Published: 2022
Series: We Were Liars
Author: e. lockhart
Genres: Young Adult, Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Contemporary, Romance
Audience (Grade Levels): Grades 9–12
Number of Stars: 5-Stars
Goodreads Link: Family of Liars
Triggers: Contains spoilers for her earlier book We Were Liars, references to deaths and murder, drug addiction (painkillers)
Review By: Karen Fenner
Publisher’s Summary:
The thrilling prequel to the TikTok phenomenon and #1 New York Times bestseller We Were Liars takes readers back to the story of another summer, another generation, and the secrets that will haunt them for decades to come.
A windswept private island off the coast of Massachusetts.
A hungry ocean, churning with secrets and sorrow.
A fiery, addicted heiress. An irresistible, unpredictable boy.
A summer of unforgivable betrayal and terrible mistakes.
Welcome back to the Sinclair family.
They were always liars.
Review:
We Were Liars, e lockhart’s 2014 psychological thriller and the first book in this duology was a New York Times #1 bestseller whose popularity was revived on TikTok. This prequel to that sensation is set decades earlier on the same island with the same family, but with a new narrator: Carrie – the oldest sister of the beautiful Sinclair daughters. The sisters summer on Beechwood, a private island off the Massachusetts coast with all the hallmarks of wealth and privilege. lockhart pulls the reader into the genteel world of sunsets, golden retrievers, and evening cocktails on the porch. The surface is perfect, but Carrie’s seventeenth year involves surgery that leaves her addicted to painkillers, a tragic death in the family, and a revelation that leaves her wondering about her role in the family. This summer on the island new guests arrive – three young men who swim, sail, and play tennis with the Sinclair sisters and provide romantic opportunities…until one dark event changes everything. e lockhart has once again given us a relatable, yet unreliable narrator in a story that explores universal themes on the meaning of family, loss, and grief. We Were Liars was always going to be a hard act to follow and lockhart wasn’t sure she would ever write about the Sinclair family again, but with her skillful character development, atmospheric setting, and unpredictable narrative in Family of Liars, we can be glad she did.
Classroom & Curricular Connections:
- ELA / Literature: Excellent for exploring narrative structure, specifically focusing on the literary device of the unreliable narrator, building suspense, and analyzing how a prequel establishes dramatic irony for readers who know the events of the original book.
- SEL (Social-Emotional Learning): High school students can analyze the heavy themes of grief, loss, the psychological weight of family expectations, and the destructive nature of keeping secrets.
- Health / Social Issues: Offers raw discussion points regarding physical pain, trauma, and the rapid descent into prescription painkiller addiction.
Readalikes:
- Liar’s Beach by Katie Cotugno
- The Cousins by Karen M. McManus
- Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas
- Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart
