Book Report: We Were Liars

“Welcome to the beautiful Sinclair family.
No one is a criminal.
No one is an addict.
No one is a failure.”

Or are they? In one of the fastest-paced books I’ve read in a long time, author E. Lockhart manages to weave together a love story, a family saga, and a mystery into a dynamic novel with a killer twist.

We Were Liars tells the story of the wealthy Sinclairs, who spend every summer on their private island off the coast of Massachusetts. Their world of catered clambakes and tennis tournaments appears like American perfection, anchored by the family patriarch and his three beautiful daughters:

The Sinclair daughters were sunburnt and blessed. Tall, merry, and rich, those girls were like princesses in a fairy tale…They were made for legends. Made for princes and Ivy League schools, ivory statues and majestic houses.

But deep fractures exist beneath the surface, threatening to destroy all the family stands for (which, let’s be honest, is mostly money). The main character is Cadence, the eldest grandchild and heir apparent to the Sinclair legacy. At fifteen, an accident on the island leaves her with debilitating migraines and memory loss. After several years engrossed in pain, struggling to remember what happened, Cady returns to the island in a quest to find the truth and to rekindle her first love. While I don’t want to ruin the mystery, I’ll just say that this book will keep you guessing until the very end.

I admit that YA books are not my favorite and I’m usually a bit skeptical about picking one up, but after devouring this book in one lazy afternoon, I might have to change my stance. The writing is snappy and sharp and the descriptions are brilliant.

Like this one of starry summer night:
So many stars, it seemed like a celebration, a grand, illicit party the galaxy was holding after the humans had been put to bed.

Or the yearning of first love:
I wanted to touch him like he was a bunny, a kitten, something so special and soft your fingertips can’t leave it alone.

I love that the action starts at the very beginning and doesn’t let up until the final chapter. While this is an easy, fast read, it doesn’t sacrifice any substance or style in favor of speed. Pick it up and I promise you won’t be able to put it down.

Check it out on Amazon.