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A review by justcallme_blondie
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Some people think BookTok is ruining reading and I disagreed, until this book.
I think book had potential. that's why I gave it two and a half stars instead of one. I actually liked the whole concept of a girl solving a mystery surrounding her family after suffering brain damage and I did enjoy the whole subplot of Gat and Cadence.
Gat and her might actually make a good couple if she wasn't so insufferable (more on this later). Gat actually seemed really hot and like the only one with common sense on the whole island. "He stops in front of me, breathing hard. His hair sticks up, bedhead. The muscles of his abdomen ripple and he seems much more naked than he would in a swimsuit." (see page 93)
This is my personal opinion, but this is a great way to show teenage awkwardness and moments of physical attraction.
What I Didn't Like:
- The purple prose. The purple prose was unnecessary. I'm definitely not saying this book had to be as bland as a box of saltines. Not at all! But the purple prose makes it difficult to distinguish the metaphors from the actuality.
For example:
"Then he pulled out a handgun and shot me in the chest. I was standing on the lawn on I fell. The bullet hole opened wide and my heart rolled out of my rib cage and down into a flower bed." (see page 5)
This is just a metaphor for her dad's leaving/divorce to be especially hard but it could have been demonstrated in other ways. It was very confusing to me because I literally thought her dad shot her and that was her trauma in the beginning. But, then again, maybe I'm just stupid.
But then it was also difficult because at one point she talks about her wrists bleeding in front of Gat and I couldn't tell if this was a metaphor for her spilling her guts in front of him or what, but she was actually bleeding! Then, it was also confusing because it was never discussed why her wrists are bleeding, so then I thought she was self-harming. but that was never discussed.
I also didn't like the family tree. This is a weird complaint and I'm not talking about the actual drawing but I didn't like how there was practically no character building. There was a set of twins in the story and some cousins and aunts but after two weeks I can barely remember any of the characters except for Cadence, the Grandfather, Mirren (barely. I only remember reading something about her and Mirren forced to beg for tablecloths or something and I can't recall her relation to Cadence), and Gat. I didn't even know that the mother had two sisters except for when she started introducing those quirky fairy tales. I can't even remember who a "Liar" is and who isn't. (which is also confusing because I'm pretty sure only Cadence calls them Liars and it isn't really discussed why...)
Characters. I didn't like any of the characters except Gat. Don't get me wrong - they all had potential.
Cadence - She was too "not like other girls" for my taste. The whole story she says "I'm not like other girls because other girls have blonde hair but I dyed mine black. I'm not like other girls because I have trauma. I'm not like other girls because I'm donating things. etc.," She was basically a self-insert, Y/N-type character for those girlies in 2014 when this was published, who like to hate conforming, cheerleader types. Another thing I didn't like about Cadence was the fact that she was randomly donating things and acted like she was woke for that. She was too pretentious and I understand that the whole point of the story is that they're supposed to be overindulged but it was a bit too on the nose and made for an annoying read.
Grandpa - He was annoying but the best annoying character there. I actually thoroughly enjoyed reading about him because it was such a perfect example of an egotistical spoiled white man.
Gat - This man was another of the handful of likable characters. He can have my soul. He is the perfect pretentious woke teenager. Like I wanted Gat because Cadence surely didn't deserve him.
That's all I can remember of characters.
The plot twist. It could have been done so well but it flopped. It was a stupid and unbelievable idea that a group of kids would willingly agree to commit arson with a visibly mentally unstable teenager. Like and the fact that everyone ignored it? Girlie? What were they thinking?! I almost cried but not because this book was so mind blowing but because I wished it was better.
Something else I didn't like was the weird formatting.
The whole story was like this:
I
am
not like
those weird
o
t
h
e
r
girls. im different.
because i almost died as the flowers wrapped around my neck in peaceful scarf before fashioning themselves into a necklace growing tighter and tighter until the sun scooped me up and dyed my hair blonde again. i am mad. i want black hair because i'm different.
The fairy tales did nothing to add to the story and were weird and confusing. I found myself skipping them sometimes.
Things I Did Like:
Besides Gat, I liked the small chapters. I love a book with shorter chapters because I can get into more I feel like and this is definitely something this book accomplished.
I did like some of the descriptions of Gat and Cadence together and their love.
I did like the idea of the story and felt it could have been done well. The novel was a good size, it dragged on in parts but wasn't unbearably long.
So, read with caution but just know you're going to wish you had thought of this idea before E. Lockhart so you could've written a better novel.
I think book had potential. that's why I gave it two and a half stars instead of one. I actually liked the whole concept of a girl solving a mystery surrounding her family after suffering brain damage and I did enjoy the whole subplot of Gat and Cadence.
Gat and her might actually make a good couple if she wasn't so insufferable (more on this later). Gat actually seemed really hot and like the only one with common sense on the whole island. "He stops in front of me, breathing hard. His hair sticks up, bedhead. The muscles of his abdomen ripple and he seems much more naked than he would in a swimsuit." (see page 93)
This is my personal opinion, but this is a great way to show teenage awkwardness and moments of physical attraction.
What I Didn't Like:
- The purple prose. The purple prose was unnecessary. I'm definitely not saying this book had to be as bland as a box of saltines. Not at all! But the purple prose makes it difficult to distinguish the metaphors from the actuality.
For example:
"Then he pulled out a handgun and shot me in the chest. I was standing on the lawn on I fell. The bullet hole opened wide and my heart rolled out of my rib cage and down into a flower bed." (see page 5)
This is just a metaphor for her dad's leaving/divorce to be especially hard but it could have been demonstrated in other ways. It was very confusing to me because I literally thought her dad shot her and that was her trauma in the beginning. But, then again, maybe I'm just stupid.
But then it was also difficult because at one point she talks about her wrists bleeding in front of Gat and I couldn't tell if this was a metaphor for her spilling her guts in front of him or what, but she was actually bleeding! Then, it was also confusing because it was never discussed why her wrists are bleeding, so then I thought she was self-harming. but that was never discussed.
I also didn't like the family tree. This is a weird complaint and I'm not talking about the actual drawing but I didn't like how there was practically no character building. There was a set of twins in the story and some cousins and aunts but after two weeks I can barely remember any of the characters except for Cadence, the Grandfather, Mirren (barely. I only remember reading something about her and Mirren forced to beg for tablecloths or something and I can't recall her relation to Cadence), and Gat. I didn't even know that the mother had two sisters except for when she started introducing those quirky fairy tales. I can't even remember who a "Liar" is and who isn't. (which is also confusing because I'm pretty sure only Cadence calls them Liars and it isn't really discussed why...)
Characters. I didn't like any of the characters except Gat. Don't get me wrong - they all had potential.
Cadence - She was too "not like other girls" for my taste. The whole story she says "I'm not like other girls because other girls have blonde hair but I dyed mine black. I'm not like other girls because I have trauma. I'm not like other girls because I'm donating things. etc.," She was basically a self-insert, Y/N-type character for those girlies in 2014 when this was published, who like to hate conforming, cheerleader types. Another thing I didn't like about Cadence was the fact that she was randomly donating things and acted like she was woke for that. She was too pretentious and I understand that the whole point of the story is that they're supposed to be overindulged but it was a bit too on the nose and made for an annoying read.
Grandpa - He was annoying but the best annoying character there. I actually thoroughly enjoyed reading about him because it was such a perfect example of an egotistical spoiled white man.
Gat - This man was another of the handful of likable characters. He can have my soul. He is the perfect pretentious woke teenager. Like I wanted Gat because Cadence surely didn't deserve him.
That's all I can remember of characters.
The plot twist. It could have been done so well but it flopped. It was a stupid and unbelievable idea that a group of kids would willingly agree to commit arson with a visibly mentally unstable teenager. Like and the fact that everyone ignored it? Girlie? What were they thinking?! I almost cried but not because this book was so mind blowing but because I wished it was better.
Something else I didn't like was the weird formatting.
The whole story was like this:
I
am
not like
those weird
o
t
h
e
r
girls. im different.
because i almost died as the flowers wrapped around my neck in peaceful scarf before fashioning themselves into a necklace growing tighter and tighter until the sun scooped me up and dyed my hair blonde again. i am mad. i want black hair because i'm different.
The fairy tales did nothing to add to the story and were weird and confusing. I found myself skipping them sometimes.
Things I Did Like:
Besides Gat, I liked the small chapters. I love a book with shorter chapters because I can get into more I feel like and this is definitely something this book accomplished.
I did like some of the descriptions of Gat and Cadence together and their love.
I did like the idea of the story and felt it could have been done well. The novel was a good size, it dragged on in parts but wasn't unbearably long.
So, read with caution but just know you're going to wish you had thought of this idea before E. Lockhart so you could've written a better novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Self harm, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism