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We Were Liars #0
Family of Liars
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Best Young Adult Fiction (2022)The thrilling prequel to the TikTok phenomenon and #1 New York Times bestseller We Were Liars takes readers back to the story of another summer, another generation, and the secrets that will haunt them for decades to come. A windswept private island off the coast of Massachusetts. A hungry ocean, churning with secrets and sorrow.A fiery, addicted heiress. An irresistible, unpredictable boy. A summer of unforgivable betrayal and terrible mistakes. Welcome back to the Sinclair family. They were always liars.
Audiobook
First published May 3, 2022
About the author
E. Lockhart
21 books15.3k followersE. Lockhart is the author of Again Again, Genuine Fraud, We Were Liars and Family of Liars, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, and several other books. Whistle: A New Gotham CIty Hero is a graphic novel.
website: www.emilylockhart.com
Instagram: elockhartbooks
Twitter: elockhart
website: www.emilylockhart.com
Instagram: elockhartbooks
Twitter: elockhart
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 9,258 reviews
Want to read
November 12, 2021prequel to one of the worst books i've ever read? sign me tf up
Want to read
November 15, 2021seeing this book blurbed as a “TikTok phenomenon”…hurts…
this is 2014 book!Tumblr erasure of which *EYE* am a veteran of and i won’t stand for it!!!
EDIT: glad to see this is resonating with all of you guys too...🚬🚬
we deserve financial compensation i think.
this is 2014 book!Tumblr erasure of which *EYE* am a veteran of and i won’t stand for it!!!
EDIT: glad to see this is resonating with all of you guys too...🚬🚬
we deserve financial compensation i think.
September 14, 2024
I couldn’t be so excited to start the prequel of one of the most mind blowing, shocking, surprising stories I’ve ever read!
“We were liars” hit me real hard with its sucker punch twist I didn’t see it coming. With this prequel we get a closer look of the parents of three liars: the story’s narrator is Johnny’s mother Caroline: promising ghost of her son to tell a story that only sisters know about. She did something back in the past and she is finally ready to share her secret which also open a lot of can of worms because it seems like becoming part of Sinclair family means pretending, lying, acting, keeping everything to yourself, showing no weakness even though you slowly get torn into pieces inside just like Caroline has been doing for years!
We return back private island belongs to Sinclair family ancestors where is off the coast of Massachusetts.
In the summer of 1985, Caroline has so much on her plate: dealing with the grief of drowning 10 years old sister Rosemary whose ghost starts visiting her as her beautiful and self absorbed sisters Bee and Penelope already moved on with her lives, flirting with boys, enjoying summer, pretending nothing tragic happened just like her parents do.
Caroline’s painful face surgery that reshaped her bone structure heals with the help of drugs but Caroline’s addiction to those pills gets out of control, resulting with stealing her parents’ pills to sleep tight at the night.
When their uncle Dean, her favorite cousin and her best friend Yardley show up with surprise guests with them including Yardley’s boyfriend George and his friends from school Major and Pfeff, things eventually change and their summer vacation gets heated!
Pfeff’s flirting with Caroline, giving a romantic first kiss in the moonlight, awakes so many foreign feelings and pure excitement Caroline has never felt before.
But things uncontrollably change as Caroline finds herself surrounded by web of lies, betrayals, secrets! Only way to survive at that haunted summer and become a part of family mean she has to learn how to lie and how to pretend like all Sinclairs do all the time.
This tragic, gripping, well written, thought provoking story, heart wrenching, twisty story will deeply affect you and shake you to the core!
Most of the characters including sisters of Caroline were dislikable. I think I mostly loved Yardley: she’s smart, confident and devoted friend who stood up for Caroline and I think I cannot say no to another prequel to learn more about her story evolved.
This book doesn’t have a jaw dropping twist but it’s a sensitive psychological and realistic fiction that portraits an unforgettable dysfunctional family.
Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children’s / Delacorte Press for sharing this one of the most anticipated books’ digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.w
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“We were liars” hit me real hard with its sucker punch twist I didn’t see it coming. With this prequel we get a closer look of the parents of three liars: the story’s narrator is Johnny’s mother Caroline: promising ghost of her son to tell a story that only sisters know about. She did something back in the past and she is finally ready to share her secret which also open a lot of can of worms because it seems like becoming part of Sinclair family means pretending, lying, acting, keeping everything to yourself, showing no weakness even though you slowly get torn into pieces inside just like Caroline has been doing for years!
We return back private island belongs to Sinclair family ancestors where is off the coast of Massachusetts.
In the summer of 1985, Caroline has so much on her plate: dealing with the grief of drowning 10 years old sister Rosemary whose ghost starts visiting her as her beautiful and self absorbed sisters Bee and Penelope already moved on with her lives, flirting with boys, enjoying summer, pretending nothing tragic happened just like her parents do.
Caroline’s painful face surgery that reshaped her bone structure heals with the help of drugs but Caroline’s addiction to those pills gets out of control, resulting with stealing her parents’ pills to sleep tight at the night.
When their uncle Dean, her favorite cousin and her best friend Yardley show up with surprise guests with them including Yardley’s boyfriend George and his friends from school Major and Pfeff, things eventually change and their summer vacation gets heated!
Pfeff’s flirting with Caroline, giving a romantic first kiss in the moonlight, awakes so many foreign feelings and pure excitement Caroline has never felt before.
But things uncontrollably change as Caroline finds herself surrounded by web of lies, betrayals, secrets! Only way to survive at that haunted summer and become a part of family mean she has to learn how to lie and how to pretend like all Sinclairs do all the time.
This tragic, gripping, well written, thought provoking story, heart wrenching, twisty story will deeply affect you and shake you to the core!
Most of the characters including sisters of Caroline were dislikable. I think I mostly loved Yardley: she’s smart, confident and devoted friend who stood up for Caroline and I think I cannot say no to another prequel to learn more about her story evolved.
This book doesn’t have a jaw dropping twist but it’s a sensitive psychological and realistic fiction that portraits an unforgettable dysfunctional family.
Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children’s / Delacorte Press for sharing this one of the most anticipated books’ digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.w
Follow me on medium.com to read my articles about books, movies, streaming series, astrology:
medium blog
Want to read
November 11, 2021Unpopular Opinion: I read We Were Liars in Dec of 2020 and I loved it...
So I'm gonna read this one! :)
So I'm gonna read this one! :)
June 2, 2022
did we were liars emotionally destroy you or are you a soulless husk of your former self?
anyways, cannot wait for this book to shatter me.
anyways, cannot wait for this book to shatter me.
Shelved as 'coming-soon'
April 11, 2022Am I the only one that actually liked We Were Liars? (Yeah I read it before tik tok)
Anyway, this book better make me cry because I LIVE for rich people family drama....though this wasn't necessary but I'll read this anyway because Im trash
Anyway, this book better make me cry because I LIVE for rich people family drama....though this wasn't necessary but I'll read this anyway because Im trash
Read
May 31, 2022more like family of little shits
iykyk
iykyk
July 31, 2022
3.5 stars! I definitely liked this book more than we were liars and it was so cool to hear about the past generation (Cadence's mom and her siblings) and how that shaped the family. Overall a really interesting and surprising story. I never saw the ending coming and literally never knew where the story was going.
August 7, 2022
well.
that was unexpected. i'm really just not sure what to make of that.
that was unexpected. i'm really just not sure what to make of that.
June 20, 2022
“We have been pretending everything’s okay all year, and we will keep pretending everything’s okay. We know how. It’s the family way.”
I enjoyed this prequel to We Were Liars. We have gone back a generation and now see the 3 mums as teenagers, Carrie, Penny and Bess.
This one doesn’t have quite the same menace or shock value as We Were Liars, but it is a character study on wealth and what it can get you.
In the summer Carrie is 17, her cousin Yardley comes to stay - brining her boyfriend and two of his mates. Things are about to change in a big way.
Quite a few secrets come out which I enjoyed, and it all followed through well. There wasn’t anything that didn’t make sense - at least to me anyway.
It was good to get sucked into the hot mess that is the Sinclair family once more.
Just one last thing to note. You must read We Were Liars first as there is a massive spoiler on page one of this book.
*************************
Library copy available for pick up
Think I might reread We Were Liars before starting this one 😊
I enjoyed this prequel to We Were Liars. We have gone back a generation and now see the 3 mums as teenagers, Carrie, Penny and Bess.
This one doesn’t have quite the same menace or shock value as We Were Liars, but it is a character study on wealth and what it can get you.
In the summer Carrie is 17, her cousin Yardley comes to stay - brining her boyfriend and two of his mates. Things are about to change in a big way.
Quite a few secrets come out which I enjoyed, and it all followed through well. There wasn’t anything that didn’t make sense - at least to me anyway.
It was good to get sucked into the hot mess that is the Sinclair family once more.
Just one last thing to note. You must read We Were Liars first as there is a massive spoiler on page one of this book.
*************************
Library copy available for pick up
Think I might reread We Were Liars before starting this one 😊
June 4, 2022
I don't know what I disliked more: the writing, the concept, or the character names. Lawrence Pfefferman? Yardley? Tipper Taft Sinclair? Absolutely not. I cannot take these people seriously. But I did enjoy this more than book 1. Excluding the last like 10 chapters which sucked.
May 7, 2022
Our family has always loved fairy tales. There is something ugly and true in them. They hurt, they are strange, but we cannot stop reading them, over and over.
i read We Were Liars when i was about fourteen. my best friend at the time and i had a lil book club just between the two of us where we exchanged our favourite books and knew that the other would love it, too. she gave me We Were Liars. i gave her The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
both books had such an impact on the teenage version of me. i know We Were Liars has exploded on tiktok in the past year and it’s become popular with a lot of people disliking it and not understanding the hype. but at the time, this book changed me. i don’t think anyone quite understands. it’s one of the books that reignited my love for reading again. it showed me the impact a book can have on a person and the way they view the world.
i remember getting to the plot twist and i physically dropped the book bcos i was so shocked. 14 year old me lost her shit lmao. the book opened my eyes to the wonders of reading— the possibilities reading ignited in a person. it made me realise i adore the feelings reading stirs in me. when i think back to where my reading journey began, i tend to say Harry Potter because it definitely did when i was like 8 years old but i kinda fell out of reading in my mid-teens.
We Were Liars was the beginning of becoming the obsessive bookworm that i am. so i owe a lot to this book. the impact it had on me and the memories it holds are unparalleled.
i just treasure the memory of We Were Liars. the nostalgia it brings me is just... so intense. i can picture myself reading it in my living room, my dad watching tv, the chair i was sat in, the way i had to hibernate in my room afterwards so no one would see me cry lmao. one of my best friends bought me my own copy for my 16th birthday and it made me so happy that day, walking around school with my stash of books in my bag (bcos we’re British and don’t get lockers). my copy of We Were Liars was my pride and joy... until i leant it to my other friend who gave it back with a cracked spine and dog-eared pages... i remember that day very viscerally too. id literally had one of the shittiest days that my 18 year old self thought was the end of the world (it wasn’t) but that was just the cherry on top lol.
i even obsessively reblogged quotes from the book on tumblr, being all angsty and mysterious with my thirteen followers. the quote We were liars. We were beautiful and privileged. We were cracked and broken still lives in my head rent free, tbh.
so what im trying to say is, the first book means a lot to me. it has for eight years. and naturally, a prequel scared the shit out of me. i imagine it’s how fans of Ari and Dante felt when the sequel released last year. but i couldn’t not read this. i owe it to 14 year old me who was sobbing in her bedroom, clutching this to her chest and never wanting to let go.
”Not all pain is worth it,” said Tipper. “Some pain is just pain.”
there are no spoilers or details about the book below, just me generalised thoughts and opinions.
the prequel follows 17 year old Caroline “Carrie” Sinclair, one of the three Sinclair sisters and Johnny’s (from We Were Liars) mother, during one unforgettable summer. it was very reminiscent of the first book, but stands entirely on its own. stylistically, both books are similar, the narrative style of this book echoing the narration of the first. but plot wise, they’re nothing alike.
now... do i think this was necessary? no, not really. it doesn’t add or take away from the original story whatsoever. it really bears very few ties to the first book so in no way “ruins” it since there’s very little crossover. but i also don’t think i would have loved this so much without the ties to the original story. it just heightened my emotions automatically. so take that as you will.
the first chapter had me tearing up, my god. literally the first sentence. E. Lockhart immediately came for my throat. the melancholy undertone ran throughout the book and it was executed wonderfully. my heart hurt a lot for Carrie, a lump in my throat any time she was in pain. i found it really easy to root for her. she was admirable, loyal, loving. she was selfish, sharp and broken. out of the three sisters, im glad she was our narrator.
I am vain and consumed with my own internal life, drunk on the hot liquor of the desire for parental approval, desperate for love and validation, self-mutilated, seeing my sisters as competition.
Bloody.
the nostalgia i got from the summery vibes was just so heartwarming, gah! back then, i used to love reading American summery coming of age stories, set in a sandy beach town where two unexpected teens fall in love. My Life Next Door, The Summer I Turned Pretty, Sixteenth Summer (and the rest of that series), and literally all of Abbi Glines’ books were my fave things to read when i was still a sweet, naive impressionable reader... before i fell into unhinged smut.
so the moment they were back at Clairmont House, it was like i was in a little, sleepy beach town and not in rainy England lol. i was fully immersed in the story, the tone was set wonderfully and i devoured it in one sitting. it was easy to read and pretty short. i do wish certain characters, dynamics and events had been fleshed out more— at times there was a little bit too much ambiguity. but im also aware that’s the style of the storytelling.
Don’t pretend you would never hurt anybody.
more than anything, i think this is a story about the complexities of sisterhood. i don’t have sisters so i can’t fully understand the bond between sisters but the relationship between the Sinclair sisters stole the show for me and physically pained me to read. the amount of times my heart was beating out of my chest or i began to cry was countless. and that’s why this is getting five stars, just purely due to the visceral reaction it evoked within me... just like when i was 14 years old.
so im aware my rating is gonna be a little bias bcos it has so much adolescent nostalgia behind it. so again, keep that in mind if you’re wondering if you should give this ago.
Penny— reaches out to take my hand like she did when we were kids.
She used to reach for my hand when Harris was mad at us, when we had to recite poems for Nana and Grandpa, when Tipper was late to pick us up from dance class, while we sat together on the boat and saw Beechwood Island emerge from the empty expanse of the sea.
We hold hands now, and wait.
you really do have to suspend your disbelief when it comes to a handful of scenarios in this book. i guess the first one is the same too. i feel like if you loved the original book, then i can see you loving this... but if you didn’t :/ maybe skip this.
there was a lot of telling rather than showing which will bug people but again, it’s pretty much part of the ambiguous style of writing E. Lockhart executes. it worked for me when it usually doesn’t.
Blindfold me and I’d recognize the feel of his hands on me, the scent of his neck, the curve of his shoulders under my palms.
this prequel was just a wonderful trip down memory lane for me. i think some people are gonna adore it (like me, seriously cried way too much lol), while others are just gonna roll their eyes and think it’s kinda basic. i think most people will be able to discern from their feelings of We Were Liars if this will be for them.
14 year old me adored the original story. 22 year old me adored the prequel story.
thank you so much to NetGalley, Bonnier Books and the author for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review! seriously made 14 year old ellie’s day.
Want to read
November 11, 2021please dont break my heart,
please dont break my heart,
please dont break my heart.
please dont break my heart,
please dont break my heart.
Shelved as 'sequels-prequels-tbr'
November 10, 2021E. Lockheart i cannot handle a prequel
December 6, 2022
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After reading and being unimpressed by WE WERE LIARS, I thought I probably wouldn't continue with the Taft-Sinclair family and their WASP-y adventures. There's something a little tedious about watching a rich, white, entitled American family get away with successfully covering up their crimes. I DON'T KNOW WHY OR ANYTHING.
Anyway, I found a copy of this book in the cruise ship library and decided to eat my words. The heroine of this book is the mother of one of the kids in WE WERE LIARS, only it's historical fiction because it takes place in the '80s (doesn't that make you shudder even more than the crime stuff did??). Caroline is the oldest, plainest Taft-Sinclair child. She has two younger sisters, Bess and Penny, who are way more attractive and liked.
As they spend their summer on the island, and gradually come of age, they meet a group of boys that are brought over by their cousin Yardley, and her boyfriend, George. This ends up being the first sign of doom, although nobody knows it then. Also, there's ghosts and stuff, because the girls previously had another sister, the youngest, Rosemary, who drowned in the ocean about a year or so before. And nobody talks about it.
I ended up liking this book a lot more than WE WERE LIARS. I'm a sucker for unlikable, flawed heroines, and Caroline with her lying, her need to make herself the heroine in her own twisted story, and her codeine addiction, really ticks all the boxes. She acts exactly the way you'd expect a privileged, entitled, and troubled girl to act. I also liked that it didn't rely on the cheap tactics of memory loss and amnesia to keep info from the reader, even though that's a trope I actually enjoy; I just feel like it's become a little too overdone over the last couple years. This book ended up having a much more haunting, melancholy feel to it, and I really enjoyed that.
I don't want to say too much else because spoilers but this is definitely a more mature work than WE WERE LIARS and I enjoyed it a lot.
4 stars
December 12, 2023
First Read: March 2022, Rating: 4.5/5 stars
Second Read: December 2023, Rating: 4.5/5stars
First Thoughts:
BREAK MY HEART. Thank you kindly.
Second Thoughts:
Yardley is an icon who deserves her own novel.
Final Thoughts:
This was not quite as traumatising as its prequel, We Were Liars, for me personally, but still displayed a focus on a wide array of issues, interspersed with scenes of summer fun and how the white and wealthy live. There is something so compelling about reading about the genuinely hard-hitting and the eye-roll worthy 'woe betide me' side-be-side.
One thing I'm especially enjoying about this book is how accurate the teen dialogue sounded. Conversations are littered with 'like', and awkward pauses, and slightly immature humour, and it all felt so real. I actually love pretentious teens in some other YA books, such as those penned by John Green, but it is also refreshing to find authenticity here.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, E. Lockhart, and the publisher, Allen & Unwin, for this opportunity.
Second Read: December 2023, Rating: 4.5/5stars
First Thoughts:
BREAK MY HEART. Thank you kindly.
Second Thoughts:
Yardley is an icon who deserves her own novel.
Final Thoughts:
This was not quite as traumatising as its prequel, We Were Liars, for me personally, but still displayed a focus on a wide array of issues, interspersed with scenes of summer fun and how the white and wealthy live. There is something so compelling about reading about the genuinely hard-hitting and the eye-roll worthy 'woe betide me' side-be-side.
One thing I'm especially enjoying about this book is how accurate the teen dialogue sounded. Conversations are littered with 'like', and awkward pauses, and slightly immature humour, and it all felt so real. I actually love pretentious teens in some other YA books, such as those penned by John Green, but it is also refreshing to find authenticity here.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, E. Lockhart, and the publisher, Allen & Unwin, for this opportunity.
May 29, 2022
“Be a credit to the family.”
***This book is the prequel to We Were Liars and contains spoilers. I highly recommend reading We Were Liars before the prequel. HOWEVER, THIS REVIEW WILL AVOID ALL SPOILERS.***
Caroline Lennox Taft Sinclair (Carrie) lives a privileged lifestyle. Her wealthy family owns an island off the coast of Massachusetts where they summer every year. In this book, she is telling her son, Johnny, the story of the summer of 1987. She thinks it is particularly important for him to hear this story, but is unsure whether she will be able to tell the whole truth.
The audiobook is read by Kimberly Farr and is fantastic. She is by far the BEST READER I have come across and cannot recommend her work enough. However, it might also be helpful to read the printed version, as it contains family genealogy and maps of the island. If you are a visual person, please check this format out instead!
The We Were Liars /Family of Liars series technically falls in the YA genre, but the writing is so sophisticated that it will appeal to adults as well. I rarely read YA, but this series is one exception I will make! It is a very character driven domestic suspense novel focusing on real issues such as coping with death, substance abuse, secrets, and lies.
Much of the story is also told through parallels between Carrie’s story and several well-known fairytales. This adds an extra layer to the complexity of the plot. Those who have read We Were Liars might be expecting a huge twist, but won’t find that in the prequel. While I loved the first book’s surprise ending, this book’s format works well in its own right. I absolutely loved both books in this series and if you read my reviews, you know that I don’t often give out five star reviews. However, both of these books merit the highest rating.
The Sinclair family’s story is a perfect series to read this summer!
5/5 stars
***This book is the prequel to We Were Liars and contains spoilers. I highly recommend reading We Were Liars before the prequel. HOWEVER, THIS REVIEW WILL AVOID ALL SPOILERS.***
Caroline Lennox Taft Sinclair (Carrie) lives a privileged lifestyle. Her wealthy family owns an island off the coast of Massachusetts where they summer every year. In this book, she is telling her son, Johnny, the story of the summer of 1987. She thinks it is particularly important for him to hear this story, but is unsure whether she will be able to tell the whole truth.
The audiobook is read by Kimberly Farr and is fantastic. She is by far the BEST READER I have come across and cannot recommend her work enough. However, it might also be helpful to read the printed version, as it contains family genealogy and maps of the island. If you are a visual person, please check this format out instead!
The We Were Liars /Family of Liars series technically falls in the YA genre, but the writing is so sophisticated that it will appeal to adults as well. I rarely read YA, but this series is one exception I will make! It is a very character driven domestic suspense novel focusing on real issues such as coping with death, substance abuse, secrets, and lies.
Much of the story is also told through parallels between Carrie’s story and several well-known fairytales. This adds an extra layer to the complexity of the plot. Those who have read We Were Liars might be expecting a huge twist, but won’t find that in the prequel. While I loved the first book’s surprise ending, this book’s format works well in its own right. I absolutely loved both books in this series and if you read my reviews, you know that I don’t often give out five star reviews. However, both of these books merit the highest rating.
The Sinclair family’s story is a perfect series to read this summer!
5/5 stars
December 30, 2022
I was ANNOYED when I found out this was happening, but knew that I'd end up reading it. While it wasn't as bad as I had been expecting it to be, I still don't think it was necessary. I felt like it reflected a lot of things that we had already seen be done in WE WERE LIARS. The only layer I feel like this book added to the ~wewereliars-verse~ is a little bit more understanding for the family and how they function. Outside of that, I didn't feel like this book did anything else to stand out for me.
Want to read
November 15, 2021I want to read this book because I hate myself. :)
We Were Liars messed me up years ago. I'm ready to get hurt again.
We Were Liars messed me up years ago. I'm ready to get hurt again.
June 5, 2022
I read WE WERE LIARS eight years ago and absolutely loved it. It was devastating, but also amazing. FAMILY OF LIARS is the prequel, but please read the original first to avoid any spoilers. The prequel is all about the previous generation of Sinclairs during their teen years (set in the 1980s), and we get a glimpse of why they are the way they are, and how their grief, guilt, and family dynamics affected their children years later. The writing is gorgeous. I do think the prequel is different in that it's more of an atmospheric family drama rather than a mystery/thriller, though there are a few surprising twists along the way. I loved this book and didn't want it to end!
June 23, 2024
"Don't take no for an answer is a lesson we teach boys that would be better off learning that no means no."
July 22, 2023
I enjoyed this one even more than We Were Liars. As a prequel, it answers many missing details, and I can see why E. Lockhart felt the need to write it. I am so glad that she did.
I like the paranormal aspect the most.
The family is slightly less messed up in this one. It was good to get to know the grandfather a bit more and what happened between the sisters.
It was a good read, but you don't want to read it first. There are a ton of spoilers to the mystery in the original novel.
I love the lie that is later retold.
4 stars for me
I like the paranormal aspect the most.
The family is slightly less messed up in this one. It was good to get to know the grandfather a bit more and what happened between the sisters.
It was a good read, but you don't want to read it first. There are a ton of spoilers to the mystery in the original novel.
I love the lie that is later retold.
4 stars for me
May 11, 2022
Alas, E. Lockhart never listens to me and writes more Ruby Oliver-like books, but instead follows what TikTok and Bookstragram hype and pens these mysteries I am not particularly interested in. We Were Liars was just okay for me, and I feel the same about Family of Liars: The Prequel to We Were Liars. No twist in YA lit will wow me. But I did enjoy the summer vibe in this book. It's set in the 1980s, and all about rich people doing nothing, swimming and eating, basking in the sun and enjoying their heaps of money. (The own the whole island?) Relationships and dialog were fun, all the mystery stuff - eh. I will, however, probably reread We Were Liars as I don't remember one thing about it.
April 3, 2023
After enjoying We Were Liars quite a bit a few years back, I was excited to pick-up this prequel and find out how it all began for the Sinclair family.
Though it was interesting to hear about the sisters childhood relationships and the influences which molded who they became in adulthood, it did not not grab me quite as much as the first book. Even so, this was still a most entertaining and worthwhile listen. I will gladly read more of E. Lockhart's future releases.
Narrator Kimberly Farr seamlessly voiced all the characters with pitch-perfect pacing and realism. A fantastic listening experience.
Though it was interesting to hear about the sisters childhood relationships and the influences which molded who they became in adulthood, it did not not grab me quite as much as the first book. Even so, this was still a most entertaining and worthwhile listen. I will gladly read more of E. Lockhart's future releases.
Narrator Kimberly Farr seamlessly voiced all the characters with pitch-perfect pacing and realism. A fantastic listening experience.
May 4, 2022
Did i not like the first book? Um yeah.
I’m i going to read this? Um yeah.
Update:
Lol i read it. I think I dislike this more than the original.
I’m i going to read this? Um yeah.
Update:
Lol i read it. I think I dislike this more than the original.
Want to read
November 10, 2021ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!!!!! OMG YES, I REALLY WANTED THIS
June 15, 2023
3.75/5
i really enjoyed this! i haven’t read a YA novel in a while so it felt so good to slip back into the easy reading style :)
i adored we were liars so had high expectations for this and it didn’t disappoint.
i do think there could’ve been more to make me hate Pfeff, yes he does horrible things but i think i needed more anger from Carries side to really feel the emotions.
i want to read more from e lockhart now !
i really enjoyed this! i haven’t read a YA novel in a while so it felt so good to slip back into the easy reading style :)
i adored we were liars so had high expectations for this and it didn’t disappoint.
i do think there could’ve been more to make me hate Pfeff, yes he does horrible things but i think i needed more anger from Carries side to really feel the emotions.
i want to read more from e lockhart now !
May 13, 2022
I’ll admit when I read, We Were Liars a few years ago I wasn’t all that impressed. Perhaps its because I wasn’t in the mood for that book when I read it, or it just wasn’t the book for me at the time. No matter what, I decided to try again by reading this one as it’s the prequel and I just wanted to see if the authors writing was for me or not. Was it? Yes. I truly enjoyed this one. Now I want to go back and re-read We Were Liars because I’m so interested in the complexities of the Sinclair family! Not only that, but E. Lockhart weaves her stories almost poetically. You get sucked into her words, into the characters worlds, and it’s hard to look away from the pages. I was DRAWN to these characters and their motivations and seeing how the parents of the kids from We Were Liars (because this is THEIR book) deal with their own traumas was extremely interesting.
I won’t get into the plot because I don’t want to spoil this for potential readers, but I will say that its an excellent addition to the series and I’m really glad the author wrote it. I loo forward to doing a re-read of WWL in the near future.
One thing to note is that this book CAN stand alone. You don’t have to have read We Were Liars to fully enjoy this one. In fact, there aren’t even spoilers for it in this one. It is however the story for the parents from WWL as I mentioned above. I would characterize this as a coming-of-age story/ YA fiction as it deals with prescription drug abuse and even murder.
𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗘𝗖𝗧 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗙𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝗢𝗙:
• We Were Liars
• YA, coming of Age stories
• Beach Reads
𝗠𝗬 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I won’t get into the plot because I don’t want to spoil this for potential readers, but I will say that its an excellent addition to the series and I’m really glad the author wrote it. I loo forward to doing a re-read of WWL in the near future.
One thing to note is that this book CAN stand alone. You don’t have to have read We Were Liars to fully enjoy this one. In fact, there aren’t even spoilers for it in this one. It is however the story for the parents from WWL as I mentioned above. I would characterize this as a coming-of-age story/ YA fiction as it deals with prescription drug abuse and even murder.
𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗘𝗖𝗧 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗙𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝗢𝗙:
• We Were Liars
• YA, coming of Age stories
• Beach Reads
𝗠𝗬 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
February 27, 2022
i think i liked this book more than we were liars…
August 8, 2023
Thank you PRHAudio for the complimentary audiobook! Thank you Getunderlined for the opportunity to read and review.
This audiobook was good. I should have listened to this book before We Were Liars. It would've spoiled some but not much. I want to remember about the aunties and I'm having a hard time remembering. I need to go flip through We Were Liars again to see which aunties is Cadence's mother and who's the aunties for the other girl's mom. It's been 4 books between the first and this prequel, so it's hard for me to remember. I know Aunt Carrie is Johnny's mom. Good thing We Were Liars has the family tree at the beginning of the book!
I like the lemon scavenger hunt game and the Who Am I? game the family plays. I like their family nights. I like the dad's quotes as an advice to get through life. I enjoyed the twists! The audiobook was good because the narrator sings at the singing parts.
This book followed Carrie, the oldest sister of all the aunties to Cadence from We Were Liars. She pines and whines a lot. She yearns for love and attention from boys and whines a lot because she's the ugly duckling among the sisters. But she's also the caretaker. Her sisters go to her to get things done.
I enjoyed both books. They had good lessons learned.
This audiobook was good. I should have listened to this book before We Were Liars. It would've spoiled some but not much. I want to remember about the aunties and I'm having a hard time remembering. I need to go flip through We Were Liars again to see which aunties is Cadence's mother and who's the aunties for the other girl's mom. It's been 4 books between the first and this prequel, so it's hard for me to remember. I know Aunt Carrie is Johnny's mom. Good thing We Were Liars has the family tree at the beginning of the book!
I like the lemon scavenger hunt game and the Who Am I? game the family plays. I like their family nights. I like the dad's quotes as an advice to get through life. I enjoyed the twists! The audiobook was good because the narrator sings at the singing parts.
This book followed Carrie, the oldest sister of all the aunties to Cadence from We Were Liars. She pines and whines a lot. She yearns for love and attention from boys and whines a lot because she's the ugly duckling among the sisters. But she's also the caretaker. Her sisters go to her to get things done.
I enjoyed both books. They had good lessons learned.
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