Have you ever dreamed about a life with considerably more cash? I’m pretty sure we’d all be lying if we claimed we hadn’t thought about what our lives would be like with endless streams of money. That’s the world Lockhart creates within her novel We Were Liars. The Sinclair family have never experienced money issues, and each summer they retreat to their own private island, but no matter how glamorous this may appear on the outside Lockhart definitely brings truth to the expression “money doesn’t buy happiness”
Lockhart depicts the Sinclair family through eldest grandchild Cadence, who’s snarkiness towards her family is highlighted from page one. We meet Cadence in her seventeenth year, although the story focuses on the previous summers as she tries to find answers to an accident that has left her mentally and physically scarred. A member of the Liars, Cadence is bonded with her two cousins, Jonny and Mirren, and family friend Gat. Unsurprisingly, Gat forms the image of our protagonist’s love interest. Predictable elements of young adult fiction aside, We Are Liars is ultimately about a girl trying to desperately find the truth about a horrific fire that left the whole Sinclair family shaken.
It becomes apparent quite early on that the Sinclair family, despite their island and money, are not as perfect as they seem. At the head of the family is Cadence’s Grandfather, who appears more like a dictator desperate to keep hold of the power and money than a man interested in his family’s well being. His daughters, Cadence’s Mother and Aunts, continue this trend, spending the majority of the novel manipulating and fighting, trying to gain the most inheritance. In fact, the ones who seem most unaffected and indifferent to the vast amount of cash are the three Liars, Jonny, Mirren and Gat, with Cadence slowly unlearning the ignorance she was bought up with. Maybe it’s their young age, or outsiders Gat’s influence, but these three characters are definitely portrayed to be the good guys with ambitions and dreams that lie outside their family. This only makes the ending a thousand times worse. Lockhart manages to create characters within a world of mistrust and manipulation who are actually relatable without appearing fake and pretentious.
If I’m honest, it was Lockhart’s writing style that made fall in love with the novel. Although Cadence is hardly a reliable source, her perspective is far from open and objective; the first person narrative is more like poetry, pleasing the English student that lives within me but also making the tale more unclear and ambiguous. This ultimately results in possibly one of the best plot twists I have experienced.
We Are Liars, although relatively short, is a novel that manages to include themes of loss, love, revenge and wealth without seeming too complicated and purposely inclusive. Lockhart ultimately teaches the lesson that whilst money may ultimately provide stability and reassurance, too much of a good thing can and will change people – even those closest to you.
“Be a little kinder than you have to.” – E. Lockhart, We Were Liars.
Words by Megan Stanley