“We Were Liars” is a young adult novel written by E. Lockhart. This modern tragedy was read in both of Mrs. McNally’s College English 9 classes and is on both the middle and high school booklists for the 2017 YSU English Festival that Beaver Local partakes in. Going into this book, I was a tiny bit skeptical as I knew that there were some concerns with the wording and plot from the middle school teachers. In the end, though, I didn’t think that it was a bad story.

“We Were Liars” is about a wealthy family called the Sinclair family. Every summer, the family, along with Aunt Carrie’s boyfriend Ed and his nephew Gat, spend their time on the Sinclair private island, Beechwood. One summer, Cadence, the main character, has a horrible accident that causes her to lose her memories of that summer. When she returns to the island during Summer Seventeen, Cadence finally finds the truth out about her accident and why her cousins Johnny and Mirren and her crush Gat never answered her emails.

I thought the whole book was a tad bit too dramatic with the way Ms. Lockhart set it up and that it just sort of dragged near the end. I believe that there was a better way that she could of added closure after the discovery of the death’s of the Liars’ without holding the story out longer than she actually did. Other than that, I thought the book had a great plot and great characters and I can’t wait to hear what the author has to say at the English Festival in April.