We Were Liars is a book recommended to me by a middle school english teacher. It is a Young Adult novel, but I would suggest no one younger than a high school freshman read this one as there are references made that some would prefer middle schoolers not know about.
With that being said, as an adult, I was almost bored with the book (and the story of Cadence and her wealthy family as they vacation on their private island off of Martha's Vineyard each summer) until I realized that something eerie was going on, that something was not quite right, and I needed to keep reading to find out what it was. Oh yeah, it was something eerie all right. And while I won't ruin the story for you here, it's a good one. A real page turner by the end.
And, in the end, We Were Liars made me afraid of the power of our children in the same way that The Casual Vacancy, by JK Rowling, made me afraid of your children because the children got mad at the grown-ups and exacted a revenge no one saw coming. I have since stepped lightly around my teenagers, not that I am letting them rule the house, but I now realize how much power these days children really do have to make adult lives miserable should you cross them.
Of course, as with all good tales, when a bad deed happens, people must pay in some way and I do feel The Liars, as Cadence calls herself and her friends/family Gat, Mirren, and Johnny, paid a steep price for their actions. They may have been trying to solve a family problem, but in the end they created more problems than they solved. Is it a warning for teenagers to be careful what they do? To be careful that while you think you can solve the problems of the world, you can't always? That while you think you are adults you really aren't? Yes. I think that's exactly what this book warns.
It's also a fierce reminder that what we see isn't always the truth. And that many of us are Liars.
Happy reading, everyone!
-Dodie
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