Welcome back! After our week long mini-hiatus I have returned ready to give you yet another book review, this time we’re taking a break from our queen Colleen Hoover and diving into what was one of the most viral books on Tik Tok a few years ago, “We Were Liars” by E. Lockhart. Keeping in stride with most of the others i’ve reviewed, this one’s a whirlwind, so buckle your seatbelts. **I should give a fair warning that while I try not to spoil it, there are some things that are unavoidable reveals to actually make the synopsis longer than 5 words, but your big plot twists will still remain, so don’t worry!

Synopsis- When Cadence Sinclair, eldest granddaughter of the wealthy and attractive Sinclair family, arrives at her families private island for the summer after two years of not attending, she hardly recalls the last time she was there, and is determined to figure out what happened. What she thought to be a swimming accident left her with migraines and a spotty memory. Cadence arrived to Beechwood Island upset with her little group of cousins and a family friend (who she had been in love with the previous summers) (all nicknamed “the liars”), who didn’t respond to any of her emails or letters the past summer when she went out of the country with her dad.

The book follows Cadence as she switches between a present day narration (referred to as summer17), and a narration of the previous summer (summer15), slowly recalling the events of it. As she watches the tension between her mother, aunts, and grandfather build present day, she begins to remember more and more about summer15, and the way that her family was fighting over the inheritances and assets that were to be left by her grandfather, including not only his 4 million dollar property in Boston, but all of Beechwood as well. As the chapters progress, Cadence begins to remember just how frustrated the liars had become with the materialistic nature of their family. Additionally, Cadence starts questioning the renovations of her grandfathers home on the island, which included none of her deceased grandmothers personal possessions, and the way her family tip-toes around the events of summer15, when she supposedly just had a swimming accident. She tries asking her cousins about it but is ignored and told she will remember with time.

Eventually, Cadence has a series of memories that leave her in shock. Amidst the fights over family fortune during summer15, the children began to get dragged into the disputes, used as pawns in their grandfathers game of pitting his own daughters against each other. Realizing the role they were being forced to play, the liars decided to do something big about it. An action that they thought would bring their family back together, and ruin the one thing keeping them apart, they vowed to ruin the symbolism of their families wealth. Realizing what she had done, Cadence fights to continue remembering more, and endures the pain of facing just what they had done.

However, this isn’t even close to the worst part, and only opens up a floodgate of memories for Cadence, which lead to her eventual realization of just what happened during summer15. The reason for the home renovations and lack of personal items, the mysterious death of her grandfathers dogs, the reason the other liars didn’t want to do anything involving being with the rest of the family (or so she thought they simply “didn’t want to), and the way everyone in her family seemed to have a somber cloud around them when with Cadence. As she pieces together the events of summer15, and the way that one decision changed her entire family forever, Cadence begins to realize that some puzzles just aren’t meant to be solved.

First Line- “WELCOME TO THE beautiful Sinclair family.
No one is a criminal.
No one is an addict.
No one is a failure.
The Sinclairs are athletic, tall, and handsome. We are old-money Democrats. Our smiles are wide, our chins square, and our tennis serves aggressive.”

Last Line- “My full name is Cadence Sinclair Eastman. I suffer migraines. I do not suffer fools. I like a twist of meaning. I endure.”

My Favorite Quote- “We are liars. We are beautiful and privileged. We are cracked and broken.”

Rating- 7/10 I know I know not a 10 how crazy. This is a really really good book, It keeps you on your toes the entire time, and doesn’t reveal the biggest of the many plot twists until the very end. However, the things that make it so great are also what take off a few points in my opinion. It was so incredibly hyped up online when it became popular that I expected it to be the best book I had ever read, and it just isn’t. In my opinion it seemed to drag on a little bit, and while it was all leading up to the grand reveal, some of the detail seemed unnecessary and a bit repetitive. Additionally, I tend to be a person that loves re-reading books, and this is one that I feel like I wouldn’t be able to, because the entire foundation of the book lays on the big secret that comes out at the end, so once y0u know what happens, it’s not really the same level of enjoyment. However, with all that being said, the plot twist in itself is something worth reading it for, and I promise you will be thinking back to the entire book once you find out and feel so dumb for not putting together the pieces sooner. This book really has it all, there’s mystery, romance, plot twists, and an emotional pull. Even if you don’t want to read it, at least look up an in depth summary, because it truly is an ending that will have you questioning how the author managed to pull it off so well.