We Were Liars

We Were Liars is a 2014 psychological horror young-adult novel by E. Lockhart. The novel has received critical acclaim and won the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Young Adult Fiction. It was also listed as an ALA Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults for 2015. We Were Liars focuses on the theme of consequences of one's mistakes. It is centered on the wealthy, seemingly perfect Sinclair family, who spend every summer sitting gathered on their private island. However, not every summer is the same—when something happens to Cadence during the summer of her fifteenth year, the four "Liars" (Cadence, Johnny, Gat and Mirren) re-emerge two years later to prompt Cadence to remember the incident. Plot Cadence Sinclair Eastman is the eldest grandchild of the wealthy Harris Sinclair. Although her family pretends to be perfect, Cadence knows that beneath the surface, the wealth and privilege have taken an insidious toll on her family and any unhappiness or odd behavior is ignored or repressed to perpetuate the image of refinement. Harris has three daughters, Cadence's mother Penny, and her aunts Carrie and Bess. Harris owns an island called Beechwood Island near Martha's Vineyard and has built a home for himself called Clairmont along with a house for each of his daughters. The Sinclairs spend their summers on the island. Cadence and the other older cousins (Johnny and Mirren) along with Gat Patil (the nephew of Carrie's partner Ed) are known by the family as "The Liars". The summer Cadence is fifteen, which she refers to as Summer Fifteen, Gat and Cadence fall in love and begin a relationship.