Review: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

7 July, 2014 Reviews 10 comments

I went into We Were Liars one cocky son of a biscuit eater, feeling above it all right from page one. I’d seen this book talked about so heavily by other bloggers and how some never saw the twist coming or how others totally saw that twist coming. All the while, I was sitting on the sidelines with my shades on, posted up with my arms folded, saying, “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Hot potato.” That’s not to say I didn’t want to read this book, because I did. I even had an ARC sitting on my shelf for the longest time, but due to a lot of the hype, I kept putting it off. Plus, I’m one of those people who usually can easily figure out a plot twist and I didn’t want to dive into something where a lot of people already mentioned figuring it out.

But one thing did nag me a little in the back of my mind was that my Bookish Twin, Blythe from Finding Bliss in Books, LOVED it. I highly value her opinion when it comes to books, because we almost always agree. So when I happened to get my hands on the audiobook, I thought, “What the hell? I was supposed to read and review this anyway, right?” Let me tell you… WHOA.

***First off, I just wanna say that I don’t know how the print compares to the audio and that it’s possible I loved the book more than others because of the  excellent job of the narrator. I can see how the fragmented sentences could be a pain to read, but this might be one of those cases where it sounds better out loud. That being said, I if you haven’t read this book, possibly check out the audio version first.***

Anyway, I was feeling very blasé about the first half. It felt like a really random story about a rich, white girl and her white girl problems, crying her white girl tears and I felt myself unsure about what the point of it all was.

blase

And maybe that makes me sound extremely heartless, but I couldn’t relate to the main character (no, I’m not even going to tell you her name because I want you to go in blind). But somewhere along the lines, I started to become intrigued with the story because it became this strange, wild thing that I couldn’t piece together.

Lockhart uses a very odd narration with fragmented sentences and strange descriptions, but I thought it was beautiful and unique. It added a very creepy layer on top the the existing oddness. It makes you question the main character, her account of the incident and the entire book. She’s not very reliable and has the habit to cut off mid-sentence. I’m not sure if that was used as a way to distract the reader or if it was to used to make us question her sanity. Maybe a little bit of both. Either way, it worked on me.

As things started to heat up and I reached the cusp of the climax, the narrator’s voice increased in intensity. She began talking faster, became very emotional, then suddenly on the verge of tears!

And I started thinking to myself, OH GOD NO. WHAT IS HAPPENING.

horror

And then IT was revealed and I was all, “WHAT IS THIS LIFE? I REJECT EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS ENDING. NOOOOOOO!!!!”

Nooooooo!

So, naturally, I had a good cry and needed someone to hold me.

crying

By the end, I was all:

I know this review might not be the most helpful in the world, but it’s true what everyone says about We Were Liars. You should absolutely go in blind, with no expectations and let this book take your feels as it sees fit. If you are a fan of psychological thrillers like Stephanie Kuehn’s Charm and Strange or Complicit, than this one may be up your alley. I’ll be here to hold you when you’re finish.

10 Responses to “Review: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart”

  1. Zara

    OMG I literally just finished it!!!exactly what i thought about it
    i expect another cliche amnesia book but it ended up being soo much more.

  2. Ilex

    This review is super helpful! I was kind of on the fence about reading this book, but now I’m dying to read it! So I’ve just put a hold on it at the library — like I don’t have enough holds and books to read already. 🙂

    I love the pictures of your reactions! Maybe that’s what’s really suckered me in …

  4. Becca

    As someone with an Audible account, I appreciate the audiobook review! You’re right, a good narrator can make or break a book. I may have to check this out.

  5. Lea @ YA Book Queen

    “…it became this strange, wild thing that I couldn’t piece together.” – Yes! The perfect way to describe this book. It’s puzzling nature is what hooked me.

    I’ve been wanting to reread WWL, so I’ll try to check out the audio version – it sounds like the narrator did a fabulous job!

    Wonderful review 🙂

  6. Kayla @ The Thousand Lives

    Your pictures made me LOL xD That’s exactly how I felt about the book! I’m on the side that didn’t see ANYTHING coming, and that ending had me going WHATOMGNOWHY

  7. Chenise J.

    The second picture was me to a T reading this book. I was left a sobbing mess by the end and had no idea what to do with myself afterwards!

  9. Amara @ Mine For The Reading

    “It felt like a really random story about a rich, white girl and her white girl problems, crying her white girl tears”

    COMBUSTS WITH LAUGHTER.

    Dude. I had no idea what to anticipate with this one. Didn’t even know if it was worth trying but MAN if made you act like that… Well, gimme a piece of that!