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A review by ameliabiblio
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-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
4.0
I first read this book 9 years ago and I just reread it for the first time. It’s still a really interesting book, but I definitely approached it from a different perspective since I know the twist. Also, basically the only thing I remembered about the book was the twist, so I also rediscovered a lot of things.
This is a deeply YA book. And I don’t mean that in a negative way. I just mean that our main characters are all deeply teenagers. They feel things deeply. They think they know so much when they actually know so little. They’re not perfect people or even nice people the whole time, but they’re so human you can’t help but feel for them.
I think this book struggles a little bit with a lack of direction beyond the main mystery: what exactly happened to Cady? There’s a lot of ideas about privilege and wealth and abuse of power, but some of it is heavy-handed and some of it is barely noticeable. This lack of a clear idea beyond the mystery means that the reread value of this book isn’t high, at least to me. Rereading it 9 years later was definitely an interesting experience and I don’t feel like it was a waste of time, but I don’t think I’d gain much from rereading it again 9 years from now.
I can’t really write anymore of this review without revealing the twist, so into spoiler land I go.I do feel like this book doesn’t hit as hard when you know what happens at the end. I won’t lie, though. Even knowing Johnny, Mirren, and Gat were dead didn’t stop me from tearing up at the goodbye scene. I just felt overly invested in all of the foreshadowing and like I was just chugging through the rest of the book to get to the big reveal.
I do still think this book is really well-written and 100% worth reading. The twist will certainly get you.
This is a deeply YA book. And I don’t mean that in a negative way. I just mean that our main characters are all deeply teenagers. They feel things deeply. They think they know so much when they actually know so little. They’re not perfect people or even nice people the whole time, but they’re so human you can’t help but feel for them.
I think this book struggles a little bit with a lack of direction beyond the main mystery: what exactly happened to Cady? There’s a lot of ideas about privilege and wealth and abuse of power, but some of it is heavy-handed and some of it is barely noticeable. This lack of a clear idea beyond the mystery means that the reread value of this book isn’t high, at least to me. Rereading it 9 years later was definitely an interesting experience and I don’t feel like it was a waste of time, but I don’t think I’d gain much from rereading it again 9 years from now.
I can’t really write anymore of this review without revealing the twist, so into spoiler land I go.
I do still think this book is really well-written and 100% worth reading. The twist will certainly get you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury