Intricate and intriguing, E. Lockhart’s “We Were Liars” provides both a captivating mystery and a bittersweet portrayal of young love. The Sinclairs are an extremely wealthy family that spends each summer on their private island, Beechwood. The readers are introduced to their charmed yet secretive lives through Cadence Sinclair, a teenager who suffers from amnesia and chronic migraines after a tragic accident that occurred on Beechwood when she was fifteen.
Determined to uncover the mystery around what happened to her on Beechwood, a now-seventeen year old Cadence returns to Beechwood and joyfully reunites with “The Liars”: her cousins Johnny and Mirren, and Gat, a family outsider. She immediately falls back into her old camaraderie with the group and rekindles her past romance with Gat.
However, people still won’t tell her about what really happened two years ago, and as the summer goes on, she uncovers the dark underbelly of Beechwood and her family in an effort to gain answers. I would give this book four out of five stars for its compelling mystery and well-written characters.