Tuesday, September 30, 2014

We Were Liars

Although I read, and read, and read, it's been some time since I've posted any book reviews here.  I was toying with eliminating this "Books and Reading" adjunct page to my blog altogether, in fact, but decided instead to wake it up and get back to posting regularly here.

In that spirit, I thought I'd start by talking about books I've loved lately.

Today's 5-star book:  We Were Liars by E. Lockhart.


We Were Liars tells the story of four teenagers who have spent their summers on their family's small private island off of Cape Cod.  But things are odd as the novel opens.  Narrator Cadence, one of the four "liars" as they call themselves, has suffered an accident, and over the next two years suffers from migraines and amnesia.  The story follows her return to the island, her reconnecting with various family members, and her trying to remember what happened to her.  It's a twisty but subtle plot, and skillful characterizations throughout.  I didn't realize until after I'd finished it that it is billed as a young adult novel.  Yes, its main character is a teenager.  But the layers of the story and the portrayals of the complexities of family relationships were enormously satisfying to me, and I'm solidly in grown-up territory.

In my 1 to 5 star rating system, I tend not to give many 5 stars.  But this story was so unusual that it was easy to give this my highest rating.  And in case you care, John Green described this novel as "thrilling, beautiful, and blisteringly smart."


1 comment:

  1. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed this book and didn't feel like it was too YA. I read YA occasionally and have enjoyed some enormously, but sometimes they do feel a bit cheesy. I'm adding this to my list. I wonder if it's available at our library or if I'd have to wait forever.

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