Book Review: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

The island is ours. Here, in some way, we are young forever.

Big yikes on this one guys. This is one of the rare YA classics that I didn’t enjoy. I think I can basically credit that to the unlikable narrator (unlikable for most of the book, at least), boring plot (again, for most of the book), and (at least on audiobook) confusing timeline.

Rating: 2 Shells

Cadence, why? Just, why? 
Listen, I get that Lockhart was trying to craft an unreliable/mysterious MC. However, it didn’t work at all. I think Lockhart spends too much time building suspicion around what the heck is up with Cadence and not enough on making the reader care for her. There’s plenty of information about the family drama (which we will talk about later) but not enough at all about Cadence. I think Lockhart does that purposefully, but it just resulted in me not liking Cadence until the big reveal. Which is another thing. While I think Cadence is redeemed in the end based off of the emotion she shows (you really can’t help but pity her), I wish Lockhart found a way to make me feel for Cadence sooner than the last 5% of the book. And, while we’re talking about Cadence, can I just say that Gat had me ???? for 99% of the book. Are we supposed to find him charming? Intelligent? Cute? I have no clue. All I got from his was annoying. So that’s about how I feel about Lockhart’s character work. The end is definitely worth noting; Cadence really is redeemed and I did feel a bit of empathy for her. But, the way Lockhart structures this story really puts Cadence at a disadvantage for the majority of the novel and that’s a darn shame.

Yay! Family drama is sooo fun!! 
In case that isn’t clear, I hate the family drama that this book’s plot pretty much hinges on. I think Lockhart spends a lot of time crafting a convoluted and unique timeline and not enough time adding substance to that timeline. Like, that big reveal is actually a really cool thing in and of itself. However, it’s kinda disappointing because it’s paired with such a subpar story. I don’t care at all for the Sinclair family drama. It all felt pointless to me and because I couldn’t care for Cadence until the end, I think the part that was supposed to tether me to the family/make me care about all that family tea ruined a lot of the book for me. Even if I liked Cadence, I’m pretty sure I would still feel the same about the family drama. Again, however, the end made me feel for the whole family, but only the last 5%. I wish Lockhart was able to carry what I felt in that last 5% throughout the whole book. That would be something.

Timeline, who? I don’t know her. 
Again, maybe this is just an issue of listening on audiobook, but the timeline is somehow kinda confusing for me? I don’t remember exact specifics as to why (it’s been a bit since I listened to this) but I do remember the part of Cadence’s injury thingy being super confusing the way it is written and incorporated into the plot. Maybe that is just me? Even still, the boring MC and the dreadful family drama don’t do anything to make it less annoying for me.

We Were Liars tries its absolute most to be intriguing, but, really, in order to build suspense it loses the necessary connection with the main character and the family that the plot really hinges on. While the last 5% is somewhat redeeming, it doesn’t make up for me feeling confused and bored for the earlier 95% of the novel. But hey, this is a YA classic. Maybe it’ll be different for you. If you don’t require a strong connection to the MC to like a novel, you shouldn’t have any qualms with this. After all, that plot twist is iconic. I wish the rest of the book could live up to it.