We Were Liars, Big and Small

"Always do what you are afraid to do."

The Have-Nots always assume a life of privilege is easy, happy, carefree. Money buys happiness, right? Or does it lead to more problems? In e. lockhart's We Were Liars, a girl born into privilege experiences the last summer of her innocence, however feigned it may be. 

Cadence is coming back Beechwood, her family's private island off the coast of Massachusetts, but this summer will be different from the previous summers. This summer isn't carefree. This summer won't be the same even with The Liars. This summer she is recovering. After her accident where she was found washed up on shore with no memory of what happened and the same night her grandfather's house on the island burned down. Now it has been rebuilt, and her aunts and their families are in their respective houses, and Cadence and her mother have returned to their house, Windmere. The problem is the island is haunted by something deeper and darker than just the burning of a house and a lifetime of memories. Something darker happened, but Cadence can't remember anything from that fateful night. 

While her mother obsesses about what Cadence eats and her sleeping habits, Cadence is only interested in the Liars. While she was gone, recovering, she emailed them. Her cousins Johnny and Mirren and Johnny's "stepfather's" nephew, Gat, are the only ones who truly understand the life of a Sinclair. While Gat is technically still (and always will be) an outsider, his summers on the island over the year have given him an insight into their lives that no one else could understand. For Cadence, Gat is the one who could both understand where she comes from and take her away from it all in one fell swoop. Gat is different. But the truth of the night of Cadence's accident hangs over the Liars. As her memories become clearer, she gets closer to the truth and all the nightmares it contains. 

They Were Liars, but most importantly, they couldn't lie to themselves. The Liars saw the darkness that lay within the privileged life on Beechwood, and it was controlling their lives. Their mother's and their family had suffered in ways that couldn't be quantified, yet there was an air that they didn't deserve the sympathy, which set the backdrop for this really amazing story. I have to admit that even I struggled for a bit with this wavering sense of pity and envy. You have everything! How could you want more?! But as you got closer and closer to the big twist, it was hard to even put the book down. The book was written in this beautiful, poetic, deep, flowing language that made me feel like I was a wave lapping at the shore of the island. It was quite the tumultuous ride to get to the end of this book because there was so much depth and bittersweet beauty, it was hard not to linger. 

When you read this book, be prepared to get bowled over. It takes no hostages. Cadence is a deeply damaged girl who can't dig her way out of the carefully medicated oblivion her accident left her in, and the rest of the family is no better. I think I would give this book to those students who needed something to think about, something to ponder, because they will certainly find it in this novel. It is rich with emotion and devastation that can't be fully explained here, so go out and get a copy. You will understand what I am talking about!

Remember the Gallagher Girls?

Cammie Morgan hasn't had the most normal childhood. It doesn't help that she grew up attending a school  for spies, but the real hardship is her father's disappearance. When a covert group called the Circle of Cavan attacks Cammie, she made a huge decision: her friends and family would never be safe with the Circle after her. The only way to keep them safe was to leave the Gallagher Academy. In Ally Carters fifth Gallgher Girls book, Out of Sight, Out of Time, we see Cammie grappling with the consequences of that decision.


Cammie wakes up in a convent in the Alps with no idea of how she got there. Even worse, she finds out she has been missing all summer, and she has no memories of anything since she left the school. She calls her mother and Aunt who come to get her and bring her back to the school, but her loss of memories isn't the only thing plaguing Cammie: the Circle is still out there and they aren't going to rest until they get what they want from her. 


Despite everyone's insistence that she not try to recover her memories, Cammie needs to know what happened in the months she lost. No one at the school trusts her anymore, even her own mother and friends. She starts losing time and doing things unconsciously, like putting together an assault rifle without even knowing how she learned to do so. The only thing Cammie can be sure of anymore is that the memories of summer hold huge secrets, and she isn't afraid to go digging.


This middle reader series has seriously grown up since its first book. This book is the most adult book, in terms of seriousness, not inappropriate content, so far. It really gets to the scary and ugly side of being a spy, which is something that has been sort of glossed over so far. The evolution of Cammie is pretty impressive, and I think readers can grow up along side her character. She has made great sacrifices to protect her friends and family, but the idea that those people would literally put themselves in grave danger to protect her is the most comforting and scariest thought Cammie has ever had. But that is what people who love you do!


This started out a middle reader series, and while still appropriate for middle readers, it is also great for any kid who has transitioned more into the young adult age group but still read the early books in the series. They won't be disappointed as the story gets darker and more serious, and neither will you. It is a great series and although Carter claims to only have one more book planned, I hope she continues the series! 

Best in the Series So Far!

I read the first book because of al the hype, I read the second book because I figured it had to be better than the first book (350 pages of nothing and 50 pages of action at the end), and I read the third book because I had already invested two books into the series and might as well finish it. Imagine my surprise when Silence was actually the best in Becca Fitzpatrick's series!

Nora has been kidnapped. When she wakes up in a graveyard, she doesn't realize how long she has been gone or what has happened to her. She was kidnapped in June, but she has lost everything that happened from April to September when she was found. When she returns home, she finds her mother is now dating Hank Millar- Nora's archenemy Marcie's father. She also gets the feeling people are keeping things from her. Her mother and best friend aren't telling her the entire truth about her life before the kidnapping, but she doesn't know who to trust until Scott Parnell returns. The Nephilim fills her in on the fallen angels and the war with the Nephilim whom the angels possess two weeks out of every year. Nora knows she is somehow involved in the situation, but she isn't sure how.

She also know the stranger Jev is someone she has met in the past, but she can't place him. As she and Scott uncover more and more about Hank Millar, Jev keeps pulling her out of sticky situations. She feels drawn to him, even though she suspects he may be dangerous and is definitely on the opposite side of her friend, Scott. When Jev pulls her from a warehouse where hundreds of Nephilim soldiers are sleeping and would kill her for trespassing, he takes her to his home in the tunnels and reveals who he truly is to Nora- he is really Patch, the one man/angel Nora has loved. Now they must find out what Hank Millar is doing and save Nora's family in the meantime. Hank Millar may have nothing to lose, but Nora has everything in the world to lose now that she has fallen in love with Patch all over again.

This was undoubtedly the best story in the series. many people complain Nora is as whiny and spineless as Bella in Twilight, so it was nice to see her in a whole new light. She is more assertive in this book and gets herself into a lot of trouble because she won't just move on after the kidnapping and forget everything that happened to her. She is determined to get to the bottom of it all. I also, after the last ridiculous book, needed to see her and Patch really fall in love. Her amnesia really made that possible. She was drawn to him, couldn't resist him, and that was the Nora and Patch I originally loved and wanted to see more of!

Finally, Fitzpatrick solved her biggest problem from both original books in the series- she didn't give you 90% filler and 10% action at the very end. The last two books I hated until the very end and then I was left liking the book but still feeling duped or cheated. This book was interesting the whole way through. from start to finish, it was interesting and there was a lot going on. I am surprised how it ended, but now I am actually looking forward to the next installment instead of feeling obligated to read the silly thing! I am glad to see this book redeemed the series, but I still probably wouldn't give this series to a struggling reader. It isn't exciting enough to hold their attention and help them be successful in finishing a whole book. I would leave this for adults (just for sheer boredom's sake- not content) or stronger readers who could make it through the whole thing without giving up because clearly Fitzpatrick saved the best for last!