The Bibliophile's Bookshelf

June’s Saturday Spotlight theme is beach reads! Last week I shared A Summer to Die by Lois Lowry. You can find that post here.

I think my type of beach reads are different than others, but this week’s book is on many beach reads lists. This week I am sharing We Were Liars by E. Lockhart, which is also getting a tv show on Prime on June 18th!

I first read We Were Liars when I went on a family vacation to Hawaii. I went into it thinking it would just be a nice little read when I wasn’t busy. How wrong I was!

This book immediately caught my attention and enraptured me. I don’t typically enjoy psychological thrillers, but this one was amazing.

It’s hard to talk about this book without giving it away.

This book follows the Sinclairs. A wealthy family, who gathers together every summer on their island home. But something happened the last summer Cadence Sinclair was at the island. She has debilitating headaches and can’t remember what happened, but she knows something did. Her family won’t tell her. Her cousins, her Liars, won’t talk to her, either. When she goes back, something is off, but her cousins are there. Nonetheless, she is determined to figure out what happened last summer.

I will say I went into this and wasn’t at all prepared. I totally though this would be a quick, non-emotional read. I was wrong. It was a gripping story, but also super emotional and kind of sad. It was kind of hard to read because of this.

I was just reading other reviews and a few mention fragmented sentences. I don’t recall this being an issue for me, but it has been a minute since I read it. I probably enjoyed it because it helps highlight Cadence’s struggles with memory and headaches.

I loved all of the characters, especially Johnny and Mirren. I thought this was well written and snagged my attention quickly, which can sometimes be a challenge for me. The twist at the end was genuinely shocking and I adored it!

We Were Liars is a wonderful physiological thriller, perfect for the beach! The characters and storyline are intriguing, drawing you in from the beginning.

Summary:

A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.

We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from New York Times bestselling author, National Book Award finalist, and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart.

Read it.

And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.