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We Were Liars Paperback – May 29, 2018

by E. Lockhart (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 70,158 ratings
Goodreads Choice Award winner
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#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A modern, sophisticated suspense novel from National Book Award finalist, and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart. Don't miss the #1 New York Times bestselling prequel, Family of Liars.

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.

Read it.
And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.

"Thrilling, beautiful, and blisteringly smart, We Were Liars is utterly unforgettable." —John Green, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Fault in Our Stars
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Previous page
  1. Reading age
    12 - 17 years
  2. Book 1 of 2
    We Were Liars
  3. Print length
    320 pages
  4. Language
    English
  5. Grade level
    7 - 9
  6. Lexile measure
    600L
  7. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.83 x 8.25 inches
  8. Publisher
    Ember
  9. Publication date
    May 29, 2018
  10. ISBN-10
    0385741278
  11. ISBN-13
    978-0385741279
  12. See all details
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Previous page
  1. “The universe is seeming really huge right now,” he told me. “I need something to hold on to.”
    Highlighted by 4,406 Kindle readers
  2. If you want to live where people are not afraid of mice, you must give up living in palaces.
    Highlighted by 2,674 Kindle readers
  3. “Do not accept an evil you can change.” “I agree with that,” I say. Because I do.
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From the Publisher

Spend the summer with the beautiful Sinclair family Family of Liars by E. Lockhart
"Without a doubt, a phenomenon." —The New York Times
They were always liars. Family of Liars by E. Lockhart
Family of Liars by E. Lockhart We Were Liars by E. Lockhart Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart Again Again by E. Lockhart
Family of Liars We Were Liars Genuine Fraud Again Again
Customer Reviews
4.2 out of 5 stars
4,182
4.3 out of 5 stars
70,158
3.9 out of 5 stars
2,688
3.9 out of 5 stars
443
Price $11.40 $9.49 $10.99 $11.62
More impossible to put down reads from E. Lockhart! Another Summer. Another Generation. The eagerly anticipated prequel to WE WERE LIARS! A modern, sophisticated suspense novel set during the summer off the coast of Massachusetts. A mind-bending thriller told in reverse. An inventive and romantic story about human connection, forgiveness, self-discovery, and possibility.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Sometimes a book is a book and sometimes a book is a phenomenon. E. Lockhart’s 2014 Y.A. psychological thriller We Were Liars is, without a doubt, a phenomenon. . . . The prequel aims to stand on its own, and technically it does; you don’t need to have read the earlier book to understand this new one. But for the greatest enjoyment of Family of Liars, read We Were Liars first.” —The New York Times, on Family of Liars

"You’re going to want to remember the title.Liars details the summers of a girl who harbors a dark secret, and delivers a satisfying, but shocking twist ending." —Breia Brissey, Entertainment Weekly

"This mindblowing YA thriller from E. Lockhart will make you glad you're the 99 percent...And that's about all we can tell you when it comes to the story of 'We Were Liars,' the book by E. Lockhart that everyone will be reading, and re-reading, this summer. It's twisty, it's mysterious, and it's got a surprise ending that'll knock your socks off."
—Kat Rosenfield, MTV News

"Surprising, thrilling, and beautifully executed in spare, precise, and lyrical prose, Lockhart spins a tragic family drama, the roots of which go back generations. And the ending? Shhhh. Not telling. (But it’s a doozy)...This is poised to be big." —Booklist, starred review

"Lockhart has created a mystery with an ending most readers won’t see coming, one so horrific it will prompt some to return immediately to page one to figure out how they missed it. At the center of it is a girl who learns the hardest way of all what family means, and what it means to lose the one that really mattered to you." —Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Riveting, brutal and beautifully told." —Kirkus, starred review

"The ending is a stunner that  will haunt readers for a long time to come." —School Library Journal, starred review

"A taut psychological mystery marked by an air of uneasy disorientation...The ultimate reveal is shocking both for its tragedy and for the how-could-I-have-not-suspected-that? feeling it leaves us with. But we didn’t, which is Lockhart’s commendable triumph." —The Horn Book, starred review

“This is a love story as much as it is a psychological mystery…Astonishing." —Shelf Awareness, starred review

“[a] haunting, sophisticated mystery...a novel so twisty and well-told that it will appeal to older readers as well as to adolescents.” —The Wall Street Journal

“Irresistible premise for this ticking time bomb of a novel.” —The New York Times Book Review

"A Lockhart YA is always a treat and this is no exception...The glimpse we get into a life of privilege, a lifestyle most of us can only imagine, is insightful and thrilling. The ending will shock the mose jaded of readers, we promise!" —RT Book Reviews

"There's trouble in paradise at the opening of National Book Award finalist and Printz honoree E. Lockhart's shattering yet ultimately hopeful YA novel . . . and neither family nor reader will ever be the same." —Library Journal

"It's a nearly perfect story, and it's utterly absorbing." —Bustle,  A YA Best Book of the Year

"No book on this summer's reading list will have readers immobilized in their hammocks more than E. Lockhart's We Were Liars..... This book has that surprise quality--like Elizabeth Wein's Code Name Verity--that makes readers scramble back through hungrily devoured chapters and wonder in admiration: Could I have seen this coming? Did I miss any clues?" —Newsday

"Like a shard of glass, WE WERE LIARS glitters and shines, then cuts deep. E. Lockhart has truly outdone herself with this masterful, darkly mesmerizing portrait of a fractured family ruined by the excess of wealth. Humming with rich descriptions and razor-sharp intelligence, the story of Cadence Sinclair Eastman will both inspire and haunt readers for years to come." —Sarah Pitre, Forever Young Adult

"Perception often is not reality -- and it certainly is not in WE WERE LIARS. This is a look at what “a perfect world” looks like on the inside and how it unravels once one of the players sees it for what it is. Pitch perfect in both plotting and character development."
—Carol Fitzgerald, Book Reporter

"The must-read contemporary novel so far this year is definitely E. Lockhart’s stellar We Were Liars, a rich, stunning summer mystery with a sharp twist that will leaving you dying to talk about the book with a pal or ten." —Sonia Charaipotra, Parade

"A haunting tale about how families live within their own mythologies. Sad, wonderful, and real." —Scott Westerfeld, author of Uglies and Leviathan

"I've fallen in love with every E. Lockhart book I've ever read (and I've read them all), but We Were Liars blows them all out of the water. Dark, gripping, heartrending, and terrifyingly smart, this book grabs you from the first page--and will never let go." — Robin Wasserman, author of The Waking Dark

"Spectacular." —Lauren Myracle, author of Shine, The Infinite Moment of Us, and TTYL

"A haunting, brilliant, beautiful book. This is E. Lockhart at her mind-blowing best." — Sarah Mlynowski, author of Don't Even Think About It and Gimme a Call

"Stunningly sharp. . . . will sear itself into your memory." —Christian Science Monitor

"A haunting psychological thriller." —The Guardian

"The mystery driving the plot is a shocking punch in the face that will stay with you long after you finish." —Hypable Online Hypable-Weekend Reading
“There’s no preparing for the shocker of an ending.”
—SLJ

"We Were Liars is amazing. I felt run over by it . . . .Emily has done something incredible here. —Paul O. Zelinsky

About the Author

e. lockhart wrote the New York Times bestsellers We Were Liars and Genuine Fraud. Her other books include Fly on the Wall, Dramarama, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks, and the Ruby Oliver Quartet: The Boyfriend List, The Boy Book, The Treasure Map of Boys, and Real Live Boyfriends. Visit her online at emilylockhart.com, and follow @elockhart on Twitter.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ember (May 29, 2018)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0385741278
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0385741279
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 12 - 17 years
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 600L
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 7 - 9
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.5 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.83 x 8.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 70,158 ratings

About the author

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E. Lockhart

E. Lockhart

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I am the author of We Were Liars, Genuine Fraud, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks and a number of other novels. www.emilylockhart.com

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
70,158 global ratings
Plot Twist Central
5 Stars
Plot Twist Central
I loved this book. I really liked the author’s writing style- sometimes blunt and choppy, and how she describes things.This book tells the all true story that money, possessions, and “power” do not equal happiness. And you will not see the end coming until….The book is told bring the POV of the eldest Sinclair grandchild, Cadence, aka Cady. Cady and her mother, along with her grandparents, and aunts and their families, live on an island (that the grandparents own) summer. The story takes place there 90 percent of the time.I recommend reading this if you like YA/NA fiction.
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Top reviews from the United States

Chris
5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect beach read
Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2024
Verified Purchase
Omg this book was literally the best. It was fast pace and kept me interested the whole time. It’s set on an island that makes it a perfect beach read. Not to mention the heart dropping plot twist at the end that will have you thinking about it for hours. This is definitely a book you could read over and over again and still have it be interesting like a brand new book. At the end everything clicks and it’s really just so outstandingly written and is truly my favorite book yet!
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J. Richardson
4.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly engaging with some annoying flaws
Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2015
Verified Purchase
I guess the best way to start this review is to be as blunt as possible: I actually really enjoyed my time with We Were Liars. I say “actually” because I was skeptical at first. After browsing Goodreads, there seemed to be two general reactions:

1) “I love this book! It’s so good! Oh my god!"

and

2) “I detest everything about this book. Why is it getting so much praise?”

So, me being me, I eliminated all expectations. I mean, the synopsis doesn’t give you much information to begin with, but I still wanted to be as open as possible. The end result? In short, We Were Liars is an intriguing novel that engaged me early on, kept me interested the entire time, and had me genuinely surprised at the end. The downside is the writing is a bit odd, which doesn’t seem like it would be a huge deal, but it did detract from my enjoyment of the novel as a whole.

We Were Liars follows young Cadence, who is part of a wealthy family known as the Sinclairs. Her story takes place shortly after a terrible accident during Summer Fifteen, where she suffered something traumatic--so traumatic, in fact, that she has no recollection of what happened. So, it is her goal, and ours, to pick up the pieces and find out what happened that night, because the doctors feel she needs to come to the realization on her own.

The problem I can see some people having with this novel is that none of the characters are relatable if you are not wealthy yourself, except for Gat, who is Cadence’s love interest. However, if I am being completely honest, where a novel like Don’t Try To Find Me treats the “problems” of its wealthy protagonists as real issues, We Were Liars goes out of its way to mock them, which makes most of their petty squabbles seem less problematic and more of what they are: greedy people acting selfish. In doing so, it helped avoid the frustration I would have normally felt reading about a group of people like the Sinclairs.

Instead, it focuses on Cadence’s real health issues, which can essentially be boiled down to migraines, but these migraines are so bad that it leaves her nauseous and unable to move. If you don’t have a family member who suffers with something similar, it is easy to pass this off as her being over-dramatic, but it’s not. This is not to say Cadence doesn’t go a bit overboard on occasion, however, which is made clear very early on with this wonderful mind-f***:

"Then he pulled out a handgun and shot me in the chest. I was standing on the lawn and I fell. The bullet hole opened wide and my heart rolled out of my rib cage and down into a flower bed. Blood gushed rhythmically from my open wound,
then from my eyes,
my ears,
my mouth."

This bizarre excerpt is the perfect example of what is wrong with the novel on a technical level: Lockhart’s writing is an entirely different level of weird. For starters, there is no indication that the above text is metaphorical until you read the next couple of paragraphs. It’s just Cadence being Cadence, which resulted in a loud expletive on my end. Also, if you hadn’t noticed, Lockhart has

A weird tendency

To do this

For seemingly no reason

At all.

Again, not a huge issue, but it is kind of an eyesore, and there is never any explanation for why the structure randomly switches up in the middle of a page. Lastly, and probably my biggest gripe personally, throughout the novel the story switches from present day to Summer Fifteen, but the reader is never given a sign of when a switch is made. This occasionally resulted in me reading one, two, or sometimes three of these “chapters” before I realized that we had changed years. So for a novel that generally succeeded in pulling me in, it really tried its best to simultaneously pull me out.

With that note, I don’t feel I have much else to say except to try and brush-off some of the pretentiousness as rich white teenagers trying to be deep. Yes, it can get a little corny sometimes, but this is technically YA, so I think it’s safe to say that it kind of comes with the territory. In any case, as the reviews indicate, We Were Liars is definitely not for everyone—no book is, honestly—but there is something about its story that enamored me, and although there are a handful of flaws with how the book is actually written, I couldn’t put it down.
42 people found this helpful
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JenacideByBibliophile
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, heartbreaking, shocking, and innocent.
Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2015
Verified Purchase
This book has been getting a lot of attention and praise in the “Bookstagram” community (I swear it’s like an entirely different world in there) and I can now see why. The book has a splash of everything you would want in a YA/Coming of Age story: innocence, love, family, greed, tragedy, heartbreak, truth, and of course lies. It takes the reader through a time of happiness and tragedy as the protagonist, Cadence, searches for the truth behind an accident that caused her to lose more than just her memories of what happened in Summer Fifteen.

Cadence Sinclair Eastman, Mirren Sinclair Sheffield, Johnathan Sinclair Dennis, and friend Gatwick Matthew Patil are the “Four Liars” of Beechwood Island. Coming from a family of old-money and pride, the “Four Liars” and their families spend every summer on Harris Sinclair’s privately-owned retreat. However, during Summer Fifteen (summer + current age of the Liars) Cadence was found alone on the beach, half-naked, and nearly underwater with a serious head injury that resulted in her losing her memory of what happened. For the next few years Cadence spends her time suffering from terrible migraines, taking painkillers, and no memory of most of Summer Fifteen. Now two years later, Cadence is finally returning to Beechwood after her accident to be reunited with her liars and to find out what really happened to her that summer.

“Then he pulled out a handgun and shot me in the chest. I was standing on the lawn and I fell. The bullet hole opened wide and my heart rolled out of my rib cage and down into a flower bed. Blood gushed rhythmically from my open wound, then from my ears, my mouth.
It tasted like salt and failure. The bright red shame of being unloved soaked the grass in front of our house, the bricks of the path, the steps of the porch. My heart spasmed among the peonies like a trout.
Mummy snapped. She said to get hold of myself.
Be normal, now, she said. Right now, she said.”

We Were Liars has everything you could ask for in a YA story. The author shows innocence through the “Four Liars” as they grow up together every summer, and the loyalty they have for one another as they are thrust into the center of greed that surrounds the rest of their family members. The reader experiences love and heartbreak between Cadence and Gat, the obsession of money taking control of morals and values, and the truth and lies that shape and destroy the liars. The writing is beautiful and descriptive. I found myself completely submerged in understanding for Cadence when her father left, and how it must have felt to pretend that it didn’t bother her.

It is very hard to go into too much detail when reviewing this book, and I know how frustrating it is reading the reviews because they are so cryptic. If you love young adult books than you really cannot go wrong here. The author embodies the emotions and rational thinking of four teens as they grow, and the harsh realization of what really happened to Cadence. The characters in this story are both self-absorbed and caring, brilliant and ignorant, and terrible and wonderful. Even if you don’t live their lavish lifestyle, there is something in this story for everyone to relate to. This story will make you smile, and it will definitely pull on those little strings that are attached to your heart.

Bottom Line: JUST READ IT
4 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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madu
5.0 out of 5 stars avaliação:
Reviewed in Brazil on March 22, 2024
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um dos melhores livros que já li
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Anika Maurice
5.0 out of 5 stars 4.5 stars!
Reviewed in Canada on June 6, 2023
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Loved the story! I was very surprised by the twist! I knew there was gonna be one, but did not expect at all what it would be. Makes me want to read it again to see the hints I've missed.
I also loved the author's writing style.
One person found this helpful
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Euro Bottura
5.0 out of 5 stars consigliato
Reviewed in Italy on December 26, 2023
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Preso per mia figlia
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verónica
5.0 out of 5 stars Producto en excelentes condiciones.
Reviewed in Mexico on April 25, 2021
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El puntaje es porque el producto llegó rápido y bien cuidado. Es de pasta blanda y no tenía dobleces en sus hojas ni maltratado. Al final tiene contenido "extra", como preguntas para grupos de discusión, recetas, y comentarios adicionales de la autora. Muy lindo detalle.
Con respecto al contenido del libro, :/. No fue especialmente de mi agrado. Tengo varios conflictos con los temas y la forma de cómo se presentan. Así como en la forma de escritura en general, que me pareció pobre. Pero claro, eso es mi opinión muy personal. Yo soy adulto que disfruto leyendo este género. Recomiendo este libro para jóvenes 16+ (esto por los temas que se tocan, ya que me parecen delicados, no por el vocabulario ni la escritura)
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Shini Saji
5.0 out of 5 stars Worth Buying
Reviewed in India on May 11, 2023
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My child had a great time reading this book during her vacation. I read it too and it was great with a twist in the end.
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