#e.lockhart

[elockhartbooks]

want for nothing. except the truth. WE WERE LIARS premieres june 18 on prime video.

I'm so excited for you all to see this show, based on my novel of the same name. xo E

[benevolentlibraryghost]

Rich dysfunctional family has tragic summers on their private island

Was this book necessary? Not really. Was this book better than we were liars? No. Was it as good as we were liars? Maybe. But was it a good book? Hell yeah.

SPOILER ALERT FOR WE WERE LIARS

In this novel, Caroline (Carrie) Lennox Taft Sinclair answers a question her deceased son Johnny asks her: “What is the worst thing you did when you were my age?” 

So she tells him about her teenage years, and how she battled with addiction, sorrow and guilt. The reason she felt any of this is not something I will go into in this review, as it will give many spoilers about the book.

Carrie tells Johnny about the summers she spent on the family island, and the relationship she had with her sisters and parents. She tells him about the summer the boys came and everything that happened.

At first, I was skeptical about this book. I had heard mixed reviews and wasn’t sure if this book was going to be as good as I hoped it would be. Now, this book wasn’t as amazing as the first. It didn’t make me sob as we were liars (like 6 times), but it had me hooked from the beginning to the end. The book answered questions that remained after finishing we were liars. 

Most importantly, the book gives insight into what the Sinclair family is like. It shows the values the family members share, their lies and betrayals and secrets. Therefore, it might even be necessary to read this book in order to fully understand the first one. I wasn’t as blown away or shocked or emotional as I was with the first book, but the book was enjoyable and gripping enough for me. Furthermore, I got emotional, and that is a natural plus point. 

Rating: 5/5  Family game nights

[gayestlibrarianever]

I personally loved this book once it got started and the language really got to me. I was really intrigued at the end and frustrated to my core at the lack of truth and it annoyed me so much. But the end so satisfying and sad but too sad, like remaining grief that lingers. 10/10 would definitely recommend

[feuilly-cakes]

Family Of Liars - E. Lockhart - 4* Review

I can’t say I loved this as much as We Were Liars. I’m not even sure if the reason I enjoyed it so much was because of my love of the first book or if it is just a genuinely good book. I loved finding out about the history on the Sinclair family, seeing the little nuggets of information that we weren’t privy to in the first book, the tension of wondering what exactly this big, terrible secret was going to be. I’m not so sure the writing style of the first book was entirely effective when used here, though. I didn’t really like the use of fairytales like I did in We Were Liars, and the weird line breaks didn’t make me feel the words more strongly like they did before. I do love a good plot twist though, a big reveals are very much my kind of thing.

The only thing I felt a bit icky about was the whole thing of using sexuality as some plot twist or excuse for bad behaviour. It felt very sudden and slapdash, like there needed to be an excuse and then once it was used it was barely mentioned again.

All in all, I did enjoy this book and I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who loved We Were Liars.

Big thanks to netgalley for providing me with a digital arc in exchange for an honest review!

[msmarymillspaulos]

Gloucester Beach Bass Rocks - 1924

Edward Hopper 1882-1967

The island is ours. Here, in some way, we are young forever.

E. Lockhart

[benevolentlibraryghost]

Life is worth the heartache

We were liars is one of my favorite novels of all time. When the summer comes, I sit in my garden and I read it in two days and heavily cry about it. Having said that, it should be no surprise that when I saw Again, Again in my favorite bookstore, I immediately wanted to read it. 

E. Lockhart writes about life in a way that makes you feel seen and heard. Her writing style resembles YA and romance and poetry (seeing as some important sentences are divided among several lines, the words distributed to highlight their meaning). She has again (,again) been able to capture me. I was almost dehydrated when I finished because it was so good and I couldn’t put the book down.

This story is simple yet complicated. It is unique. It is a sensitive portrayal of grief and the complexity of emotions. Because “you can be talky and paint your fingernails and still be very sad” (page 78).

Even though I in no way could relate to Adelaide’s situation - I do not walk dogs, my brother is not a recovering addict, I have never had intriguing but stupid boys dump me and I am not postponing an art project - I felt her emotions with her. Because they are a part of life. They are a part of the joys and pain of loving others and of trying to love yourself.

Short summaries are difficult for this one, because the book is actually a short story stretched out, because it takes place in multiple universes. Lockhart chose one font for the life that is lived, and another for all the other lives that could have been lived if things have gone differently. This concept is not unique, wondering what would have happened if you got the chance to relive the moment and change your actions, but it is displayed in a unique way in this story. It shows how fragile life and love are, as well as worth living despite the possible outcomes. 

Adelaide Buchwald is trying to survive her summer in which her brother is just recovering, her boyfriend just broke her heart and she is on academic probation. For work, she walks the dogs of the teachers at her boarding school. On one of her dog walks, she meets Jack, a boy she met a few years ago at a party. He wrote a poem for her then and she is hoping that he will remember her and love her. The story progresses in the ‘main’ universe, occasionally paused to tell what happened in alternative ones. I found this interesting, seeing parts of life that are not told by the characters, but still very much there. 

It also got complex towards the end. After everything in her life goes south, Adelaide calls her brother in tears and explains him what happened in the ‘main’ universe. This is followed by the final part of the book, the story summarized in one alternative universe. It is therefore unclear what happens to Adelaide if you merely look at her life in terms of study success and whether or not she has a boyfriend. But Lockhart captured her life as so much more than that. Because this is not a romance novel, but a book about discovering and accepting yourself.

“She would love herself, even with her sadness and her distractibility, her defenses and her failures.” (page 283)

Rating: 5 / 5 egg yolks of misery

[daisiesjames]

We Were Liars - E. Lockhart.

☆☆☆☆☆.5

"𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴. 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳."

[idkbooktings-blog]