Booktalks Quick and Simple

	Lockhart, E. WE WERE LIARS New York : Delacorte, 2013 IL YA ISBN 038574126X (3 booktalks)
Click on the book to read Amazon reviews	Booktalk #1 The wealthy Sinclair family (or is this the Kennedys?) owns a private island off the coast of Martha's Vineyard. They are beautiful and perfect in every way. Or are they? Here's the first page... *Before continuing, talk about the island map and family tree* READ THE FIRST PAGE I love a good summer story - especially an island summer story, but that's not what I got here, not really. Cadence is our narrator who talks about a particular summer she spends with her cousins Johnny and Mirren, and also Gat Patil (a friend and love interest of Cadence) who often stirs up the family with his political stance on the wealthy - trying to remind them that there are people who are NOT ridiculously loaded with money . They've been summering on the island together as a group for years (the patriarch of the family built three houses on the island besides his own for his three daughters, and these houses are filled with people who have secrets and lie), but this year deserves a special telling, and along the way, we learn that seemingly typical quirky teenager Cadence is damaged - has debilitating migraines and we don't learn why -- until we reach, or so we think, the TRUTH, and the book's end. I may make up a minority in terms of my reaction to the book (how many people have read this?) It seems that people either love or hate the book, but I'm on the fence. I enjoyed the writing and the jagged and a bit confusing plot, but the characters were flat, and I really didn't develop much of an interest in them or what would ultimately happen to them. I think, though, that this might have been Lockhart's intention as the storytelling reflected the inner core of Cadence. Even with that said, I was bored for much of the novel, but when I finished it, I did turn to the first page again to check out a few things. You may find yourself in this position as well. I did appreciate the marketing slogan: Read it. And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE. (Booktalk by NH Flume Committee) Booktalk #2 The Sinclair family is wealthy, beautiful, and living on their own private island. It is here that four teenaged friends known as “the Liars” keep each other’s secrets each summer. Beautifully written and full of tragedy and mystery, this novel will keep readers guessing until the last page. The less you know about this book before reading it, the better, (Booktalk by Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Award Committee) Booktalk #3 Cady has always looked forward to summers on her family’s private island; it’s the only time she sees her cousins Johnny and Mirren and their friend Gat, and the four are an inseparable group, happy being teenagers and unconcerned with inheriting the family’s riches or upholding reputations. The summer they are all fifteen, Cady suffers an accident, leaving her with headaches and memory loss, confused at the strained relationships and secrets everyone seems to be keeping from her when she is able to return to the island at age seventeen. (Booktalk by the Louisiana Young Readers' Choice Committee)
	SUBJECTS: Friendship -- Fiction. Love -- Fiction. Family life -- Fiction. Amnesia -- Fiction. Wealth -- Fiction. Love stories.

Lockhart, E.
WE WERE LIARS

New York : Delacorte, 2013
IL YA
ISBN 038574126X

(3 booktalks)

Click on the book to read Amazon reviews

Booktalk #1

The wealthy Sinclair family (or is this the Kennedys?) owns a private island off the coast of Martha's Vineyard. They are beautiful and perfect in every way. Or are they? Here's the first page...

***Before continuing, talk about the island map and family tree***

READ THE FIRST PAGE

I love a good summer story - especially an island summer story, but that's not what I got here, not really. Cadence is our narrator who talks about a particular summer she spends with her cousins Johnny and Mirren, and also Gat Patil (a friend and love interest of Cadence) who often stirs up the family with his political stance on the wealthy - trying to remind them that there are people who are NOT ridiculously loaded with money . They've been summering on the island together as a group for years (the patriarch of the family built three houses on the island besides his own for his three daughters, and these houses are filled with people who have secrets and lie), but this year deserves a special telling, and along the way, we learn that seemingly typical quirky teenager Cadence is damaged - has debilitating migraines and we don't learn why -- until we reach, or so we think, the TRUTH, and the book's end.

I may make up a minority in terms of my reaction to the book (how many people have read this?)

It seems that people either love or hate the book, but I'm on the fence. I enjoyed the writing and the jagged and a bit confusing plot, but the characters were flat, and I really didn't develop much of an interest in them or what would ultimately happen to them. I think, though, that this might have been Lockhart's intention as the storytelling reflected the inner core of Cadence. Even with that said, I was bored for much of the novel, but when I finished it, I did turn to the first page again to check out a few things. You may find yourself in this position as well.

I did appreciate the marketing slogan: Read it. And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE. (Booktalk by NH Flume Committee)

Booktalk #2

The Sinclair family is wealthy, beautiful, and living on their own private island. It is here that four teenaged friends known as “the Liars” keep each other’s secrets each summer. Beautifully written and full of tragedy and mystery, this novel will keep readers guessing until the last page. The less you know about this book before reading it, the better, (Booktalk by Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Award Committee)

Booktalk #3

Cady has always looked forward to summers on her family’s private island; it’s the only time she sees her cousins Johnny and Mirren and their friend Gat, and the four are an inseparable group, happy being teenagers and unconcerned with inheriting the family’s riches or upholding reputations. The summer they are all fifteen, Cady suffers an accident, leaving her with headaches and memory loss, confused at the strained relationships and secrets everyone seems to be keeping from her when she is able to return to the island at age seventeen. (Booktalk by the Louisiana Young Readers' Choice Committee)

SUBJECTS:    Friendship -- Fiction.
                        Love -- Fiction.
                        Family life -- Fiction.
                        Amnesia -- Fiction.
                        Wealth -- Fiction.
                        Love stories.