I loved reading about the older generation of We Were Liars. Well-developed characters and great plot.

Family of Liars is an unputdownable thriller that keeps you up all night. Written by master storyteller E. Lockhart, Family of Liars transports readers to a windswept private island off the coast of Massachusetts and tells the story of another Sinclair generation as they grapple with secrets, addiction, and betrayal.

I was a little surprised that this book is considered “young adult”, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I actually preferred this prequel to its predecessor, “We Were Liars”. “Family of Liars” begins with the mother, Carrie, talking to the ghost of her dead son when he asks her about the worst thing she ever did. The remainder of the book is spent in the last with Carrie recounting her younger years. It was a case of how more money can often equate to more problems. Carrie’s grandfather bought an island where he build three homes. Those three homes are now owned by his sons who stay in two of the homes each summer while one home is utilized as a guest house. The summer she focuses on was different because her uncle allows her cousin to bring her boyfriend and two of his friends. Without giving away too much about the book, I will say that we learn about the traumas in her life, yet she was taught to always put a smile on her face and never complain, so Carrie depends on pills to help her get by after. The book is well written. It was a little slow to start, but once I gave it a chance flew through it.

Welcome back to the Sinclair family, where everyone is a liar. In this prequel to We We’re Liars we are introduced to the summer that started all the lies. A summer full of love and betrayal. Sunshine and dark nights filled of secrets.

A nice fast read just like the book before. The short chapters make this breeze by. Carrie is a strong main character with a lot of potential, but a bit mistrusting. I felt there was a bit of the same plot as We Were Liars which made this a bit predictable, but I was still caught off guard with the little twist at the end. All around, solid read!

In this prequel to “We Were Liars,” We are back in Beechwood, a private island owned by the wealthy Sinclairs, but this time we are following the story of Cady's aunt Carrie. Again, we the many secrets that this family has.

For a prequel, this was great. I adore We Were Liars so I had high hopes for this one and was excited to dive back into the Sinclair family’s story. I was not disappointed at all.

Good, somewhat predictable, yet satisfying read. It’s been a decade since I’ve read “We Were Liars” but resuming the twisty tale was not difficult. Lockhart does a fantastic job of narrating another casually familiar but completely disturbing story of family, friendship, and privilege. I blew through this book in a Saturday afternoon and enjoyed every tawdry minute of it.

Suspenseful/thrilling/scary and thought provoking. I had not read the previous book but the info presented by the author was perfect to fill me in and not bog down this book

4.5/5 ⭐️

So fascinating. Kept my interest the whole time. Kept the same style of writing that I loved in awe Were Liars and I appreciated that. It was twisty and spooky. I really enjoyed this book and thought it answered a lot of questions for me about the Sinclair Sisters and how they behaved as children.

Overall a great read!!! Would recommend

Like so many others, I was blown away by E. Lockhart's We Were Liars. It was such a gut-wrenching story that I knew I wanted to read the prequel, Family of Liars. While not as strong as the first book, I appreciate the Sinclair family much more after reading about what happened to the previous generation.

Unfortunately, most of what I would want to say would create spoilers for anyone who has not read the first book, and that is something I do not want to do. I can say that Family of Liars is just as atmospheric and that setting still captivates me. I particularly enjoyed the chance to understand the family better, and much of the dynamics that play out in We Were Liars make a lot more sense now. You do have to read that one before you get to Family of Liars, but that is Ms. Lockhart's intention anyway, so you lose nothing by reading the prequel last. Either way, you are in for a delicious, mysterious treat!

I purchased this book for my high school library. My students have enjoyed it. and it has circulated well.

In this prequel to "We Were Liars," we learn about the generation before and how Beechwood Island came to be.

I loved "We Were Liars" and was excited to read this. However, I felt this story was derivative and not needed.

This book was a DNF for me. I loved the first one and even tho it was sad, it was still one of my favorites that I read that year. This one started off sad and just continued. I did not care for it, however I will say it was beautifully written and I think it just wasn't "for me" but I do think others will like and I will be recommending.

I ENJOYED…
☂️
Set on the private island of the Sinclair family, in the summer of 1985, Family of Liars follows Caroline as she tries to deal with… let’s say it without spoiling anything: a LOT of family drama.
Before you ask: there are some ties to We Were Liars, since it’s set on the very same island, and there are some references to the twist We Were Liars, but other than that, it’s a very different story, with different protagonists taking the main stage. At its core, you can clearly feel that it’s made from the same DNA, both with the storytelling and the themes within the story. I found a little bit of that nostalgia of reading We Were Liars here, which was lovely.
Caroline was an interesting character to follow. I’m not going to say I actually liked her, because she’s a tough, complex character to really fall for, but… in times, I understood her. Some other times, I was really frustrated with her. She’s such a flawed, messed-up character, honestly, but she also felt, in a way, realistically messed-up, too.
If you’re looking for a dysfunctional family story, you will get it here. Family secrets, tragedy, complex relationships and a whole damn lot of pretending: between the parents, the uncle, sisters, the cousins and the boys getting in between them, Family of Liars is packed with family drama that will keep you turning the pages.
One of my favorite parts of the book was the complex sister bonds. You know me, I’m a sucker for sister relationships in books and here, I got it. Their connection is far from being perfect (like, really far), but they’re here for each other in the hardest moments and I loved that, too.

I HAD A HARD TIME WITH…
☂️
I have to say that… the plot was a lot, at times. I’m not going to spoil anything for you, if you want to keep it a surprise, but… damn. It was a whole lot of messiness and it felt a little (okay. WAY) too much, at times, for me personally. Maybe I grew up, but We Were Liars certainly didn’t seem this messed up?

OVERALL
☂️
If you’re looking for an entertaining (and very dramatic, at times) story about a dysfunctional family, I’d recommend trying Family of Liars. While I think you can read it as a standalone, I’d still recommend reading We Were Liars before, to get the full scope of the family drama!

A must-read for those who enjoyed E. Lockhart’s connected title We Were Liars. As complex as the first, this book paints a full gallery of landscapes rather than a singular canvas. High-demand backstory, as this is the prequel. This is a must read.

Carrie is the oldest of three sisters. When the youngest sister Rosemary drowns, the three remaining sisters must follow the family motto and not show any grief. Carrie becomes addicted to painkillers after jaw surgery that her father insists she needed, to give her a stronger looking jaw. The summer after Rosemary drowns, their cousin Yardley brings her boyfriend and his two best friends to the island. They’re funny and help lighten the mood on the island. Carrie and Pfeff are interested in each other but he keeps being inconsiderate and annoys Carrie. She discovers a secret that her mother’s been keeping and it’s consuming Carrie. Pfeff also turns out to be self-centered and when the cousins see him kissing Carrie’s sister Penny, things become precarious. I enjoyed Pfeff’s humor and the writing is exemplary. I felt firsthand what the characters were going through because of the details. Humorous parts with Pfeff changing lyrics of Mary poppins song, Step In Time:
Take no prisoners, do some crimes
Know your math facts! Step in time.
Every time he would sing this, it made me chuckle!
Heads up, Family of Liars is a prequel but also a spoiler to We Were Liars! It's an enjoyable read full of teen angst, 5 stars!

Ethnicity is predominantly white.
Mature content is PG-13, underage drinking and smoking, attempted rape
Violence is PG-13

I bought this immediately for our library, and I know it will fly off the shelves as soon as we get it processed! Teens still love We Were Liars, and they won't be disappointed with this prequel..

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.