Book Review #100: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

It's crazy to think that this is my 100th book review! Next up on my reading list was 'We Were Liars', a book that I had seen a lot of really positive and really negative comments about. I really wanted to find out why the book was so polarising.

This story centres around Cadence Sinclair Eastman and the rest of the 'perfect' Sinclair family who spend every summer together on their own private island. One summer, something happens. Something that Cadence can't remember. Two summers later Cadence comes back to the island - but is she ready to remember what really happened?

So, this book wasn't for me at all. I wouldn't say I hated it, but I didn't really enjoy reading it.

My first impression of the book was that the voice of the main character, Cadence, was really off-putting. I hated being in her head.

The book is written in a very specific style. It uses short sentences, run-on sentences and paragraphs, some parts are written like poetry, other parts feel like subconscious thoughts, it's a whole mix of things. I can understand why some people might like this, but I really didn't, which is just personal preference.

The problem with the writing style, for me, is that it might have worked better if I had actually wanted to read about the characters. But unfortunately the combination of the writing style, and the lack of likeable characters, made the book really hard to get through.

I found myself reading paragraphs and pages without taking anything in. Nothing felt significant, and because of that I couldn't work out if nothing was significant, or if everything was significant.

The characters never felt like real people. They all felt completely inauthentic.

I was definitely intrigued throughout by the incident, and which mysteries would be revealed, but I was never actively excited to find out the truth.

The twist was really interesting, for about a page. And then I waited for something else to happen, and nothing really did.

Sometimes when I read, I feel like I am with the characters on an adventure, and other times it feels like I am watching them on a screen. Reading this book made me feel like everything was happening miles away and I was trying to see them through a pair of bad binoculars. I have never felt further away from a story - and not because I couldn't relate to it, but because even the characters themselves felt like passive observers in their own story.

This is quite a short book, just over 200 pages. I can say with confidence that if this had been a longer book, I wouldn't have finished it.

Overall, I just didn't get it. It didn't touch me, it never felt real. The whole book felt a bit like a fever dream. I am glad I saw what all the fuss was about, but I can't imagine ever reading it again.

1.5/5 - the interesting twist bumped my rating up by .5 stars.