My Review
I’ve heard so many mixed reviews about We Were Liars over the years, but I hadn’t read it, and I’m not sure why. It’s weird, because it seems like most readers either love it or hate it – there aren’t too many who seem to be in the middle. When I heard that the deluxe edition of the book was coming out, I figured I probably should get around to it already, because pretty much every other blogger and YA book fan I know has already read this one.
So I read it. It was a pretty quick read, and I read it all in one night – I started it like at 11 at night and finished it around 2 am I guess. While the overall story wasn’t bad, I wasn’t blown away by anything and I kind of felt it was lackluster, and for the most part I was left with more questions than I had before I even started the book.
In We Were Liars, we have four privileged and spoiled kids who spend their summers on a private island together. The four of them are pretty good friends, as well as cousins – all except for Gat. These kids have the whole island to swim, hang out, go to dinners – pretty much anything they want – all while spending the summers with their families and grandfather, who more or less owns the entire island.
But the kids in the Sinclair family, as well as Gat, have secrets – and they aren’t pretty secrets. They’ve done things that they aren’t proud of. Things that have some serious repercussions. In fact, the adults on the island have taken to calling them “The Liars.”
During the stuff that’s going on with the kids, the adults have their own things to worry about – including who gets the homes on the island, who gets what in terms of money – all of that jazz. Since their grandfather is getting older, he is trying to remodel and make sure that the homes go to the right children in the family.
I don’t mean to be vague when I talk about this book, but I really don’t want to give away any hints or anything that could make the story less enjoyable for those who haven’t yet read it (although I doubt that there are too many!). It does have it’s moments where I think it’s a great and creative story, and I do so love reading about spoiled rich kids (guilty pleasure when it comes to reading!), so for the most part, I did enjoy it.
But there was so much here that I am going to be picky about – things that I didn’t enjoy. For one, the characters weren’t very fleshed out and I feel like they weren’t very memorable – in fact, I honestly can’t remember their names or who each was in the family. I can only remember Gat because he wasn’t actually part of the family, but he was the son of the guy that one of the adults wanted to marry, but wouldn’t because she was afraid her grandfather would disinherit her.
Also, that twist of an ending was clever, but I honestly saw it coming, and can’t say that it made much sense, especially if you go back into the book and think about things. It made everything even more confusing instead of answering any questions that I had. It did tie the original story together, though, but some of the details bothered me, and I won’t even get into them because this is supposed to be a spoiler free review.
I did love the whole idea behind the family spending time on the private island, though – it really makes this the perfect book for summer, as that’s when it takes place – over the course of a summer and through memories of past summers. It made for the perfect read for a beach trip or vacation.
As far as the deluxe edition material went, I loved the hand drawn map of the island, and the family tree was a great addition – I found myself looking at both of these while reading the book, and it helped me paint a better picture of what was going on where and which characters were related and how. These were awesome additions to the book. Also, the author material in the back was interesting as well, and it added a bit to the reading experience. I definitely have to recommend picking up the deluxe edition of the book for these things alone – they really do enrich the reading experience and they’re pretty nifty.
I wish I could have absolutely loved this book, but I just didn’t – I did like it, just not enough to praise it as much as some others who have really enjoyed the book. It was definitely interesting, and I’ll probably end up reading it again, but I just wasn’t able to really connect with it as much as I would have liked to have been able to.
This is one of those books that has been on my TBR forever. I’ve read so many mixed reviews that I just keep shuffling it down the pile to get to others that I’m more certain I’ll like. I could see a lot of the things you mention bothering me as well. I’m sure I’ll get around to reading it someday but it’s definitely not a priority.
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I had this on my list forever, too, and I finally decided that I should probably just read the thing. Honestly, I had such high hopes for this, so I was looking forward to it, but a third of the way through it it started to become a struggle. If you read it, I hope you like it a lot more than some others!
It’s been so long since I read this that I don’t remember a lot of details. I do remember that I liked it, though I didn’t love it like so many others did. I think I gave it 3 stars, too.
It just seems like one of those books that would easily forgettable when it comes to the story and the characters, I guess? Which is a bummer because it had so much promise.
I read this one a few years ago and I think that it was one that I enjoyed. I know that there are some mixed reviews out there and others who feel the same way as you do. I didn’t even know that there was a special edition of We Were Liars. Maybe I will check it out someday. I hope that your next read is more enjoyable for you! 🙂
Thank you! I honestly think that the extras in the book made it even more enjoyable – they really added to the depth of the story and the things like the map were pretty neat to check out.
I read this back when it was just about to come out and I was on the side that didn’t like it. The writing style took me a minute to get into and I just wasn’t wowed like others were. I just went back and reread my review because I honestly don’t even remember anything about this book except that I know I didn’t like it haha. Apparently, I guessed the ending at the 16% completed mark. I do remember being disappointed about that. There were some aspects I enjoyed about this but overall, it wasn’t my favorite read. Creating a deluxe edition with maps and such is such a good idea and I feel like that probably enhances the storyline,
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It really was a book with an ending that was easy to guess. It also seemed like the whole thing just left me with more questions than not, which annoyed me. I’m glad I’m not the only one who was able to guess that ending easily, either. I felt like too much was given away too soon.
Nice review! I haven’t read this book but I’ve seen lots of mixed reviews on it! I’m sorry this wasn’t up to your expectations. I hope you enjoy your next read! 🙂
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Thanks! If you read it I hope you fall into the camp of those who really like it!
I remember thinking this was okay but not great, too. It’s good to see someone else feeling the same!
I’m glad that someone else I know feels the same about this one! Everyone else I’ve talked to has so much praise for this!
Great review! I loved this book, but I’m a huge fan of unreliable narrators. I bet having all the extras made this story even more fun!
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I’m really glad that you liked this one! I feel like I’m in such a small group of people who liked it but just weren’t all that blown away by it. I do like unreliable narrators, though, so I was pleasantly surprised by that aspect of it!
I’ve been super curious about this one too. I think I even have a copy I just haven’t gotten to get. The extras sound like a lot of fun!
The extras are so much fun and add a lot to the book! I hope you really enjoy the mystery aspect of the book when you get around to reading it!
Oh no! I’m sorry you didn’t fall in love with this one, Kelly. I was definitely one of the readers who was blown away, and I was a bit of a crying mess at the end, haha. I would be interested in what I thought the second time around knowing what the ending is like because I think it would change the entire reading experience!
I am kind of tempted by the deluxe edition, especially since I liked it so much. I think that seeing the island and the family tree would add a little extra something to the story. I like being able to visualise things 🙂
I hope you do like it more if you get around to reading it the second time!
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If you really liked the book, I would definitely check out the deluxe edition – I thought the bonus features were pretty nifty. I might go back and read it again someday, because I feel like I might pay a bit more attention to detail now that I wouldn’t be trying to figure out what’s going on and what the big secret was. I’m really happy to hear that you enjoyed the book!
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I read your review and couldn’t resist commenting on it. I first, was kind of offended that you read this and got a few details wrong. Such as Gat being Ed’s son, which he wasn’t, he was his nephew, which is why he kept repeating that Cady doesn’t really know him, hasn’t seen his apartment or met his mother. I do agree, that the twist was predictable. The twist was disappointing because it’s been done before, and I wished the twist would’ve been better! The writing style was lovely. It felt like I was reading another novel by Plath. Her heavy use of metaphors made the book intense and interesting. I also read this book in a night, but not because it was a quick read, it was because I couldn’t put it down. I craved to know what was going to happen! I thought the twist was going to be that she was related by blood to Gat. She tells this fairytale of these twins that get separated because one is appealing, and one is an outcast. I thought she was describing Gat and Johnny. I thought maybe Carrie and Ed had an affair or something and gave birth to twins, which is why Cadence told that fairytale. It would also explain why the grandfather was so against them being together, and why Mirren kept insisting Cady leave him alone. That would have been an insane twist, but wouldn’t have made much sense I suppose… Anyways, I enjoyed your review! Read on!
Oh gosh, did I get it wrong? Oops! Sorry about that – I guess I got a little confused as to who was related to whom and such. Thank you for correcting me on that, I really do appreciate that you pointed it out. I definitely like your take on how the twist should have been in the book – the twist really has been done before, I definitely agree to that! Thank you for stopping by!