Review: DRIVE by Stephanie Fournet
I have loved everything I’ve read from Stephanie Fournet, and DRIVE did not disa[...]
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart Published by Delacorte Press on May 13, 2014
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
Format: eBook
Pages: 240
Source: Bought
Goodreads • Amazon •
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.
We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart.
Read it. And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.
I loved We Were Liars. From the first page I was at once confused and utterly captivated. I enjoy ambiguousness at the beginning of a novel, when the author gives me a little bit of a challenge by expecting me to jump in headlong and keep up. Some people hate it, which I get. But for me it created immediate intimacy in We Were Liars; like I was suddenly immersed in Cadence Sinclair’s mind, almost mid-thought. And what a mind. Chaotic and damaged, yes, but also deeply intelligent. Things came together as the story progressed, but in a kind of sinister way, both for me as the reader and for Cadence. There’s a sense of creeping darkness that steadily built as the story progressed. So naturally I could not put it down. I read it in one afternoon.
The tension and sense of urgency developed quickly and never let up. It felt like if I just read fast enough, maybe I could stop the impending doom – which indicates a pretty powerful bit of storytelling. I think E. Lockhart is a master at building suspense in a subtle way, and I found her characters deeply flawed and also immensely lovable – in a nutshell, human. And her writing is gorgeous. Lyrical, rhythmic and challenging, it’s intensely atmospheric and almost melodic. There’s so much wordplay and imagery, somehow she manages to put words together in totally original ways. I am a huge fan, and also just a teeny bit jealous.
Add a family dynasty with lots of skeletons in the closet, epic friendships and star-crossed lovers and I was in heaven. Before the story even starts there’s a map. And a family tree. Two things that pretty much guarantee I will be up all night reading. It’s hard not to wax a little poetic about a novel that combines all of my favorite elements and is beautifully written. Simply put, We Were Liars is the best YA book I’ve read in a while. I kind of wish I hadn’t read it yet just so I could experience it again for the first time.
Author Links: Website | Twitter | Tumblr | Goodreads
I agree. This was wonderful. She told such a complex story using deceptively simple language. The structure was fantastic. Were you surprised by the big reveal? I was totally shocked. I sort of feel like I should have figured it out before (I know some people did) since clues were there. But I was surprised.
Alison (@AlisonCanRead) recently posted..Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson
I was totally surprised by the reveal! I kind of felt like I should have figured it out too, especially after seeing that some people knew in the first chapters. But you know what, I’m glad I didn’t, I liked being completely shocked! It was just such a great read for me, I’m glad you enjoyed it too.
Twitter: jeneaw0716
says:
This sounds right up my alley! Great review. I will be checking my library now. 🙂
Jenea @ Books Live Forever recently posted..Launch Day Blitz for Courtney Cole’s If You Leave
Thanks Jenea, I hope you love it as much as I did.
Twitter: fakesteph
says:
Pretty sure I loved this one too. It’s really hard to define all my feelings for it.
I know what you mean! It was a very unique reading experience for me, but in the end that just made me love it more.