We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart is a realistic fiction novel about a girl named Cadence Sinclair Eastman. Cadence is a smart, beautiful and rich. She had the life that every girl dreams of. Every summer she would go down to her family's private island off the coast of Massachusetts. But, everything changed when Cadence's father left their family. Her mother erased all signs of him and threw out all his belongings. After all, that's what Sinclairs were taught to do, bottle it all up and never show any signs of weakness. They packed up their things, forgot it ever happened and went to Bechwood Island. Of course the rest of the Sinclairs were there, and that meant that she could see the liars, her best friends: Mirren, Johnny, and Gat. Mirren and Johnny were Sinclairs, but Gat was different, he was Johnny's best friend and had no family. Cadence and Gat fall in love, she loved the way he was familiar and caring and he loved the way she understood him and they were happy. But,when Cadence couldn’t sleep one night she went out on the shore of the island and looked for her friends. Since she couldn’t find them she went out for a swim alone and before she knew it she was plunging deep into the ocean. Cadence bumped her head on a rock and somehow made it back to the shore. But when Cadence’s mom found her the next morning she had hypothermia and was unconscious. She was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury and was in the hospital for the rest of the summer. Gat never visited Cadence and she began to feel like that summer was just a lie and soon she began to forget everything. Her whole life was a mess, and missing so many school days prevented her from graduating high school on time. On top of everything she couldn’t go to Beechwood that summer because of her health. But the next summer Cadence went and her family greeted her with warm hugs and sorry smiles. She had felt enough pity for a lifetime and didn’t want anyone to feel sorry for her so Cadence kept all the pain, and hurt bottled up. Cadence couldn’t even look at Gat but every time she did she couldn’t help but love him even after all the pain he caused her. She would never think of anyone the same, she couldn’t go back to living her perfect life, she couldn’t pretend that nothing happened and maybe that was for the better.
I like this book because it kept me on the edge of my seat, was filled with suspense, and had an amazing story about the hardships and struggles of friendship. One reason why I liked the novel was because the action and plot line kept me at the edge of my seat wanting to know what happened next. Another reason was the suspense element of the story that made it extremely exciting to read and enjoy. The last reason I loved this book was the aspect of friendship and the struggles that it poses that made it very relatable for young adult readers. All in all, We Were Liars by E. Lockhart is an incredible story about friendship, love and everything in between.
Ashley Philip
Miss Spicer
Periods: 1 & 3