We Were Liars – a book published in 2014 became a TikTok phenomenon in 2020, shooting it up to the bestseller’s lists. Since I received an ARC of the prequel – I ended up reading We Were Liars in a day, after the author warned that the prequel contained a major spoiler for book one. Now, I breathlessly tread through book one – We Were Liars. The mystery, the allure of the Sinclairs – it all aided in me needing to know answers right away. The prequel is set in the 80s and we meet the aunts as teens.

Although this book had more twists and secrets than the first one, I somehow wasn’t as compelled to rush read – but I still enjoyed the journey and spending time with the very wealthy but dysfunctional family Sinclair. I’d love to see another book but from another Sinclair, Yardley, the cousin whose family eventually falls out of touch with the rest of the Sinclairs in the first book.

If you loved We Were Liars, then you’re going to love Family of Liars. It has the same type of writing style and mystery and it’s basically just a very fun, dark time.

*Thank you so much to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I loved We Were Liars and was nervous as to whether we “needed” a Sinclair family prequel. Oh but we did. Lockhart gives readers so much more detail and insight into this family, and this time we get .a lot of character development explaining just how things went so wrong and led the the tragedy in We We’re Liars. I loved learning about the characters without Cadence’s memory problems requiring that so much be left out. I also appreciated that this novel gave me some new perspectives on the first book. Not with crazy twists changing everything I thought I knew, but by helping me understand the parents and seeing them as more complex than before. Definitely a great read!

I loved We Were Liars and had to read this one. This family has so much drama. I loved not seeing the twists coming in this one. Getting to hear about Caroline's past was very eye opening. It makes you see the sisters in a new light. I will be reading more from this author. Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Children's for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I have a confession to make — I have a love/hate relationship with We Were Liars. On the one hand, I read it all in one night, staying up way, way past my bedtime. On the other hand, I have spent the four years since then complaining loudly about it whenever possible. I read it just a few weeks after my first child was born — sleep deprived and emotional, I ended my night reading it in rage-fueled tears. To say I felt a lot about that book would be an understatement, even if I couldn’t ever quite figure out if those feelings were positive or negative.

Family of Liars, however, had the opposite effect on me. It was absolutely dull. Filled with family drama, angst, betrayal, deaths, ghosts, and secrets on top of secrets, this book sounds like it should be thrilling, and yet it is absolutely nothing but yawn inducing. Overworked writing and characters that are both boring and unsympathetic, this book brings very, very little to the table. Not worth the time.

Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

We Were Liars was one of my favorite books that I had read in 2014 and I loved so much being back in that world. I loved this prequel and it was the perfect dose of being with this family again. I will be purchasing this book for the library.

A great prequel to We Were Liars. I enjoyed the mom's story of her as a teenager growing up on the island and her conversing with her son.

I ended up doing this as audio rather than the text, but I absolutely loved it! Goodreads review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4549911365

Good prequel for We Were Liars! As an 80s baby I enjoyed the references. While We Were Liars, I believe, is the better book, the prequel gives the reader some insight to the eventual events of WWL.

While I preferred We We’re Liars over the prequel, it is likely just because I read that book first. For those new to the author, get ready for a multitude of twists!

This was such a good thriller! It kept me guessing and intrigued the whole time! The characters were likable and well developed. I would definitely recommend this to everyone!

This read was just what I needed to get out of a slump I have been in! It was engaging, easy to fall into and kept me thoroughly entertained. I love it when a story becomes like an afternoon spent with a good friend and "restores your soul" with its goodness and delight. This is a book of that nature. It is sure to bring a smile to your face and it will not disappoint!

I was a fan of We Were Liars long before it was TIkTok famous -- so I was excited for Family of Liars. This story is about the adults from We Were Liars when they were children. I honestly think I enjoyed this more than the first one!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Loved the first book and loved the prequel. Pulled me in right away

4.25 stars
My 8th graders will love this book

I enjoyed this follow up to We Were Liars even more than the first book. The backstory of the family, the unreliable narrator and the setting of the private island all were enjoyable.

In what appears to be a new tradition from YA authors, Family of Liars has author E. Lockhart returning to a book world that she first wrote about years ago. And thought Family of Liars was a quick and interesting read it was absolutely unnecessary.

I will start off by saying that I very much liked We Were Liars when I first read it and I even enjoyed it when I reread it a few years later so that I could refresh my memory when I assigned it for my teen book club. The unreliable narrator, especially given that the reader is pretty much told right away to expect that the narrator is unreliable, and the twists were pretty groundbreaking.

Family of Liars was told in almost the same way, it just wasn't done as well which is why I think the book itself is unnecessary. We've already seen that family on the island. We've already seen that family talking to ghosts. And we've already seen members of that family lying their asses off.

Overall, I actually did enjoy the book for what it was. I just don't think it really needed to have been written.

I was so excited to see Family of Liars on NetGalley because I really loved We Were Liars. This prequel didn't have quite the shock value of We Were Liars, but I loved the book just the same. I loved going back in time to learn about the previous generation of Sinclairs. They are a family that has their own way of functioning due to their wealth and traditions. But as always, the teenagers in a family question the norms and do their own thing, often with troubling results. This was a very satisfying and quick read.

Fans of Lockhart will thrill to see her return to the island where family secrets and summer idylls are guaranteed to bring surprises.

I really wanted to love this prequel to We Were Liars by e. lockhart but it just fell short for me. There was a lot of background for WWL but I did not feel that it enhanced it much. Had I not read WWL it may have been a different read. But I do recommend WWL! ⭐️⭐️⭐️

In this prequel to We Were Liars, we visit the island off the coast of Massachusetts with the Sinclair family in the 80s. Carrie is the eldest daughter, with her youngest sister, Rosemary, having drowned the summer before. The family returned this year without acknowledging the missing family member. Then, a boat full of boys arrives at the island with a lot of drama for the Sinclair girls. The sisters have to navigate their new life with some betrayal and mistakes along the way.

This prequel starts off with spoilers for We Were Liars, so it shouldn’t be read first. Carrie narrated the story as her adult self looking back on that particular summer where her life changed. It was similar to We Were Liars in the way that it was the same family on the same island but it was quite different as well.

This story was a lot darker than We Were Liars. There were serious issues, such as drug and alcohol abuse, drowning, murder, cheating, and homophobia. Some of these scenes were really uncomfortable, but they also honestly showed the flaws in this upper class family, which led to the events of We Were Liars.

Family of Liars was a great prequel to We Were Liars.

Thank you Penguin Teen Canada for providing a digital copy of this book.

From the first paragraph, I knew this book would be a good one. I immersed myself into the book from the first chapter and I cannot say enough good things about this book! Honestly amazing! The writing is incredible and the plot is just one to die for. I am absolutely obsessed with this book. My favorite part would have to be the character development throughout the book. Character development is something I look forward to and this book did not disappoint.