Rainbow List of Must-Reads: Blue - We Were Liars

This is the Rainbow List of Must-Reads: Where I review a different one of my favourite books each week! Fifth on our list we have a blue book with a blue cover:

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

      Right. You have to promise me right now that if you happened to have read this wonderful, wonderful book that you won’t tell anyone how it ends? Okay? Right, let’s begin.

 ‘We Were Liars’ has the most magnificent and astonishing ending to a book that I have ever read. It blew my mind. After I’d finished it I closed the book, put it down in front of me and just stared at it for about ten minutes, quietly weeping. It’s that good.

            ‘We Were Liars’ is a book that everyone seems to be raving about. There are countless videos and reviews out there that will tell you almost the same thing about it and it’s ending that I just have. I was worried when I picked it up a few weeks ago from Waterstones that the hype may have ruined it, as it sometimes can. I read the blurb – it gave away nothing – and bought it anyway.

   

         Out of the set of books I bought that day, I read ‘We Were Liars’ first. I was excited to finally get in on this secret that the whole world seemed to be keeping. I sunk into that book like you sink your teeth into a large sandwich after a long day’s work and was soon eating it up at an alarming rate.

   

         I loved the characters. Particularly Gat – he had me at ‘strong coffee’. The book contains some absolutely gorgeous descriptions and personable details making you feel like you could have known these people all of your life.

           E. Lockhart successfully manages to tell a satisfying and captivating story whilst still hiding the mystery from the reader for the duration of the book. She ensnares you into her world of Beechwood Island and teases you with miniscule hints and details until you are absolutely gasping to know what’s going on. When the puzzle finally slides into place, you wonder how you never managed to work it out before.

  

          The only complaint I have heard about ‘We Were Liars’ is it’s interesting choice of writing style. I completely disagree. One of the reasons I fell in love with this book is because it sounds so effortlessly beautiful in my head. It is a graceful combination of prose and poetry that allows Lockhart to display her character’s thoughts and feeling and explore the themes of friendship, love and privilege in the clearest, most elegant way possible. Every sentence was a feast.

  

          Usually in these reviews I like to give you a basic idea of the book’s plotline. I’m not going to do that today. A large part of ‘We Were Liars’’ charm is in its mystery. I feel that if I ruined any part of that then I might accidentally tarnish the experience as a whole. I want you to experience ‘We Were Liars’ in the same way that I did – completely in the dark, without even a clue as to what to expect.

           It’s the kind of book that once you’ve finished reading (and once you’ve finished crying) you feel like you need to make someone else read it too. I realise now that I needn’t have worried about the book’s hype, ‘We Were Liars’ is a book that is immune to exaggerations. The only way it could ever be torn down from its pedestal is if its audience decided to revolt against it, spilling its secret everywhere they could. But where’s the fun in that?

  

          There were some very strong competitors for the blue spot on this list. ‘We Were Liars’ beat them all by a landslide. I have no more words for it today - only a stunned, astounded silence. Just read the damn book, okay?

You can find out more about E. Lockhart here!

You can read the other reviews in the Rainbow List of Must-Reads here: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green!