We Were Liars

Lockhart, E. (2014). We were liars. New York: Delacorte.

Genre: Dark Modern Realistic Fiction (mystery, revenge, death)

Subjects: Young Adult fiction - greed, revenge, amnesia, family life, friendship, love, wealth

Audience: 12 and up

Cadence is a seventeen year old amnesia victim telling the story of her family and their summers on the family island.  She begins the story be explaining that she has suffered an accident that has left her in pain and unable to remember what happened the summer she was fifteen when the accident happened.  During summer fourteen, she and her two cousins Johnny and Mirren and Aunt Carrie's boyfriend's son Gat become very close and are called the "liars".  Gat is of Indian descent and not accepted by their wealthy grandfather and Cadence falls in love with him.  When she returns to the island for summer fifteen, she sees Gat putting dried rose petals into an envelope to send to his girlfriend and she is heartbroken. It was also the summer that her parents divorced and the first summer that the family had been on the island since her grandmother had died.  The only thing Cadence remembers about summer fifteen is waking up on the beach with her injury and not seeing the other "liars".  She hasn't heard from them since.  Cadence spent summer sixteen traveling Europe with her father and is happy to return to the island for summer seventeen. She begins writing fairy tales representing her grandfather and his three daughters and the "fairy tale" life that they lead.  She also begins giving away all of her things to people who need them.  As summer seventeen progresses, Cadence begins to remember what happened with the help of the "liars".  Her mother and aunts were fighting over her grandmother's possessions.  When they left the island for the evening, the "liars" burned the house down so they would stop fighting.  Cadence was the only one who survived the fire.  The "liars" are happy that she has finally remembered so they can go where spirits belong and they walk into the water and disappear.  Lockheart weaves a story of a dysfunctional family who believe they are better than others and live an ideal life with the heartbreaking tragedy of teenagers who recognize their family flaws and are hopeful that the family will change for the better.

Awards:
Georgia Peach Book Award (2015)
Milwaukee County Teen Book Award Nominee (2015)
The Inky Awards Nominee for Silver Inky (2015)
Bookworm Best Award for Best Fiction (2014)
Goodreads Choice Award for Young Adult Fiction (2014)
The Magnolia Award for 9-12 (2016)

Teaching Resources:
Author's Website
Interview with Author
Reader's Group Guide
Book Trailer