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May 12, 2014

Review: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart - Hauntingly Beautiful

We Were Liars
Title: We Were Liars
Author: E. Lockhard
Publisher: Random House Canada
Publication date: May 13, 2014
Genre(s): YA (Contemporary/Mystery)
Source: Publisher
Format: Finished Copy
Pages: 224
A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.

We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart.
Read it.
And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE
We Were Liars was a beautifully and hauntingly written novel about the Sinclair's who always pretend that everything is perfect. I was so fascinated by this family and I especially loved the map and family tree at the beginning of the book. E. lockhart's writing is what really made this novel so hauntingly beautiful and screwed up at the same time. 
As you can tell, you can't figure out anything from the synopsis.. But that style of writing is how it is throughout the whole novel. I was addicted. Hooked. Obsessed. I just needed to find out what the big secret was, and at 224 pages it wasn't hard to read it quickly but I managed to take my time with it because I loved the writing and quote like style. It gave me the shivers, and had me crying at some point, and laughing at others, and fantasizing about living on an island for the summer, with your cousins and prospective crush. It was just so perfect on the outside but once you dig for a little bit, the shell of perfection breaks and you get to see the Sinclair's for how they really are.. The opposite of perfect. Even though I had a few problems with the plot and characters, I forgot about it because of the writing. I felt like I forgave all the misgivings because of the writing. I wish more contemporary novels are written in this format. 
The one thing I didn't understand or get is why the four teenagers called themselves The Liars. It was just a bit too random the way it was introduced. Also, I really liked all four teenagers and wish we spent more time with them. Their youth was enviable; the way they felt indestructible and fearless was admirable. The mystery doesn't overtake the whole novel, yea it is the main plot line and the suspense almost killed me, but I loved living the summers through their eyes. My summers when I was a teenager were spent in shalets in front of the beach, waking up as looking outside and seeing the coast. Being surrounded by all my cousins and having a blast. It made me reminisce those days.

9 comments:

  1. Carina Olsen12 May 2014 at 09:13

    Hauntingly beautiful? I do love books like that. And beautiful writing too? That is a plus :D Amazing review Juhina. <3 I'm glad you mostly loved this book :) I adore the cover. So pretty. I'm still a bit unsure about the book, though. But I might read it one day ;p Thank you for sharing. <3

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  2. Unknown12 May 2014 at 09:24

    I love great style writing. I've been told that the book is good. Thanks for the review, Juhina.

    -Dannielle

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  3. Aly12 May 2014 at 11:54

    Yeah, I didn't get the Liars part either. I know they lied, but they weren't great lies and the kids weren't really great liars. But oh well. I didn't pursue it much because I liked the mystery aspect of it all. The way that Lockhart created the mystery was so freaking brilliant.

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  4. Unknown13 May 2014 at 04:42

    I just won a copy of this! Can't wait to read it :) Love the review, makes me want to dive into it now :)
    Thanks!

    ~Mily
    The YA's Nightstand

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  5. Kay13 May 2014 at 13:19

    Side Note: I love your rating system. :D

    I have heard so many good things about this book, especially the writing. I really need to get my hands on a copy now that it is finally out. It sounds like a great summer read and I can't pass up a book with such beautiful writing.

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  6. Brenna15 May 2014 at 11:45

    I felt exactly the same way reading this - I was completely obsessed and I had to know what had happened! It was actually painful to walk away from my book haha.

    I wasn't too sure about the Liars part either - I want to reread it soon to see if it makes more sense to me the second tiem around and see if I missed anything.

    Brenna from Esther's Ever After

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  7. Anonymous15 May 2014 at 12:56

    You know I trust your judgement and even though I wasn't sure because of the synopsis, now I'm definitely going to give it a try!
    I always appreciate a beautiful writing style, it's always a pleasure to encounter one!

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  8. Katie15 May 2014 at 13:05

    Okay I totally don't get why they were called The Liars either! Glad that wasn't just me. I completely agree with everything you said in your review. The writing style was amazing, I so want to own a summer beach house, and the length of the book made it just right to devour in one sitting but still savor the writing.

    Great review!

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  9. Michelle16 May 2014 at 04:59

    I wish I knew why they were called The Liars also!! And it would have been nice to know more about all the cousins and Gat. It definitely could have been 50 pages longer or so. I liked the writing and the story, but wasn't in love with the big twist. But yeah it made me think about summers of my childhood too :)

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