We Were Liars | Book Review | 2014 | E. Lockhart

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart: A Bold but Flawed YA Mystery

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart is one of those books that leaves people either singing its praises or scratching their heads. Marketed as a psychological YA mystery with a gut-punch twist, it has become a staple in discussions about modern young adult books. In this book review of We Were Liars, we dive into what makes it so intriguing—and why it doesn’t always stick the landing.

About the Author

Lockhart is the pen name of Emily Jenkins, a versatile American author born in 1967. She has dabbled in nearly every genre—children’s fiction, adult fiction, and most notably, young adult books. She holds a doctorate in English literature from Columbia University, which may explain her experimental prose and thematic ambition.

We Were Liars is her standout hit, having bagged the Goodreads Choice Award for YA Fiction. Her previous YA success, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, was a finalist for the National Book Award and the LA Times Book Prize. Her beloved Ruby Oliver series explores teen angst with humor and empathy, showcasing her ability to write sharp yet emotionally intelligent characters.

Synopsis (Mild Spoilers)

The novel takes us to a private island owned by the wealthy Sinclair family. Cadence Sinclair Eastman, the eldest grandchild, narrates her story in an intimate, often fragmented voice. She belongs to a close group called The Liars—Johnny, Mirren, Gat, and herself. Gat is also her romantic interest and a South Asian boy whose presence disrupts the pristine, privileged Sinclair dynamic.

After a mysterious accident during Summer Fifteen, Cadence is left with migraines and memory loss. She spends the following year recovering in solitude. When she returns to the island for Summer Seventeen, she finds that nothing feels quite right. The house has been rebuilt, her cousins act cagey, and memories start trickling back like water through cracked glass.

As Cadence pieces together the truth about that fateful summer, readers are taken on a slow unraveling of secrets, guilt, and irreversible mistakes. The book is broken into five parts—each mirroring Cadence’s emotional disorientation.

The Strengths of We Were Liars

Let’s give credit where it’s due: this book knows how to build suspense. The amnesia plot device might be overused in fiction, but here it creates a genuine sense of mystery. Readers are kept in the dark alongside Cadence, and the unreliable narration raises more questions than answers, drawing you in.

The tension isn’t just about the plot—it’s emotional. There’s a constant sense of longing, loss, and emotional fragility that lingers in every chapter. Lockhart taps into the teenage psyche, capturing the fear of being forgotten, the weight of guilt, and the messiness of love. For a slim novel, We Were Liars tries to carry a heavy load.

The themes Lockhart tackles aren’t light. Class privilege, inherited trauma, identity, and emotional repression are all woven into the narrative. Through Cadence and Gat’s eyes, we see the toxic undercurrents of inherited wealth and elitism. For a book shelved under young adult books, it tries to do a lot.

And sometimes, it succeeds. Consider lines like:

His thumb rubbed the center of my palm. All my nerves concentrated there, alive to every moment of his skin on mine. ‘I am not sure I’m a good person,’ he said after a while.

I see it for what it is, now. It is a house built on ashes… on the grave of all the trophies and symbols of the family.

There’s beauty in Lockhart’s metaphors when they land. These quotes show her at her strongest—pulling real emotion from poetic imagery.

What Misses the Mark

Unfortunately, those poetic flourishes can become too much of a good thing. The writing style is often excessively stylized:

There was nowhere / nowhere / nowhere / nowhere now to go / but down.

This kind of repetition feels forced. It can be powerful in moderation, but used frequently, it pulls readers out of the story.

Lockhart also inserts bizarre fairytale retellings throughout the novel—thinly veiled metaphors for the Sinclair family dynamic. They add layers, sure, but also confusion. These sections often break the pacing rather than enrich it.

And while experimental writing can feel fresh, in this case, it often distances the reader from the emotions it’s trying to convey. For example:

A witch has been standing there behind me for some time… She holds an ivory statue of a goose… It connects, crushing a hole in my forehead. I can feel my bone come loose.

Rather than deepening Cadence’s trauma, this surrealism feels like a literary detour.

The biggest issue, though, lies with the characters. Cadence, despite being the narrator, is emotionally distant. Her trauma is described but not deeply felt. Her interactions with the other Liars—especially Johnny and Mirren—are surface-level. Gat, who should be a compelling counterweight to the Sinclair legacy, ends up feeling underused. His critique of privilege is diluted by his role as a romantic subplot.

The twist near the end is meant to gut the reader, but it stumbles because we aren’t deeply connected to the people it affects. The emotional payoff feels more like a jolt than a true catharsis.

On Structure and Pacing

The book is split into five parts: Welcome, Vermont, Summer Seventeen, Look, a Fire, and Truth. While this structure mimics Cadence’s fractured memory, it also creates tonal shifts that aren’t always smooth. Some sections drag. Others rush by. A more grounded approach might have given the emotional beats more time to breathe.

That said, the pacing isn’t entirely without merit. The slow burn can be effective for readers who enjoy psychological unraveling. It’s more introspective than thrilling, which is unusual—and perhaps refreshing—for a book marketed as a mystery.

The narrative arc of We Were Liars  by E. Lockhart has ambition, but ambition alone doesn’t carry a story. It needs strong characters and a plot that feels earned, not engineered.

Memorable Quotes

We thought. / We talked. / What if, we said, / what if / in another universe, / a split reality, / God reached out his finger and / lightning struck the Clairmont house?

This quote captures the book’s ambition to be lyrical and profound. Whether it lands depends on your tolerance for stylized storytelling.

Silence is a protective coating over pain.

Simple but powerful, this line distills the book’s emotional core better than some of its grander metaphors.

Who Should Read This?

This book isn’t for everyone. But it does have an audience. You might like it if:

• You’re drawn to psychological mysteries or unreliable narrators
• You enjoy books that take stylistic risks
• You’re looking for books to read that are more about emotion than action

It’s less suited for readers craving character-driven arcs or tightly woven narratives. If you’re the kind of reader who likes clear answers and grounded storytelling, this might not be your cup of tea.

Why You Should Read It Anyway

Here’s the thing—We Were Liars sticks with you, even if you didn’t love it. It leaves you thinking, puzzling over the clues you missed. That alone makes it worth a read. There’s also something brave about Lockhart’s willingness to take risks in a genre that often plays it safe. Even when it fumbles, the book dares to be different.

It also makes for an engaging discussion. Whether you’re reading it with a book club or debating it in an online forum, We Were Liars gives you plenty to talk about. The twist, the symbolism, the character motivations—it all invites interpretation.

If you’re dipping your toes into young adult books or searching for books to read that break format and challenge structure, give it a shot. It’s a book that tries—maybe too hard—but the effort is unmistakable.

Final Verdict

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

This We Were Liars book review is as conflicted as the novel itself. Lockhart set out to create a haunting tale of youth and grief. What we got was something messy, ambitious, and occasionally brilliant. It doesn’t always work, but when it does, it lingers.