Lockhart, E. (2014). We were liars. NY: Delecorte Press. Candace is the protagonist in We Were Liars. In the novel, Candace can’t remember what happened on her summer vacation and suffers from headaches. Two years later, Candace dedicates herself to discovering what happened during her summer vacation. The novel ends with Candace remembering what happened. Candace, her two cousins, and her boyfriend decide to burn her family’s island house to stop the greedy family feud for wealth. Unfortunately, all the masterminds except Candace die in the fire, and she realizes that she’s been hanging out with their ghosts. After they leave, Candace goes back to her old life and to her family to start over. I think the intended audience for We Were Liars might be for ages 12 and up. Books that might make good recommendations for follow up reading include All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell, Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han. I believe a lesson that might come from reading We Were Liars is to not be greedy because it can result in constant family fighting, sibling rivalry, and if taken to far, can ultimately lead to death. I think We Were Liars meets the mental developmental criteria because Candace has to deal with temporary memory loss after a summer vacation she can’t recall and is also confronted by ghosts who she believes to be her real cousins and boyfriend until she finally reminisces the unnerving truth.
