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A review by rinnykitty
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Since this is such a strong "go in blind book" that you shouldn't even know anything before reading the first page, time to spoiler tag my entire review.
first off, I really liked the writing style. I like quick reads and the fact there were less words per line made me finish this book in a day. It was easy for me to read, as well, even though some of the metaphors seemed more literal than figurative (I've seen other reviews wonder if Cady explaining her blood wrists were just a metaphor, and honestly, I dont know either).
Other than that, I actually found myself relating to the main character. I'm poor as fuck, never committed a crime, and dont have migraines - but I do have memory loss due to neurological issues that wiped most of my teenage memories completely and made my mother constantly worried about me. I understood when she said she didn't want to be pitied, and then Gat said well why the fuck you saying all this shit about your migraines then. Like, dude, just because she doesn't want to be pitied doesn't mean her migraines poof! become less of her life.
And same with the romance. Sadly I still remember some of my pathetic flings, how as a youngster you think the first love is real and forever and the best thing since Betty White. The romance was a damn mess but didn't we all make bad, cringey, makes us look back and think "oh no girl what are you doing" type relationship choices as teens.
And.. the twist. Goddamnit I picked it up right away.. when Cady realized no one was responding to her emails. Yeah the first thought should be "they're too rich to care about their email account", but with how absent they were my mind went straight to "they're dead aren't they. Oh no you better not". And they were. Even worse, why not throw them in as ghosts and badly explain the whole entire last part of the book. And the whole reveal be a fire. All died in a fire. And became ghosts. What a twist. Yaaaawn. When it comes to rich people drama, The Cousins by Karen McManus came out on top. That's the type of twist I was looking for, not something on the same level as "it was all just a dream!" (But instead, replace dream with ghosts).
Other than that, I actually found myself relating to the main character. I'm poor as fuck, never committed a crime, and dont have migraines - but I do have memory loss due to neurological issues that wiped most of my teenage memories completely and made my mother constantly worried about me. I understood when she said she didn't want to be pitied, and then Gat said well why the fuck you saying all this shit about your migraines then. Like, dude, just because she doesn't want to be pitied doesn't mean her migraines poof! become less of her life.
And same with the romance. Sadly I still remember some of my pathetic flings, how as a youngster you think the first love is real and forever and the best thing since Betty White. The romance was a damn mess but didn't we all make bad, cringey, makes us look back and think "oh no girl what are you doing" type relationship choices as teens.
And.. the twist. Goddamnit I picked it up right away.. when Cady realized no one was responding to her emails. Yeah the first thought should be "they're too rich to care about their email account", but with how absent they were my mind went straight to "they're dead aren't they. Oh no you better not". And they were. Even worse, why not throw them in as ghosts and badly explain the whole entire last part of the book. And the whole reveal be a fire. All died in a fire. And became ghosts. What a twist. Yaaaawn. When it comes to rich people drama, The Cousins by Karen McManus came out on top. That's the type of twist I was looking for, not something on the same level as "it was all just a dream!" (But instead, replace dream with ghosts).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Blood, Dementia, and Grief
Minor: Infidelity and Death of parent