Book of the Month: “We Were Liars” by E. Lockhart

PHOTO: “We Were Liars,” by E. Lockhart, follows mystery, mental health and family.

By Sarah Griffiths

BlueDevilHUB.com Staff–

With cold weather returning, it’s the perfect time to cozy up with a good book. 

This month’s “Book of the Month” is recommended by senior Amara Higgins. 

The 2014 novel “We Were Liars” by E. Lockhart has received critical acclaim and has won the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Young Adult Fiction.

The novel follows 18-year-old Candace Sinclair. After suffering a head injury in the summer of her 15th year, she struggles to recall events.

Her grandfather, Harris Sinclair, owns a home on an island near Martha’s Vineyard for himself, his daughters and their families. Ever since she could remember, Candace spends every summer on the island with her cousins Johnny and Mirren, and their friend Gat Patil. Their group is nicknamed “The Liars” by family members.

After losing most of her memories during her 15th summer, Candace is forced to repeat a year of school. Her mother forbids her to return to the island the following year, causing Candace to spend her 16th summer in Europe with her father. When she reaches out to her cousins, she is ignored.

Returning to the island, the now 17-year-old is surprised when she is met with a new estate, one more cold and less welcoming. It seems everyone is keeping secrets from her, continuing to dismiss her questions of what transpired two summers ago.

As her memories start to return, Candace must try and separate what is real from what is fake.

The novel captivated Higgins.

“At first it was kind of hard to tell the characters apart, but once you figured out who was who it was really good. It was really hard to put the book down because you really wanted to know what happened next, and I ended up reading the whole thing in a couple days,” Higgins said.

Some parts of the novel are difficult to comprehend.

“I didn’t dislike anything about the book, the only thing is that there’s a lot of flashbacks to keep track of, but the author labels them pretty well. The book also talked about mental health without ever explicitly saying it, so it was confusing figuring out if the character actually had it,” Higgins said.

Lockhart sends a strong message about wealth and family.

“I think the main thing the author wanted you to take away from the book is to not take things for granted and be grateful for what and who you have. While money does mean a lot in the world today, it’s not worth everything in life. The whole book was good, but what made it really good was the ending. It’s so sad I was balling my eyes out. The book put into perspective how much the people around me mean to me,” Higgins said.

Get ready to dive into this psychological mystery.

“I would 100% recommend this book to someone as long as they are okay with shedding a couple of tears,” Higgins said.