We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

I know I say this a lot, but this book has been talked about a great deal on Twitter. I ordered it about a month ago but I was doing some adult reading so I gave it to my niece to read. I just got it back the other day and read it in one sitting- it is that good! We Were Liars is the story of a well off family who summer on a private island off the coast of Massachusetts. This family has everything they could ever want. On the island there are four homes- one for the grandparents and one for each of their daughters and their children. But all summer long, the children swim, eat, boat and hang out together. They live for their summers on the island. The 3 oldest children- Mirren, Cadence, Johnny, and his best friend Gat are inseparable each and every summer. They are called the Liars because they are always up to mischief. The 15th summer on the island starts out as normal, but then tragedy strikes and life for Cady is not what it once was. The remainder of the book is about Cady trying to get her memories back of the one night that changed everything she has ever known. I loved this story! Really, really loved it. I found it hard to keep all of the characters straight at the beginning of the novel, but as soon as I realized the story was about Cady, Johnny, Gat and Mirren, I didn't worry much about the other characters. I felt a very big connection to the grandfather in the story. He loved his family above all else and held them to a pretty high standard, there were many things about him that reminded me of my own relationship with my grandfather. The setting of this story is what every child would want out of a summer- swimming, beaches, barbecue suppers and lots of family. The mystery behind what happened in the fifteenth summer is unveiled slowly in the later part of the book and the ending totally shocked me. There is a bit of language in the book that some might not appreciate, but I wouldn't hesitate to have it in my grade 7 classroom at all. As a matter of fact I will be recommending it to lots of readers in the future!