We Were Liars

We Were Liars

I was desperate to read this book.  There was so much buzz around it.  I couldn't read a blog or watch a book vlogger without hearing about "We Were Liars" and the great twist.  I LOVE a good twist and put it into a frothy, romantic YA novel and I was sold.  I stalked my Kindle app, hoping that it would dip in price (rarely am I willing to pay $10 for an e-book) (don't get me wrong...I will pay far MORE than $10 for the RIGHT e-book....its just rare), but it never did.  Finally fate intervened and I threw out my back.  I spent a few days with ice packs, heating pads and my Kindle for companions and decided I could splurge on this mysterious book I kept hearing so much about.

That paragraph I just typed probably explains why I ended up really, REALLY disliking this book.  My expectations were too high.  I had dragged out the anticipation until I was practically salivating over the desire to know what the fuss was about.  I had placed this book on a very high, very unstable pedestal and watched it fall, very hard, onto unrealistic expectations.

Cadence Sinclair Easton is our narrator.  When we meet her, she has suffered a trauma of some kind.  The details are all elusive not only to us, but also to Cadence, as she is suffering from partial amnesia.  She introduces us to her family, a Kennedy-esque old-money clan that places great value on tradition, loyalty and legacy.  She has spent nearly every summer of her life on an island off the coast of Cape Cod.  This island is owned by her grandfather, and all of her aunts, uncles, cousins and assorted family relations gather there every year.  Its all very gauzy and dream-like, the descriptions of these Summers.  Lots of boating, napping in hammocks, playing on beaches and evenings ended with clam bakes and bonfires.  Cadence is very close with two of her cousins, Johnny and Mirren, and their friend Gat, who joins them every summer because of a family connection.  The four of them are called "The Liars" by the rest of the family.  (Why do they call them "The Liars"??  We never find out.  Seriously.)

During their 15th Summer, Cadence and Gat fall in love.  There are complications surrounding their romance, primarily due to his skin color.  While the Sinclairs feel very magnanimous and benevolent for allowing this teenager of Indian decent to spend time on their island, they draw the line at letting him marry one of their daughters.  This creates the major conflict in the story and becomes the catalyst for all things that follow.  Something shocking takes place, and when the Liars and the rest of the family return to the island during their 17th Summer, Cadence attempts to put together puzzle pieces of memories.

I will stop there, because some of you will still want to read this book (and I don't blame you...I certainly let curiosity get the best of me).  What I will say, however, is that I saw the "twist" coming a mile away.  In fact, it was so obvious to me that when I got to the end of the book, I was still waiting for the "twist" to happen.  I couldn't believe that the plot point in question was really what everyone was referring to as surprising and amazing.  To be fair, had I picked up the book knowing nothing about it and having no idea there was a twist, I might not have clued in on it so easily.  The problem becomes that when a book like this one becomes popular, there is no way of avoiding the hype.  You know ahead of time that there is a surprise coming and see all the fore-shadowing highlighted in bright, neon yellow.  A good book (or movie, or TV show) can be written in a way that is creative enough to still shock you even when you're waiting to be shocked.  I think of "Gone Girl", "The Sixth Sense" and "Mad Men" as examples of those genres that received hype and were still able to surprise their audiences.  "We Were Liars" doesn't.  At least it didn't surprise me.  

In fairness to the author, I should probably give it a little slack because adults are not her target audience with this title.  Technically this book is for Young Adults, so it should not be held to the same standards as fiction for grown-ups, right?  I don't think so.  "Harry Potter" was also written for a younger crowd and it is arguably some of the most amazing world-building and plot twisting ever put on paper.  A good book is a good book.  "We Were Liars", is not a good book.  In my opinion.  (Yet I don't blame you if you still want to read it.  I would have still read it after reading this review.  Just don't say I didn't warn you.)