We Were Liars

I can’t quite determine if I liked this book after reading it. I was taken back by the twist ending, but this book had so much more potential to become a Young Adult literary staple classic had the characters been more dimensional.

I was on board for another Gossip Girl storyline, but it felt as though this story was missing significant details to really push the characters and establish reader to character relations.

I enjoyed the writing style. Mysteries and thrillers need to have strong word economy to keep me hooked as they are my least favorite genres. It had more sophistication to be an adult fiction novel if it weren’t for the simple plotlines and teenage atmosphere.

This was one of those books that I enjoyed while reading but once it was over, I was ready for something else. If it weren’t for the ending, I probably would have wondered why I picked up the book in the first place. I was more intrigued by the reviews than the summary. No one would give a detailed explanation of the summary and now I understand why. It’s the kind of book that has small details the build to a major plot twist and none can be revealed without dropping obvious clues about what the climax twist is.

I would only recommend this book to people who are interested in either writing mystery or need an example on how to improve a mystery through character development and avoiding overly used stereotypes.