Stephanie
Written on Jun 3, 2014
- ISBN10 1524764582
- ISBN13 9781524764586
- Publish Date 23 May 2017 (first published 1 January 2014)
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 11 October 2023
- Imprint Delacorte Press
- Edition Deluxe Ed
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 272
- Language English
Reviews
rakesandrogues
Written on May 30, 2014
When I started reading WE WERE LIARS by E. Lockhart, I literally had to stop myself from constantly rolling my eyes. The novel is full of rich people problems. The character’s mother and aunts are fighting over the millions in properties that her grandfather owns. They bicker over who is going to inherit once he dies. None of their mothers work real jobs and they rely on the patriarch of the family to support them. Of course, Cadence and her cousins (they dub themselves as the Liars) think that the constant fighting is ridiculous and they just shake their heads while they lounge at the beach of their private island.
But Something happens on the summer of their Fifteenth Year. Something big. Cadence has a head injury and the memory of what happens that summer gets all fuzzy. Two years later, Cadence is back at the island. Everyone tiptoes around her and refuses to talk about what happens.
I had a hard time getting into the story because I found the characters so unlikable. I had a hard time relating to their constant whining. Gat, the love interest, doesn’t come from the super wealthy family like the other characters. He talks about poverty and real world problems and how he wants to change the world, but all the other characters kind of just shrug him off for being high and mighty. Cadence and the other characters do admit that they are privileged and lucky, but that’s about it.
Cadence does grow as a character but only when she finds out the Truth. It’s really unfortunate that it took an accident for her to realize how deplorable she’s acting. But I guess that’s just real life. She’s a very flawed character, but she is unlikeable. Unfortunately I couldn’t empathize with her.
What kept me hooked throughout the novel was uncovering the Truth of what happened during that Fifteenth Year. I admit, that despite disliking the characters, I still read on just to see what the big deal was (and why there is so much hype over this book). The book does live up to its hype of being a jaw-dropper, and I can see why many readers love this book so much.
I have to admit that the craft of the novel was very well done. If not, the book would have been a lot more predictable and the big Truth would not have been effective. I have half a heart just to like the book more because of the novel’s climax. I started to justify the different characters’ actions and even start to look at them from a different perspective. But it shouldn’t have that effect on me… The ending doesn’t change the way they acted in the beginning of the story. In the end, they were still privileged rich kids who were quite reckless.
As a reader, I should not have a struggle as to whether or not I should feel bad about what happened. I should have felt just as the main character had. The lack of an emotional connection with the characters really impacts the ending, and this would have had potential to be a five-star book had I loved the characters. If the characters had been more likeable, the climax of the story would have been more powerful.
I did listen to this one on audiobook as opposed to reading this. While I can talk about the craft of the novel, it’s really hard for me to say about the actual writing. I’ve read a few reviews that note that the writing is super choppy. (Had I read this on print, I probably would find that super annoying. Not my style.) The audiobook is narrated very well, but the narrative is non-linear. Whenever Cadence goes through a flashback, it takes me a while to realize. Sometimes, it becomes difficult for me to differentiate past and present and the timeline gets a little muddled. There were definitely a few times where I rewinded to hear a scene again.
The crafting of WE WERE LIARS by E. Lockhart was superb. It had a jaw-dropping ending that I didn’t see coming. Unfortunately, the book didn’t have a strong impact on me because of the unlikeable characters. I wish that I was able to empathize more with Cadence and the Liars. As much as I wanted to love this book, I just couldn’t.
ellieroth
Written on Jan 8, 2014
Entonces... No tengo idea de cómo hablar de este libro sin básicamente no spoilearles algo.
Nunca leí antes algo de E. Lockhart aunque es una escritora que conozco, es bestie de varios escritores favoritos míos, es casi difícil no verla en Twitter o el mismo Goodreads me recomienda sus libros basado en lo que me gusta leer, pero nunca, no sé por qué, cogí un libro suyo hasta We Were Liars.
Al terminar de leerlo lo único que pude poner en mis pensamientos previos en Goodreads fue: "I just... I can't..."
Cuando Maggie Stiefvater lo terminó de leer puso que le pareció una historia interesante pero no le gustó mucho el giro que toma la historia, no voy a negar que me decepcionó un poco que mi escritora favorita diga eso, no digo que esté mal, solo que me hubiera gustado coincidir con ella, porque a mí, ese twist, que no voy a negar lo estaba esperando pero es tan cruel que no creí fuera posible, me tuvo sollozando sobre mi escritorio. Lo sé, no el mejor lugar para leerlo, pero a veces hay que hacer trampa y sacar tiempo de dónde no tienes.
E. Lockhart repite frases en su narración, dándole un sentido/escenario/sensación oscura, personalmente el hecho que repitiera tanto me trabajó psicológicamente para lo que venía. Incluso ahora mientras escribo tengo ganas de hacerme bolita.
Me demoró un montón escribir esta reseña, no solo porque quería que cayera cerca de la publicación sino que no tenía las palabras para hablarles del libro, no encontraba la manera de decirles que quizá tengan su próximo The Fault in Our Stars, quizá, no me gustaría ser pretenciosa, solo que a mí me dio esa sensación. Ojalá por fin alguna editorial nos traiga a esta escritora al español. El libro tiene ese algo hipster que va a gustar a los amantes de los infinitos.
Traducción de toda la reseña más clara que el agua: El libro te va licuar emocionalmente.
Así que ya sabes, cuando termines de leer el libro y alguien te pregunte de que va, solo miente. Y si no fuiste de los que leyó Cumbres Borrascosas por culpa de Crepúsculo, ahora querrás.
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Ashley
Written on Jan 5, 2014
My thoughts: meh.
More than anything, I was bored for 90% of We Were Liars. Not much happens. It's just a series of stories about kids on an island.. most of which are just conversations where nothing actually happens. There is kind of a mini romance but I never got into it. I didn't like the guy much and I didn't like the two people together. It didn't excite me at all.
I don't really know what else to say beyond that. I never got into the book. It never pulled me in, it never excited me, it never took off. I was just indifferent. I didn't get invested in the characters, I never shed a single tear, I didn't want to cry and hug the main character.. none of that jazz. It was all just... meh.
When things finally did happen (or, more accurately, "got revealed"), it was a bit more interesting, but it still wasn't particularly heart-wrenching for me. Yes it was sad and tragic, but it didn't really move me (probably because I never got invested in the characters). And again, I never shed a tear (which disappointed me because some people said they cried like babies).
On top of that, the writing style wasn't for me. It wasn't poorly written or anything, it just isn't the kind of writing that I enjoy. It's more lyrical and almost poetic, or like a stream of consciousness. I'm not into that kind of thing. But if you're into that, you should totally give this book a try! It's definitely "different"—just not for me.
And on a side note, I still feel like I don't get why the kids called themselves the Liars. Am I being an idiot? I don't get it. I don't think the kids really lied, did they? Maybe the parents did—to themselves, their kids, each other, whatever. But the kids didn't really lie to each other, did they? I feel like I'm having an epic fail here...
I wouldn't say that We Were Liars was a bad book; it's just not for me. I hope it will continue to rock other peoples' worlds though!
Suz @ Bookish Revelations
Written on Dec 31, 2013
From the moment that I sat down to read this gorgeous novel, I was pulled into a broken world where a family was self-destructing from the inside out, suffering an age-old battle of greed, despair, wealth, broken hearts, social and inward prejudices among their own kind. They were so mired down in their own bitterness and poor choices in judgment that they couldn't even see the outcome the affect would have on their children. By the end of the book, the unexpected twists in story, and the emotional outcome readers will be left twisted and tied up in knots.
It was easy for me to fall into this novel and become so wrapped up in the tragic heartbreaking story it had to tell. I walked into this one blind and was completely amazed to discover the story revealed within the pages. E. Lockhart has written a harrowing beautiful tale of romance, friendship, and family loyalty that will move readers simply beyond the telling. The writing style, in my humble opinion, is what makes this book so easily readable. Gorgeous descriptive pieces such as "Bounce, effort, and snark." and "Ambition and strong coffee" bring the characters to life in a whole new way, letting readers get to know them on a more personal level, lending depth and so much more to the story. Getting to see the world through Cady's eyes in that very personal and intimate way, was as gorgeous as it was terrifyingly heartbreaking.
Lockhart brings the ghosts of the past to life in a way that I've never experienced as a reader before, yet manages to keep everything in the present state of mind. Everything in this richly terrifying world of loyalty, betrayal, and heartbreak takes on a life of its own, including the houses with their many quirks and attributes, seem to be their own characters teeming with the secrets they keep hidden behind their walls. Cuddledown tells the story of a girl, her two cousins, and the boy she loved more than anything. In one summer of self-discovering, putting fragmented memories back together, and discovering what truly happened the fifteenth summer spent on the island, Cady is forced to confront what her mind hasn't been allowing her access to. It is an emotional summer filled with the promise of a new beginning, realizations rearing up from the past, and an epiphany that will stay with her for the rest of her life.
The romance Lockhart brings to this emotional story, is sweet and endearing as it is charming and with faults of its own. Cady and Gat are beautiful and messed up, there are mistakes and inherent flaws that prevent them from ever really knowing one another, and yet they know each other so well in other ways that they make more sense than any book relationship I've read lately. Bound by family loyalty and damned by social acceptance, the two of them try hard to navigate the rocky waters of a summer relationship only to end in the realization that neither really know the other's world truly. On the surface, it may seem as it's unhealthy, but underneath it is innocently right in all of the special ways that it should be. Faced with familial manipulations and warnings from the other liars, these two are drawn to one another in a way that they simply cannot deny. It doesn't matter how much it hurts, all that matters is how much they feel.
How do you say beautiful in more ways than one, without starting to sound inherently repetitive? Because, this novel, is that and so much more. It has everything that readers should be looking for, mystery, romance, drama, and a compelling story so rich and filled with unexpected twists and turns, that they'll not want to put it down until the last page has been read. E. Lockhart is an author that needs to be added to everyone's buy-list.