~ A Book Review by Yohaan Seth Nathan
Have you ever dreamt of wealth? You know... big mansions, private clubs, Gucci handbags, personalized race cars, etcetera etcetera... that type of wealth. No? Well, I'm pretty sure you're lying.
The Sinclair family has everything a person could want. They are living the 'dream life' with private islands, grand houses, big families, picnics on the beach, and long boat rides on boats of their own. The Sinclairs are the definition of a stereotypically beautiful, rich, healthy, white characters who sit around complaining about how hard their lives are when they are in fact sitting around on their beautiful private island, drinking incredibly expensive wine, eating grand food, prepared and served by their 'invisible help'. They are beautiful and distinguished and are always aiming towards perfection and only perfection (or so it is believed).
"We Were Liars" by E. Lockhart takes place on a private island off the coast of Massachusetts, where the Sinclair family spends their summers. The entire story is narrated by Cadence Sinclair, a.k.a. Cady, who is the main protagonist of the novel, and the granddaughter of a wealthy man named Harris Sinclair.
Johnny, Mirren, and Cadence are the most notorious among all the other kids. In the summer when they are 8, they meet Gat who then becomes a part of their little clique. Together they are known by everyone as the four liars (hence the title of the book).
However, during the summer when Cady is fifteen, a mysterious tragedy occurs, which completely changes her (and pretty much everything and everyone in her world). Due to the incident, she gets an undiagnosable brain injury which causes her to have gaps in her memory. She thus has no clue as to what really took place in that summer and what makes it worse is that no one even talks to her about it.
The majority of the book is focused on when she is seventeen. She is now taking hardcore painkillers due to her killer migraines. For some reason, her best friends Johnny, Mirren, and Gat won't talk to her, and even her other cousins and aunts won't.
Apparently, now she's too 'fragile'.
This book emphasizes major themes like privilege, wealth, mistakes, and also LIES. The twist at the end is incredible but at the same time mournful. If I had to describe this book in one word I'd say it's incredibly beautiful and tragic (oops I used two words...). It is a realistic (in its own way) and a thrilling (100%) coming-of-age novel which I'm sure you'll enjoy thoroughly.
So if you're looking for a suspenseful drama with some romance involved, this would be your go-to novel.
"And if anyone asks how it ends, just LIE."