Life at Clairmont
Kayla Konstantopoulos
We Were Liars
By E. Lockhart
Being on an island with your best friends seems like it would be the time of your life until some unanticipated "accidents" happen. In the book, We Were Liars by E. Lockhart, a girl named Cadence explains how what was supposed to be a great getaway to an island every summer turns into what no one wanted it to be.
Four kids, known as “The Liars”, go to their grandparent's island, Beechwood, every year. Johnny, Mirren, Cadence, and Johnny’s friend, Gat. In summer 14, Gat and Cadence got really close but he came back with a girlfriend the next summer. Gat broke up with his girlfriend to be with Cadence, they kissed and she thought they were in love until the unexpected happened. Cadence got into an accident in the ocean when she was alone, and she was in the hospital but Gat never called. She couldn’t remember anything and had so many questions, as she shows when she says, “I tack the pages to the wall above my bed. I add sticky notes with questions” (76). She had amnesia and got headaches all the time so instead of going to the island for Summer 16, she went to Europe with her dad. She started to miss the other liars so she called and emailed them every day, but no one ever replied. Summer 17 came around and her parents agreed she would spend four weeks in Beechwood and the rest with her dad. No one was supposed to help Cadence remember anything because the doctors said she had to remember on her own. When she arrived at Beechwood all the liars jumped up and hugged her, then when Johnny and Mirren go into the water her and Gat sat down next to each other. Johnny, Mirren, and Cadence all sit down to talk and Cadence asks, “‘Why did Gat disappear? Do you know? He told me I don’t know the real him’” (125), Mirren then leaves because she doesn’t want to tell her the truth. Johnny then starts to tell Cadence more about summer 15 to help her remember, he tells her about the fire that burned down Clairmont, Clairmont is a part of the island with the house they all stay in, and she starts to remember more about it, “We set the fire and it is burning down Clairmont. We set it. Me, Johnny, Mirren, and Gat. I remember this now” (151). She remembers the fire but nothing that happened after that. (The night of the fire was the same night Cadence’s accident happened) Why did she go into the water alone at night? Did she really have a head injury from that? Did something else happen? Where was everyone else? To have all of these fascinating questions answered you’ll have to read E. Lockhart’s book, We Were Liars.
In my opinion, this book was very interesting and intriguing. I found myself reading this book whenever I could. I really enjoyed this book because most of the time, it left you with a cliffhanger and a new question on each page, which made you want to read more and more each time. The novel has many themes: there are consequences for your mistakes and always value family. These themes are represented by them setting the fire at Clairmont and how the Sinclair family, who seemed to be “perfect” going to their private island every summer, actually isn't perfect at all. Also, what actually happened the night of the fire and Cadence’s accident will leave you with many mixed emotions. I would recommend this book to people who are interested in love and mysterious books since it’s really a mix of both.
We Were Liars
By E. Lockhart
Being on an island with your best friends seems like it would be the time of your life until some unanticipated "accidents" happen. In the book, We Were Liars by E. Lockhart, a girl named Cadence explains how what was supposed to be a great getaway to an island every summer turns into what no one wanted it to be.
Four kids, known as “The Liars”, go to their grandparent's island, Beechwood, every year. Johnny, Mirren, Cadence, and Johnny’s friend, Gat. In summer 14, Gat and Cadence got really close but he came back with a girlfriend the next summer. Gat broke up with his girlfriend to be with Cadence, they kissed and she thought they were in love until the unexpected happened. Cadence got into an accident in the ocean when she was alone, and she was in the hospital but Gat never called. She couldn’t remember anything and had so many questions, as she shows when she says, “I tack the pages to the wall above my bed. I add sticky notes with questions” (76). She had amnesia and got headaches all the time so instead of going to the island for Summer 16, she went to Europe with her dad. She started to miss the other liars so she called and emailed them every day, but no one ever replied. Summer 17 came around and her parents agreed she would spend four weeks in Beechwood and the rest with her dad. No one was supposed to help Cadence remember anything because the doctors said she had to remember on her own. When she arrived at Beechwood all the liars jumped up and hugged her, then when Johnny and Mirren go into the water her and Gat sat down next to each other. Johnny, Mirren, and Cadence all sit down to talk and Cadence asks, “‘Why did Gat disappear? Do you know? He told me I don’t know the real him’” (125), Mirren then leaves because she doesn’t want to tell her the truth. Johnny then starts to tell Cadence more about summer 15 to help her remember, he tells her about the fire that burned down Clairmont, Clairmont is a part of the island with the house they all stay in, and she starts to remember more about it, “We set the fire and it is burning down Clairmont. We set it. Me, Johnny, Mirren, and Gat. I remember this now” (151). She remembers the fire but nothing that happened after that. (The night of the fire was the same night Cadence’s accident happened) Why did she go into the water alone at night? Did she really have a head injury from that? Did something else happen? Where was everyone else? To have all of these fascinating questions answered you’ll have to read E. Lockhart’s book, We Were Liars.
In my opinion, this book was very interesting and intriguing. I found myself reading this book whenever I could. I really enjoyed this book because most of the time, it left you with a cliffhanger and a new question on each page, which made you want to read more and more each time. The novel has many themes: there are consequences for your mistakes and always value family. These themes are represented by them setting the fire at Clairmont and how the Sinclair family, who seemed to be “perfect” going to their private island every summer, actually isn't perfect at all. Also, what actually happened the night of the fire and Cadence’s accident will leave you with many mixed emotions. I would recommend this book to people who are interested in love and mysterious books since it’s really a mix of both.
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