15 to the 17th summer. She has little contact with her friends and she is very much excited to go back to her Grandfathers in order to get the full story of what had happened in that summer that she has lost from her memory. 

She starts connecting dots, keeping a map and journals in order to remember everything that comes back to her while she stays there. Then when all the dots are connected for her by the Liars one day. 
She accepts the news of the fire and she knows why it had to happen. 
Too much arguing between the aunties and grandfather all over possessions and money.
The Liars are sick of this upheaval within their family home. 
The Liars decide to put an end to it, lighting a fire in the home that causes all of the hassle. That causes all of the hurt, all of the arguments and all of the dispute. 

Cady lights fire to the study, pouring gasoline on the books and wood furniture, then lights the match. 

Cady escapes. 

The rest of the liars do not. 

This twist hit me like a ton of bricks, not the outcome I expected from this novel. The characters always seemed so vibrant, so colourful, so alive. 



But then as it is revealed it all makes sense to me, they never answer her emails, they do not interact with the adults or the littles, everything around Cady seems a little disorientated. She has blocked out the worst experience of her life, and for good reason. Her three best friends perished in a fire that she believes she caused. Her three best friends, her two family pets, her families home, memories of the summers she spent with the Liars. 


I would give this book a 4.5 stars out of 5, mainly because at some points I did find Cady a little flaky at times. But other than that this book was flawless. 

This book gave the afterlife a new voice, her friends stay to help her, to comfort her, to remind her who she is and to just be her friend. They want her to understand it wasn't her fault, they weren't meant long for our world, they don't mind leaving. They stay only long enough to help her see the truth, this to me is the best part of this book. Her friends even though they are no longer with her, spent one last summer with her while she couldn't remember the awful parts, they gave her more good memories. 


While they all jumped off the cliff into the rocky water below they did not want her to jump at all, because well they had already met their demise and didn't want to see her join them. They didn't want her to endure their faith. 
Their friendship is truly beautiful.


Me.



Stars? 4.5

Fave character? The Liars. 

Least favourite character? Maybe their Grandfather... 

Fave quote? 'Someone once wrote that a novel should deliver a series of small astonishment's. I get the same thing spending an hour with you.'“

Fave moment? I liked the writing when the liars were 'passing over'. I really liked all of this book.

Want to buy this book? Go to http://www.bookdepository.com/?a_aid=Micaela
and I'll get a commission! :D 


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