We Were Liars

By: E. Lockhart

Narrated by: Ariadne Meyers

Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

Georgia Children's Book Award

Missouri Gateway Readers Award

Tennessee Volunteer State Book Award

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A modern, sophisticated suspense novel from National Book Award finalist, and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart. Don't miss the #1 New York Times bestselling prequel, Family of Liars.

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.

Explore it.

And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.

"Thrilling, beautiful, and blisteringly smart, We Were Liars is utterly unforgettable."—John Green, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Fault in Our Stars

©2014 E. Lockhart (P)2014 Listening Library

Critic reviews

“Sometimes a book is a book and sometimes a book is a phenomenon. E. Lockhart’s 2014 Y.A. psychological thriller We Were Liars is, without a doubt, a phenomenon. . . . The prequel aims to stand on its own, and technically it does; you don’t need to have read the earlier book to understand this new one. But for the greatest enjoyment of Family of Liars, read We Were Liars first.”—The New York Times, on Family of Liars

"This mindblowing YA thriller from E. Lockhart will make you glad you're the 99 percent...And that's about all we can tell you when it comes to the story of 'We Were Liars,' the book by E. Lockhart that everyone will be reading, and re-reading, this summer. It's twisty, it's mysterious, and it's got a surprise ending that'll knock your socks off."—Kat Rosenfield, MTV News

Why?

Is there anything you would change about this book?

This is not a spoiler, but early on the protagonist says her father shot her and left her bleeding when he abandoned the family. While meant figuratively, I thought for a second it was literal, and was entranced that the story might be a journey to learn why he shot his daughter. It might have been more interesting.

Would you recommend We Were Liars to your friends? Why or why not?

The book is very well written, and has well defined, fully realized characters. Having said that, this is a dark book without any particular depth or meaning, although the events and extreme emotionality almost simulate them. The younger the reader is, the more they may be hoodwinked, although I wouldn't recommended the book to anyone under 15. It touches on racism, elitisms, hypocrisy, friendship, family, charity, nostalgia, and fleetingly with forgiveness, but not to any true sense of resolution.

Some have commented on the twist(s) or the predictability, and I have to admit that if you combine two very popular movies together you've locked in on this books key gimmicks. I have mixed emotions, because they were undeniably well executed. Memory repression & selective amnesia have been somewhat of a cliche over the past 30-years and I wonder if they happen much more in movies and books than in real life. The chief mistake of the book is that the reveal is so close to the end that there is only time for minimal resolution. There is not a compelling message or resonance to the book.

Perhaps young people are idealistic and sometimes very foolish and old people are sometimes controlling and as childish as young people, but why did the author think this particular story was important to tell? What could have been a mystery, a horror novel, or a coming of age story gets somehow stalled as a character development piece. Ultimately the book reads quickly and maintains interest, so I don't discourage reading it--just know that it is more or a tragedy than an HEA.

Two examples (not YA) of books that are fully fleshed out, but better developed tragedies with some similarity to this book are:
The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death
&
An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England

Which character – as performed by Ariadne Meyers – was your favorite?

The narration was excellent and all characters were done very well. Toward the end, the narrator gets a little heavy with the emoting rather than letting the words carry the emotion.

Hauntingly beautiful

Sad but cathartic. Keeps you wondering until the very end. Well written, though I could have done without the swear words.

Amazing story and Stellar Narration

This was the first ever audiobook I truly enjoyed because the narration has so much inflection and intonation. This story yake you through Cady's life before and after her accident, watching her piece things back together and try to make sense of her tyrannical family. Not to mention it has a tragic twist and is well written.

This book was confusing till the end

The Narrator had a real problem talking for the main character a young man and I find men narrator doing young men or boys voices are a distraction from the story! The story line was hard to get through and the ending disappointing! I would not recommend this book.

Wonderful Book! 📚

Great read! Plot twist and mysterious backstory. Loved every minute of it and finished it in less than 2 days.

Absolutely amazing

Absolutely amazing! I cried, I laughed, and I was angry all at the same time. The story is phenomenal and the narration was beautiful. I would definitely read this book again and recommend it to anyone. I just wish there was a movie!

Different

I like this book my coworker told me to read it but I had to listen to it twice I missed a lot of the details the first time around which rarely happens - if I was reading the book it would’ve been different than listening to it but I’m glad I did purchase it

performance makes it

The story is good, very intriguing, but the narration makes it INCREDIBLE. Listen if only to hear the heart and soul put into the reading, it drew me in incredibly fast and held me tight the whole way through.

Good story made great by performance

This was a fine book, very heartfelt. The central mystery keeps you guessing, but what really stands out is the performance. how the reader is able to summon up the grief necessary to make it through to the end while still remaining coherent is a testament to her skill.

amazing

Any additional comments?

This is a brilliantly written, poetic account of the lives of teens, with twists and turns and a wonderful and perfect end! This book is packed with emotionas, heart and a darn great story! This is a book that has gotten a lot of rave reviews and now I see why! Readers of all genres will love this book! 4.5 stars