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A review by guivx5
Mentirosos by E. Lockhart
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Lockhart must be laughing at my face from her couch right now, drinking wine while she watches me trying to review this without ruining it for new readers.
Well done, Lockhart.
This is going to be
a hell
of
a mess.
Are you happy?
Don't worry, I'll cover the spoilers.
This is one son of a b***h of a pretentious book. God, it really is. I can see why people will love it or hate it, no in between. Because the whole narrative doesn't seem like it works during the first half. You start to question yourself if this is really clever or very badly written. And then it starts to hit you with a baseball bat on the forehead. Lockhart PURPOSEFULLY gets you the most vulnerable by making everything so confusing that you'll have no idea of what hit you. And she does it beautifully. When things start to get clear, it's too late for you. You've been taken.
Ok, now for some spoilers, and I BEG you to not read this before reading the book. Get yourself a copy, read the trigger warnings if necessary, and jump in.
GOD, THAT ENDING. That. Ending. What in the actual f**k, Lockhart? HOW?! No matter how predictable you think it was, it is undeniably well constructed.
Jesus, what was this? Like, how f***ing pretentious you have to be to make something like this? And it actually works! I was so f***ing confused by the writing style, at some points nothing seemed to make sense. But nothing made sense to Cadence until she started to remember the fire. Every line was chopped off and confusing, but then again, so was Cadence's memory for two years. Nothing in this book makes any sense until she starts to realize what happened. Nothing. If you drop this book before the end, you'll hate it. If you finish if, you'll most likely love it.
Dude, even the title, THE F***ING TITLE, makes so much sense after the plot is revealed. "We WERE Liars", not "We ARE". Sure, it's nothing revolutionary, and it doesn't pretend to be. It is a f***ing hell of a twisted story and that's it. Sure, I don't think it's perfect, hence the 4 stars. But it is brilliantly written.
All in all, this has a guaranteed spot in my shelves for future rereads, because I have the impression Lockhart made so the story only gets better on a second run. For now, I can say that "We Were Liars" is undoubtedly one of the best mystery books I've read. THIS is mystery done right.
I still have the sequel to read, and I hope it doesn't suck.
Well done, Lockhart.
This is going to be
a hell
of
a mess.
Are you happy?
Don't worry, I'll cover the spoilers.
This is one son of a b***h of a pretentious book. God, it really is. I can see why people will love it or hate it, no in between. Because the whole narrative doesn't seem like it works during the first half. You start to question yourself if this is really clever or very badly written. And then it starts to hit you with a baseball bat on the forehead. Lockhart PURPOSEFULLY gets you the most vulnerable by making everything so confusing that you'll have no idea of what hit you. And she does it beautifully. When things start to get clear, it's too late for you. You've been taken.
Ok, now for some spoilers, and I BEG you to not read this before reading the book. Get yourself a copy, read the trigger warnings if necessary, and jump in.
Jesus, what was this? Like, how f***ing pretentious you have to be to make something like this? And it actually works! I was so f***ing confused by the writing style, at some points nothing seemed to make sense. But nothing made sense to Cadence until she started to remember the fire. Every line was chopped off and confusing, but then again, so was Cadence's memory for two years. Nothing in this book makes any sense until she starts to realize what happened. Nothing. If you drop this book before the end, you'll hate it. If you finish if, you'll most likely love it.
Dude, even the title, THE F***ING TITLE, makes so much sense after the plot is revealed. "We WERE Liars", not "We ARE". Sure, it's nothing revolutionary, and it doesn't pretend to be. It is a f***ing hell of a twisted story and that's it. Sure, I don't think it's perfect, hence the 4 stars. But it is brilliantly written.
All in all, this has a guaranteed spot in my shelves for future rereads, because I have the impression Lockhart made so the story only gets better on a second run. For now, I can say that "We Were Liars" is undoubtedly one of the best mystery books I've read. THIS is mystery done right.
I still have the sequel to read, and I hope it doesn't suck.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Medical trauma
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Racism, Toxic relationship, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail