We Were Liars

We were Liars by E. Lockart  -- 2 STARS

Synopsis-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.

*Netgalley provided an ARC to me in exchange for an honest review

Overall -
I really hate giving this a low rating, but in no way is my rating an indication of whether the book was good or bad this time. Instead, I actually mean this book just wasn't for me. This review will not be a full review, because honestly, this book is unlike any other. Let me start over.


Im in limbo on this book and where to rate it. Part of me feels that the author wove a beautiful story about a young girl who, after a traumatic experience, has lost her memory of the event and struggles in her daily life, mentally and physically. Another part of me, the critical part, felt there was a lack of world building, a lack of character development, and I found myself lost in time frequently.

Cady

The style of writing here is different, and unique, which is partially why I didn't like the book all that much. I typically like young adult books, and this theme/plot seemed intriguing. I even liked Cadence "voice" but what I didn't care for was the broken prose, which instead of making me fifteen really just annoyed me. It felt choppy and the timing felt "off",  I couldn't tell when Cady was in her current time or remembering something, which often led to me being confused. There was a lack of world building, leaving the reader to assume her surroundings, basically an island near Martha's vineyard, where everyone is extremely wealthy. Except, I have never been to MV, or anywhere near there really. So aside from wealthy and preppy, I don't have a whole lot to go off.

Cady, the main character is likable enough, but that about covers the characters I actually "liked". I didn't even like Gat, her love interest. I felt he way trying too hard to be pretentious, and failed. I understood the family dynamics well enough, but again, the choppy prose, left much to be desired here. I didn't understand the mothers relationships whatsoever, and often wondered why they were even mentioned.

Gat (or close enough)

By the end of the book, I admit, I was pleasantly surprised with what the traumatic event was and what transpired. Truly, this is where the author captured me. And its the reason I gave the book any stars. After all my ranting, the ending, brings me full circle and made me realize what a precious book this really was. I was not only surprised, (shocked even) but I teared up. The author managed to evoke emotions from when all along I was annoyed and frustrated. Was that her intent, I do not know. What I do know, is that while I didn't care for this book in general, I in no way want other people NOT to read it because it wasn't for me. There are great things about this book, none are really mentioned here (but to name a few, the homes on the island are well described, the friendship between the cousins, the liars, is very interesting and strong, the adults are obviously ostentatious in every way, which is shown in numerous way). The problem really for me, was the writing style was bothersome, and if I hadn't been provided an ARC I wouldn't have finished it. (BUT I'm glad I did, because the ending was worth it after all!)

Confused yet? Yeah me too.