E. Lockhart's WE WERE LIARS is masterful

"A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, 
political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth."
(From the We Were Liars book jacket)

Cady Eastman is the oldest grandchild in the Sinclair family, a family that has wealth and the stature to pull it off. Every summer Harris, the family patriarch, his three daughters, and their families vacation together on an island off Massachusetts, Beachwood. The three sisters fight and bicker over the family fortune and try to involve their children in their greedy schemes. The oldest children---Cady, Mirren, Johnny, and his friend, Gat---call themselves "The Liars" and they want nothing to do with the adult schemes.  During Cady's fifteenth year, she calls it Summer 15, there is a horrible accident in which she bangs her head. Afterwards she suffers from debilitating migraines and amnesia. Summer 17 Cady returns to the island hoping to find answers and relief from her symptoms as she interacts with her cousins and her family members. What she discovers isn't what she expects, or what the reader expects, either.

Half way through this short book I still wasn't sure if this story was a romance, an adventure, a mystery, a fairy tale, or perhaps a horror story. The story unfolded bit by bit until the surprising and shocking ending. No spoilers here, you will have to read the book to find out what happened.

“E. Lockhart is one of our most important novelists, and she has given us her best book yet. Thrilling, beautiful, and blisteringly smart, We Were Liars is utterly unforgettable.” –John Green, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Fault in Our Stars

“Surprising, thrilling, and beautifully executed in spare, precise, and lyrical prose. . . Lockhart’s latest is unlike anything she’s done before….We Were Liars is poised to be big.” — Booklist, starred review

This is truly a book that could and should be read in one sitting. I hope we add it to our Mock Printz list for the Fall.  Though the main character and narrator is female I think there is enough adventure and mystery in the book to attract male readers.

(Quotes are from Emily Lockhart's webpage.)

30 books this Summer Reading Challenge

9 / 30 books. 30% done!