Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Family of Liars by E. Lockhart

77 reviews

kotletka_polina's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

It was a good read. Nothing spectacular, nothing outstanding but a decent book when you don’t want to be overwhelmed. The story flows quickly, it’s catchy and entertaining but without anxiety or feeling like you can’t put the book down.
The only issue is the writing style. It’s exactly the same as in “we were liars”  but it has a different narrator. I believe that when you write from the first person perspective the writing style is no longer yours as the author but theirs as the character therefore having the same styles/techniques is just lazy, boring and cheap thing to do that.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Alcohol

pianoplayer279's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I really enjoyed reading this book and I personally thought it was much better than We Were Liars. Age 14+

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Murder

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief, and Sexual harassment

ellahoward_'s review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Did I need this no… did I enjoy it yes! The ‘twist’ was not as surprising as the first book but I still am fond of how these stories are written. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse

Minor: Child death, Death, and Grief

gracepharro's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Sexual violence, and Murder

Moderate: Child death and Grief

Minor: Homophobia

viselik's review against another edition

3.0

I much preferred We Were Liars but this one was alright I guess. All of the like bits I loved in We Were Liars was not in this.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Murder

aidareads's review against another edition

funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

i liked this one even bit more than the first one. the style was more polished and more beautiful, and i really enjoyed getting insight into the sisters’ dynamics. again, read this in two sittings. what the fuck. there’s something in lockhart’s books that makes them so fast to read and so addictive

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Homophobia, Self harm, and Suicide

_eleanorgreen8_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I really enjoyed this book - much more than We Were Liars. It was a good holiday read and incredibly absorbing, but also pretty dark and troubling. E Lockhart's writing so skilfully conjures emotions and a sense of place, and the use of description and listing is so satisfying. I felt totally involved in the narrator's world, as her thoughts and emotions were constantly being expressed and explained. The one thing I liked less about the book was the plot twist at the end - I felt it didn't make sense and wasn't really necessary, though i guess it did add another layer to the story. Overall, this book was gripping and thought provoking and I definitely would recommend. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Drug abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Rape, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Sexual harassment

stitchbooks22's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

This was garbage, but still not the worst thing I’ve ever read.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

kkuecker218's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Murder, and Alcohol

jenna_justi2004's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Wow. Just WOW. I loved it much more than I thought. Maybe more than the 1st one. An eye for an eye. A son for a son.

  Carrie killed Pfeff, causing his mother and father to lose their first born. And years later, she suffered from the same fate. 

I didn’t expect the twist but I spoiled it for myself anyway, it was surprisingly not shocking. She did say she was a liar. Bro and Penny. Ugh, forcing herself to be straight. Wow. The book was heartbreaking, especially considering the people they become. Which isn’t too great, but it makes sense now why they are the way they are.

BRO THE DAD HELPED THEM COVER UP THE MURDER. HE TOOK THE BOARD. Ugh Carrie is also an unreliable narrator just like Candace was. Fuck bro.

And don’t get me started on Rosemary.

She saw her for 5 summers. Her baby sister that drowned.

Ugh. I wish penny could be out. I just want people to be happy in this book, but literally no one is ever.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism