Monday, February 17, 2020

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

https://www.amazon.com/We-Were-Liars-Lockhart/dp/0385741278/ref=as_li_ss_tl?adid=082VK13VJJCZTQYGWWCZ&campaign=211041&keywords=We+Were+Liars&qid=1581919625&s=books&sr=1-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=doyoudogear-20&linkId=d7decd60efec229e300e442ae16da446&language=en_US
Narrated by Ariadne Meyers
Synopsis (via Goodreads): 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.


๐‘‹๐‘‹๐‘‹

We Were Liars is one of the audiobooks I listened to while driving from Texas to Virginia (you'd think you'd get a lot of listening done, but you'd be wrong). I had to squeeze my audiobooks in when the monsters fell asleep, because they wanted to listen to the Frozen soundtrack on repeat (and I came very close to losing my mind). We Were Liars wasn't very long, and the narration was enjoyable. I had no expectations going into this one, but knew something twisty would happen at the end. While I caught on to certain clues throughout the story, other revelations were still surprising. I can't be more specific without giving something away, and you definitely want to go into this one without any prior knowledge.

One thing I'm still uncertain about is the title. Why were they the Liars? We don't see them actively lying to anyone in the book, and the main character only mentions something happening during this or that summer. If that was a focal point of the book, I would've liked more details surrounding the nickname. If anything, they were ridiculously helpful. They were always taking care of the younger siblings (the Littles, I believe), and going along with what their parents asked them to do (with the exception of a few things... which I guess they did lie about). Their mothers (all sisters) were fighting over who would inherit what, and they wanted to use their children in their "battles" against each other. They tried to pit the Liars against one another, but it didn't work. Their bond was solid.

It took me a few chapters to get used to the writing style. Initially, certain comments would be really confusing and pulled me from the story. I would re-read sentences before continuing, and then suddenly everything would make sense. The way the main character explains certain emotions and reactions... the wording was extreme but not always literal. The author would have me thinking something entirely different was happening before it clicked that it was just the main character's way of expressing her feelings.

Additionally, I would have liked learning more about the secondary characters, but I understand why the author chose to keep certain elements very superficial. It created a fog around particular events and people, which the author slowly and expertly navigated the main character (and me as the reader) through. I really enjoyed watching the events unfold with the main character, and not learning something new until she did.

We Were Liars had me ugly crying in the car, and my kids asking me if I was okay (I most definitely was not). If your sensitive about animals and their presence in books, be warned. I wish I had known certain details ahead of time, since that would have likely prepared me for at least one sob-worthy aspect of this story. I'm sorry if that spoils something for you, but there definitely should be a warning when something terrible befalls a furry friend within a book. This is me warning you.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the story and the narration. It was a quick listen, and one that was mostly age-appropriate for the monsters (when they were awake and not asking for Let It Go). It was definitely a step above Goosebumps, although some of those can be pretty freaky. They can also give your kids terrible ideas, like sneaking into the bathroom while you're taking a shower and saying, "I'm Slappy!" in a super creepy voice. It's a good thing I was already in the shower, because I definitely peed on myself a little.

If you like twisty, suspenseful books, We Were Liars is definitely worth looking into! (★★★⋆☆)

18 comments:

  1. I think the writing style definitely added to the murkiness of what was happening here, and it took me a bit to get used to it. And of course the twist... :)

    "I definitely peed on myself a little" lmao

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes! When her dad left and she said something about him shooting her?? I was like wtf just happened?! But then she keeps talking, and her mom tells her to be normal because she can be (never really understood that frequent comment).

      It scared me! We listened to two of the Slappy books, and I wasn't expecting my five-year-old child to be so creepy, haha.

      Delete
  2. I remember the crazy hype when this one first came out. Five years ago? Six? Anyway, it seemed like *everyone* was reading it. I didn’t read it at the time and then later on ended up being spoiled for the big surprise so it felt pointless to go into it with that knowledge. *curses reviewers who don’t warn of spoilers* LOL about the shower scare. Bahaha!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I honestly had no idea this book existed until I was looking for audiobooks to listen to in the car. I was already on hold for several, but they wouldn't be available during the trip. I started searching for what was currently available, and this one popped up. It sounded interesting so I perused a few reviews (only from trusted bloggers, of course) ;) and learned that it was intense and emotional. I stopped reading them after that, because people really don't make the proper notations when their reviews contain spoilers.

      I don't know how enjoyable it would be for you to read it already knowing, since watching the events unfold with the main character is kind of the whole point of the book. Sorry that happened to you!

      Delete
  3. When this one came out, there was a ton of hype and I think I wound up setting too high expectations for it. I wasn't as bowled over it as everyone else. I'm glad this was a good listen for you, however. And yeah, those animal scenes ... :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. (Stop reading this comment if you don't want to see spoilers!) Right?? When she's describing what the dogs went through, and how they must have felt... ugh. It killed me.

      I wasn't wowed by the book, but it was a quick listen that kept my attention. When she kept mentioning what she did remember, the little flashes, I immediately assumed house fire instead of bonfire. Her grandfather grabbing the tree... something about the statement felt too intense for a bonfire.

      Delete
  4. This is one of my favorites. I remember being moved to tears, when it all was reveled.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As she's imaging what the others had felt... I totally lost it. It felt so real -- so possible -- that I couldn't stop crying.

      Delete
  5. Okay, that story about your kid scaring you in the shower is kind of hilarious. I'd have freaked out too!!
    I'm glad you enjoyed this one- I know I really loved it when I read it.

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Right? It was totally unexpected, and we had JUST listened to two Goosebumps books with Slappy as a character, so naturally I was terrified. My bodily functions reacted accordingly. ;)

      Delete
  6. I just got this from my library's book sale today. It's been on my TBR since I first saw it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope you enjoy it! You'll have to let me know how it goes. :)

      Delete
  7. I just try not to read books that make me cry like that or where something bad happens to animals.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I had no idea animals were going to be included in this book! I didn't know until it was too late. :(

      Delete
  8. I didn't love this one when I first read it... but the second time around, I gave it five stars! :) Awesome review!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What didn't you like the first time? I thought some of the writing was jarring, but I eventually got used to it! The outcome wasn't a total shock, but I enjoyed seeing how they got there, and the descriptions destroyed me.

      Delete
  9. It took me a while to get into this one too but I liked it. I had realized the twist pretty early on though so that took some steam out of it for me lol

    Karen @ For What It's worth

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The author's descriptions were what had me sobbing in the car. The dogs... What everyone must have felt... UGH.

      Delete

Click the "Notify me" box if you want to be notified when someone responds!

“Stuff and nonsense. Nonsense and stuff and much of a muchness and nonsense all over again. We are all mad here, don't you know?”
― Marissa Meyer, Heartless