Star rating: 4/5
Here I am, frozen when I deserve to burn.”
A quote from E. Lockhart’s We Were Liars is a perfect insight into Cadence Sinclair Eastman, our main character’s point of view.
In the Sinclair family, no one is a criminal, addict, or a failure. Expectations are held high on the shoulders of these characters, which could lead to some repentance.
In summer fifteen, Cadence (a fifteen-year-old girl) goes to Beachwood Island, the island her family owns (talk about rich). She spends each summer there with her mother, aunts, grandfather, and the three liars, Johnny and Mirren (her cousins), and Gat, Johnny’s best friend.
Truths become revealed, and by the end of the summer, the Sinclair family isn’t as perfect as they portray themselves to be.
Cadence Sinclair is only one of the Sinclairs who has secrets to uncover, but as she finds out the ones tied to her, she realizes there are piles of secrets built as tall as a castle wall around the wealthiest people.
While reading this book, Lockhart’s imagery and thorough literary timelines make it feel like you are reading pages out of someone’s diary. They entice the reader by leading them to believe one thing, but ultimately, the truth is right in front of our faces. The words are shouting at you, but alas, they lay flat on a page with your mind lost between the syllables and punctuation marks.
Not only does this book put you in the point of view of a confused 15-year-old girl, but also in the complex mindset of those who are trying to navigate their way through fear. Lockhart builds these characters that all appear to be the same on the outside, perfect and pristine, but on the inside, they’re all at different points of handling the trauma in their lives. Some are stuck in denial, while others are trying to process the main factor of fear in their lives.
The book’s message is to own up to your mistakes and face the consequences of your actions.
While that’s a powerful message to readers, it’s also one that most of us can’t comprehend. It’s easy to tell someone to be honest and truthful, but it seems unachievable when it’s your turn to own up to the lies you’ve said or the bad things you’ve done. Cadence Sinclair’s lies and stories that she tried to make herself believe are a pure depiction of the complexity of the human mind.
Cadence Sinclair’s mind is the place the reader will stay. However, there are also fairy-tale-like stories of a king and his three daughters. These stories are there to try and tell the reader about the family dynamic and manipulation within the characters, which can be somewhat confusing. You have to REALLY read between the lines to understand what Lockhart is trying to insinuate during these fairy tales.
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys discovering reality at a young age. Read this book if you are trying to come to terms with the idea of perfection. Coming to terms with the fact that everyone makes mistakes in their lives is a central theme in We Were Liars, and it doesn’t take a genius to pick that up.
I’ve read this book a few times, and every time, it’s clear that these characters are facing internal struggles that they’ve gone through their entire lives. There’s also a sequel to this book called Family of Liars, which goes deeper into the personal lives of her aunts and grandparents.
After reading this book, the deep contrasts between this group of liars seemed impossible to beat until I read the sequel.
The sequel is based on Cadence’s aunt, Carrie Sinclair, and the amount of lies she told in her youth, to the truth revealed at her breaking point.
Amazon MGM studios and Universal Television have decided to create a YA drama series about We Were Liars and plan on weaving the sequel Family of Liars into the storyline.
Producer, director, and writer Julie Plec, alongside co-creator Carina Adly MacKenzie, had previously developed The Vampire Diaries, Originals, Legacies, and many other shows have taken on the task of developing this novel into a new Prime Video original.
The cast so far consists of actors: Candice King as Bess Sinclair, Catlin FitzGerald as Penny Sinclair, who is also Cadence’s mom, and Mamie Gummer as Carrie Sinclair. This strong lineup of actors is bound to make this book come to life how it should be.
With all that said, tune in next week for a deep dive into the next novel that catches my eye!
