Title: We Were Liars
Author: E. Lockhart
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Mystery
First published: May 13th 2014
Finished reading: April 3rd 2015
Pages: 227
“Someone once wrote that a novel should deliver a series of small astonishments. I get the same thing spending an hour with you.”
There has been a mayor hype around We Were Liars when it first came out last year, and until today the hype hasn’t completely slowed down. I normally prefer staying away from hyped books because I tend to be disappointed by them. I actually put on hold this novel by E. Lockhart for months because I didn’t want that to happen… I’m not sure if it’s just that I haven’t waited long enough or it is actually the novel that is the problem, but I was definitely not blown away by We Were Liars. More exactly, it had even some eyebrow raising moments and I honestly cannot understand the hype around this novel… Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love We Were Liars either. I couldn’t really connect to the characters and the plot was quite difficult to follow. I understand that last one is part of the story where the main character Cady is supposed to constantly lie about what really happened that summer. Still, I couldn’t truly appreciate it. I didn’t particularly like the whole fighting-about-money-and-inheritance theme either; I hate having spoiled brats as characters, especially when they play a big role in the story. The prose was interesting at points, although the fragmented sentences were quite annoying in general. I guess the only part I really liked were the fairytale stories Cady invented… The pace is at least fast, but I have to be honest and say I’m not sure I will pick up another E. Lockhart novel any time soon… Unless it is not similar to this one.
This is a story about the Sinclair family.
A rich, privileged and distinguished family.
They own a private island.
Four friends, the Liars, spend each summer on this island.
A damaged Sinclair girl and a not worthy boy fall in love.
Something terrible happens.
The damaged girl doesn’t remember.
What happened during that dreadful summer?
Lies after lies after lies.
Will she find out the truth?
You know the feeling when you are thinking: ‘is it just me, or is this novel really not as good as everyone was saying?‘ In case you were wondering, that is exactly how I felt about We Were Liars. I had high expectations before starting this one, mainly because of the mayor hype around the novel… And it just didn’t live up to expectations for me. You found my summary annoying? Then don’t read We Were Liars, because the writing style is similar. I didn’t like the characters and the plot was confusing and not always believable. I liked the fact that Cady and Gat were different than the rest of the family. The end is quite shocking and makes for a nice twist, but still I’m not sure I would actually recommend reading We Were Liars. I guess this is just one of those books you either hate or love…
Try “Frankie Landau-Banks” – it’s a lot better!
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I’ll put it on my might-read list, thanks for the recommendation! 🙂
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I thought this was okay, but definitely did not live up to the hype. I’m glad I didn’t buy it, and just borrowed it from the library instead.
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I got the kindle version instead of buying the actual book and I’m glad I didn’t waste my money on it… Library would have been even better but there are not a lot of English books available in the library here. 😉
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That does make things tricky!
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I completely understand and do the same things with books that are hyped up so much. I’ve concluded they are geared more towards people who don’t read as much as us! Who knows!
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That could definitely be one of the reasons I normally don’t like hyped books… I guess I prefer discovering new treasures on my own. 😉
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I’m always thrilled when I read someone else didn’t enjoy this book. I really didn’t get it as much as everyone else. I’m glad we’re not the only ones! 😉 I thought Frankie Landau-Banks was a much better read, but I wouldn’t rush to read it.
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I guess it’s like I said that you either hate or love this book… I just couldn’t get a feel of We Were Liars and was seriously underwhelmed by it. I will put The Disreputable History Of Frankie Landau-Banks on my might-read list; who knows, one day I might find a cheap copy and actually read it. 🙂
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I really appreciate your honest review. I’ve been (similarly) delaying reading this because I also felt it was over-hyped, and I think I will continue to hold off for now . . . there are so many other books that I want to read anyhow.
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I always prefer being honest, even if that opinion isn’t popular. 😉 I would definitely suggest reading other books first, maybe if the hype dies down you will be able to appreciate We Were Liars better. It’s definitely not a read I recommend if you have many other titles waiting to be read…
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I have it on tbr. I actually added it because I kept seeing it in everyone’s shelves. Thanks for your honest input. I’ll read it eventually, now that I know the world won’t be over if I don’t read it soon 😉
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Haha, I guess it’s not… If you already have a copy, I guess it might worth the read to see what the hype is really about. Who knows, you might end up enjoying it better than I did! 😉
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Great review! I completely agree with everything you said! This book clearly wasn’t for me either, even though so many people other loved it.
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I’m glad I wasn’t the only one not enjoying We Were Liars! 🙂
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Definitely not alone! 😀
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