We Were Liars Best Fiction for Young Adults

Lockhart, E. (2014). We were liars. NY: Delecorte Press.

Candace Sinclair is a seventeen year old, protagonist in We Were Liars. She spends each summer with her extended family at her grandparents’ island in Massachusetts. Even though it appears that the family has everything they are broken. She spends most of her summer with Johnny, Mirren, and Gat. They refer to themselves as the Liars. When Candace was fifteen she had an accident and cannot remember what happened on her summer vacation. She suffers from crippling migraines. Two years later, Candace devotes herself to discovering what happened during her summer vacation. She begs everyone to help her remember, but they continuously tell her she must remember herself. The novel ends with Candace remembering what happened. The Liars decide to burn Candace’s family island house to stop the greedy family feud for wealth. Unfortunately, all the Liars except Candace die in the fire, and she realizes that she’s been hanging out with their ghosts. After they leave, Cadence is overwhelmed at the loss of the Liars, but realizes that perhaps in a sickening way it brought some peace to the family.

 The intended audience for We Were Liars might be for ages 13 and up. Recommendations for follow up reading include Before I die by J. Downham and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han. This modern realistic fiction story serves as a lesson that money does not always buy happiness. 
Image of  We were liars (n.d.). Retrieved April 10, 2016, from http://www.amazon.com