Reviews

We Were Liars

As soon as I finished this book, I thought, “Well, now I have to reread it!”

It blew me away. The big twist, the thing you didn’t see coming… I never saw that coming, but as soon as I discovered that the Liars were dead, so many events came rushing back to me, and made so much sense. The boys freaking out when Cadence wanted to jump off the cliff. Cadence’s mom panicking because she left the island “alone.” Will mentioning that Cuddledown was haunted. It all makes so much sense now.

I noticed, too, that during the scenes that take place in present day, you never actually notice anyone but Cadence interacting with Mirren, Johnny, or Gat. At the time, it didn’t seem weird at all. Now, it makes perfect sense. I think that in too many stories like this, it’s very obvious. I think that the author handled it extremely well, and I want to reread the book now. I think it’ll be a very different experience.

One complaint that I see often is that the adult characters were rich, spoiled, spiteful people. That’s true. But the fact is, people like that exist. Just because they’re bad, does that mean we shouldn’t write about them? Of course not. Not every character should be likable. I think the beauty of We Were Liars lies in the fact that the teenagers saw this greed in their parents, and fought to change it. And in the end, it worked – sort of. The sisters are together, getting along and focusing on family, rather than belongings. The grandfather, the mean, manipulative family patriarch, has been knocked down a few pegs; he still has money, but he can’t use it to manipulate his family any more. I think it’s a hopeful ending.

Leave a Reply