We Were Liars

I decided to revisit The Liars after reading the prequel, Family of Liars.

 

I don't typically re-read books, but I felt like there was so much that still didn't make sense. So this re-read was necessary.

The first time I read We Were Liars I left with a meh feeling. It wasn't the worst but it wasn't the best either. There was just enough of mystery to keep me reading. But my review really showed how annoyed I was with main character, Cady. She's not even the annoying one though, it's the moms.

The dynamic between the sisters in Family of Liars really explains their behavior in We Were Liars. The privilege and entitlement is dripping off of them. The Sinclair Family is shrouded in secrets, because that's who they are....criminals, addicts, and liars.

 

Between the two books, I enjoyed Family of Liars more. It's written much clearer, but that may just be because we already know about the odd happenings on Beechwood. But there was a lot that I had forgotten about We Were Liars. My friend and I both remembered a character who wasn't even in the book. It was a trip re-reading this, but I'm glad I did.

Looking for my original review?

We Were Liars

 

Looking for other books by E. Lockhart?

Family of Liars

Genuine Fraud

Family of Liars

Ahhhh, elitism at it's finest.

I keep hearing about this 'tiktok phenomenon' surrounding the book We Were Liars. I don't know if that's the reason Family of Liars was published, but I'd be a-okay with that fact.

We all know the twist in We Were Liars, so I'm not really going to recap it here. But I will say, Family of Liars is written sooooo much better. It's set 27 years earlier on the exact same private island. We know the Sinclair Family is filled with liars, but it seems like they're really just trying to protect their own. The story is told through the eyes of Carrie, the oldest sibling in the original Sinclair Family. She happens to be Johnny's mom, so her story really sheds some light on the bizarre happenings on the island.

It's kind of exactly what I was expecting but better.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for sending me an e-ARC!

Family of Liars by E. Lockhart comes out May 3, 2022!!

Looking for other books by E. Lockhart?

We Were Liars

Genuine Fraud

Answers in the Pages

This book is kind of a book within a book, featuring the challenged book. Pretty typical for David Levithan.

Answers in the Pages is middle grade fiction that tackles topics like censorship and LGBTQIA+ inclusion in classrooms. David Levithan is no stranger to having his books land on a "challenged" or "banned" list. I think that's why Answers in the Pages feels so authentic.

It all starts when Mr. Howe assigns The Adventurers to his 5th grade class. Donovan and his friends have barely started reading the book when his mother decides it's inappropriate. She marches down to the principal's office and demands it be removed from the curriculum. *insert intense eye roll here*

 

If there's one thing I know about readers, it's this....if you ban a book, we're all going to read it to find out what's so bad about it. Which is exactly what the students in Mr. Howe's class do. They've been told that the main characters are gay, and not just two best friends going on adventures together. They argue that with the parental interruption, many of them never got to read the book from any other perspective.

There's talk of rallying the troops against this homosexual book. There are even accusations that the school board is allowing an openly gay teacher to indoctrinate their children. I don't know if it's like this everywhere, but I've heard those exact phrases when books at my own school were being challenged.

This book really shows who is affected when things like this are brought up in such a public forum. It hurts everyone when books are challenged or banned. It creates a stigma for LGBTQIA+ kids who are still trying to figure who they are. I have high hopes for the generation going through school in the 2020s. They're going to break the cycle.

Huge thanks to NetGalley, Random House Children's, and Knopf Books for Young Readers for sending me an e-arc of this book!

Answers in the Pages by David Levithan comes out May 10, 2022!

Looking for other David Levithan Books?

Every Day (Every Day #1)

Another Day (Every Day #2)

Someday (Every Day #3)

Will Grayson, Will Grayson (WG #1)

Hold Me Closer (WG #2)

The Realm of Possibility

Adventure Dogs

I read Gizelle's Bucket List right after I got my very own rescue pup. I dove headfirst into the world of dog books....fiction, nonfiction, short stories. It didn't matter, because I was obsessed.

When I saw Adventure Dogs by Fern Watt, I pre-ordered it immediately.

Adventure Dogs was written a little different but it was still filled with Watt's witty humor and devout love for her dog, Bette. She ditched the memoir outline and opted for bite sized essays with full page dog photos to reference. While Gizelle had a bucket list, Bette has an adventure checklist.

Each essay is written with the help of a dog professional, whether that be a dog trainer, photographer, or masseuse. Everyone brought their own dogs into the story. Andrew and his dog Kicker often find themselves paragliding together. Jessica and her dachshunds hiked over 14,000 miles to the peak of Mount Elbert. Ryan even takes his pup surfing!

There are checklists throughout the book to use with your own dogs. I highly doubt I'll be taking my senior dog surfing anytime soon. But tomorrow we'll have a sandwich date, maybe hit the bookstore, and even take a smell walk. But that doesn't mean my pup, Sophie, hasn't lived a crazy life. My husband and I have joked that we need to get her a passport to document everywhere she's been with us. She's been on several international flights and rode on the train. She's felt the snow beneath her paws, and the sand between her toes. It's mentioned in this book how easily we accept dogs as our own and it's true. The moment I held Sophie, I knew we were going to be together for a long time.

Looking for other books by Lauren Fern Watt?

Gizelle's Bucket List: My Life with a Very Large Dog

Anatomy

This book is not quite what I thought it was.

I picked this up on a whim for two reasons. One being that GORGEOUS cover, two being that Reese Witherspoon chose it for her YA bookclub.

It's set during the 19th Century in Scotland and follows Hazel Sinnet's dream of becoming a doctor. Back then, women weren't allowed to have dreams like Hazel's. They were expected to marry and host tea and dinner parties, all while trying to stay invisible.

But Hazel has a plan. She's a classic middle child, so her parents never really catch on to her doings. She enrolls in classes as her brother, George, who passed away years earlier. If she has to become a doctor under the guise of George Hazelton, so be it.

During her studies, she runs into a boy named Jack. He's not a grave robber, but he is a resurrection man. He makes a living digging up recently buried bodies and selling them to scientists and physicians. Hazel enlists Jack as her partner in crime. She needs bodies to study, he needs money. The unlikely duo strike up a whirlwind romance and the story goes from there.

 

It's not a bad story, but I felt like the writing was very surface level. It just felt very YA to me. But it is a great concept and I would definitely read a sequel. 

Looking for the rest of the series?

Immortality

The Family Next Door

The Family Next Door is hard to review.

I feel like it's safe to say, we all remember what went on in The Turpin Family. So I'm not going to talk about the abuse they suffered at the hands of their parents. Instead I'm going to talk about how brave these kids were.

Jordan was 17 years old when she made the 911 call that ultimately saved them. She told the dispatcher she's not allowed outside. She didn't know the word 'medication'. She tells police that her siblings knew she was taking pictures of them in their vulnerable state because that's what she needed to help them. And it worked.

John Glatt's book stops right after their parents plead guilty. He speaks about the kids time in the hospital, the adult kids being placed with a custodian, and the younger siblings being spread out across two foster homes. But he doesn't talk about how some of the siblings were re-victimized in their new homes. While they are now learning how to live, they continue to see the evil side of humanity.

 

It breaks my heart to hear they went from one horrible living situation to another. But seeing Jordan post about her new life and sharing posts about her siblings lets me know that they're gonna make it. They've been through the worst of the worst. But now they can live life on their own terms.

 

Looking for other books by John Glatt?

The Perfect Father

The Doomsday Mother

Tangled Vines