We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Release Date - May 13, 2014

Publisher Website - Random House Canada
Publisher Social Media - Twitter
Pages - 240 pages
My Rating - 5/5
**received in exchange for an honest review from the publisher**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

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 National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart. 

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

There are some books that are simply too hard to review. This can be for many different reasons. Some are because you don't want to ruin the plot. Some are because you could never due justice to the incredible writing, and some are simply because your love can't be formed into the right words. We Were Liars is almost impossible to review because of all of this.

Part of what this novel does so well is to make the reader feel like they are part of this world. The make the reader feel like they are in on a secret. You feel like you're part of this family, dysfunction and all. It makes you feel like you're part of this friendship, including every secret and lie. Lastly, they let you be part of this forbidden romance, stolen moments included. It's mesmerizing and completely engrossing.

I've never read a novel by E. Lockhart before this one. Her writing style was poetically beautiful. It's magnetic in that it pulls you in, lushly descriptive, and stunning. I think the writing is the element that most stands out for me. She brings the setting, characters, and plot to life easily, and with such captivating prose.

Unreliable narrators are some of my favourites, and Cady is no exception. Her murky, dreamlike narration compliments the sleepy summer days on the island setting. It also kept me guessing. Obviously when a narrator is unreliable (for any reason) we should expect some surprises, and as the synopsis indicates, secrets. I think the pacing and reveal was perfectly executed, and left me ugly crying on the bus.

This review is shorter than I would like for a novel that completely stunned me, slayed me, and broke me. Yet,  I don't want to say anymore. Do yourself a favour and don't spoil We Were Liars before you experience it for yourself. This books is one of those that you don't just read, you truly do experience it, and this aspect is what makes unraveling it's secrets truly memorable. Allow yourself to experience the novel as it's meant to unfold, and be swept away into the story of the Liars.

As soon as I closed the book I immediately wanted to open it again and read it all over again, but this time as someone in on the secret. This time as a Liar. You'll finish this feeling connected to the characters, and this group of people. I do, however, recommend perhaps getting two copies; one for you and a friend though. Trust me when I say you'll be dying to talk to someone about it when you're done.