We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Teen

Cadence is part of the group of Liars. Her family gets together each summer on their family's exclusive island and Cadence hangs out with the other Liars, her two cousins and one of their friends of a same age. When she was fifteen, Cady had a horrible accident and hit her head while she was out swimming. She can't remember anything so can't explain why she was in the ocean by herself and where her clothes were. Her mother keeps her away from the island the next summer but Cady wants to remember. The second summer Cady returns to the island hoping to find answers.

The family are rich and entitled. They have their own island with four cottages to spend the summer and the grandfather with all the money is getting old. All the sisters are fighting each other for the money and using their grandchildren to try and manipulate the father. Reading it makes you feel dirty and sad knowing that this shit is happening somewhere for real. The drama was a bit over the top for me though. I don't mind good family drama, I've read my share of Jodi Picoult books and enjoyed them, but this was on a whole other level. There wasn't really a character to ground the drama either. Cady was whiny and ridiculous and the other Liars weren't in the book enough for us to understand who they really were.

Plus, we never found out why there were called the "Liars"?

First Line: "Welcome to the beautiful Sinclair family."

Rating:
(3.5/5)

Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult

Fiction

When Jack enters the small town of Salem Falls, he's just looking for a fresh start. Just released from jail for sexual assault on a minor, a crime he did not commit, he wants to be in a place where no one knows about him. Jack ends up finding a job as a dishwasher at the local diner, run by Addie. Addie herself has a pretty bleak past, with her daughter being the product of a rape and then dying at an early age. The two become friends quickly, then lovers, and they learn about each other's past.

Others in Salem Falls are not happy that a convicted rapist is in their town and set out to scare him away. Jack ends up in pretty much exactly the same situation he was when he was charged with sexual assault, in this story of what happens when you are wrongly accused and convicted of a crime you did not do.

Picoult's stories always have good character development and lots of drama. I hadn't read one of hers for a while, so it was a nice break from the other books I've been reading, but I find that I can never read too many of her novels close together because there is so much drama. This book, like all her others, was very easy to get in to and had me completely engaged. I was frustrated for Jack and the injustices he was experiencing. There was a good twist at the end that I didn't see coming, but that made complete sense.

First Line: "Several miles in to his journey, Jack St. Bride decided to give up his former life."

Rating:
(4/5)