We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Grades 8 and up--

E. Lockhart’s mysterious coming of age novel begins with Cadence Sinclair Eastman in her seventeenth summer on her family’s private estate, Beechwood Island. The novel bounces back and forth between this summer and “summer fifteen” during which a mysterious accident has happened that she can barely recollect. The book is a series of half remembered moments in her quest to figure out what happened before her accident.

Intended audience: Similar to E. Lockhart’s Printz winning novel The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks and John Green’s Looking for Alaska, this novel is definitely geared towards a upper-middle-class white high school audience. The setting is a private island near Martha’s Vineyard and its character's cousins who are living off the wealth of their bigoted grandfather.

Audience to whom it may appeal: Although the references often feel a bit highfalutin, the characters still cope with some of the same issues many teens do including: the desire to be autonomous of their parents, wanting to right worldly injustices, and falling in love with the one person their family disapproves of. I think male and female high schoolers of various backgrounds, as well as adults, could find connections, if minimal, in this novel.

Strengths: Given the mysterious nature of Cadence’s accident, I found the book to be a quick read because I wanted to find out what happened. Some strengths of the story include: memorable characters, descriptive setting language, and an engaging plot line with a haunting climax. I also appreciated "the liars'” self-awareness of privilege and their willingness to challenge their grandfather’s bigotry.

Weaknesses: This novel seems geared towards a very specific audience with little invitation for those with varying socioeconomic and racial backgrounds. Knowledge of the privilege lived by those who have experienced “life on the vineyard” seems relatively critical to understanding and enjoying the novel. I imagine this book on a "take a book, leave a book" shelf at the country club I worked at for many summers.

VERDICT: Although the book seems to have a minute intended audience, the mystery of it has the potential to appeal to a wider audience. I would include one copy of this novel in a high school library and promote it as a “haunting mystery about a teenage girl living in a dreamlike state on the fantasy world of her family's private island."