*based on an ARC edition
I was a lifelong fan of E. Lockhart's since I read The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks. We Were Liars has convinced me that my loyalty is quite deserved. I would read her grocery lists. Her writing flows like silk over water; she has the unique ability to be poetic and lyrical without being in the least bit flowery. One such example stands out, as the narrator describes her cousins and her love. She describes the love of her life as "He was contemplation and enthusiasm. Ambition and strong coffee". Her cousin, Johnny- "He is bounce. He is effort and snark." Her cousin, Mirren- "She is sugar. She is curiosity and rain." I have never read anything like the way Ms. Lockhart sees her worlds. It is beautiful and mesmerizing, as is We Were Liars.
Cadence Sinclair comes from a family rich enough that having a name actually means something. She is a Sinclair, through and through. In the summers, she and her cousins go to the family's private island with their mothers to stay with their grandparents in order to (at least as far as the mothers are concerned) show who among them loves their grandfather more. It's all about inheritance and blood and the kids couldn't care less. There is one boy, Gat, a dark Middle Eastern boy who comes along because Cadence's aunt is living with his father, and throughout the summers Cadence falls helplessly in love. Then, in summer fifteen (as they call it) something happens. Cadence doesn't remember what. She just remembers that she had an accident that caused brain damage and that there are whole chunks of time she has lost. It takes two years to go back to the island, and nothing is like it used to be.
This is a book that just needs to be read. It is beautiful, it is sad, it is tragic, and it is mysterious. It has surprises and shocks. It has characters that are amazingly alive. It holds entertainment and you won't be able to put it down. So go pick it up the second it comes out.
I was a lifelong fan of E. Lockhart's since I read The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks. We Were Liars has convinced me that my loyalty is quite deserved. I would read her grocery lists. Her writing flows like silk over water; she has the unique ability to be poetic and lyrical without being in the least bit flowery. One such example stands out, as the narrator describes her cousins and her love. She describes the love of her life as "He was contemplation and enthusiasm. Ambition and strong coffee". Her cousin, Johnny- "He is bounce. He is effort and snark." Her cousin, Mirren- "She is sugar. She is curiosity and rain." I have never read anything like the way Ms. Lockhart sees her worlds. It is beautiful and mesmerizing, as is We Were Liars.
Cadence Sinclair comes from a family rich enough that having a name actually means something. She is a Sinclair, through and through. In the summers, she and her cousins go to the family's private island with their mothers to stay with their grandparents in order to (at least as far as the mothers are concerned) show who among them loves their grandfather more. It's all about inheritance and blood and the kids couldn't care less. There is one boy, Gat, a dark Middle Eastern boy who comes along because Cadence's aunt is living with his father, and throughout the summers Cadence falls helplessly in love. Then, in summer fifteen (as they call it) something happens. Cadence doesn't remember what. She just remembers that she had an accident that caused brain damage and that there are whole chunks of time she has lost. It takes two years to go back to the island, and nothing is like it used to be.
This is a book that just needs to be read. It is beautiful, it is sad, it is tragic, and it is mysterious. It has surprises and shocks. It has characters that are amazingly alive. It holds entertainment and you won't be able to put it down. So go pick it up the second it comes out.
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