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Book Summary and Reviews of Family of Liars by E. Lockhart

Family of Liars by E. Lockhart

Family of Liars

The Prequel to We Were Liars

by E. Lockhart

  • Critics' Consensus (4):
  • Published:
  • May 2022, 320 pages
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About this book

Book 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.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Lockhart returns for another look behind the privileged Sinclair family's gleaming facade in this absorbing prequel to 2014's We Were Liars...Lush language and a setting full of breezy glamor provide an easy entry point into this layered, atmospherically tense exploration of jealousy, love, and family loyalty." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"The novel is framed as a story that present-day Carrie tells the ghost of her deceased son, Johnny, who asks Carrie to reveal 'the absolute worst thing you ever did, back then' ... Her response is a haunting confession about family allegiances; the arbitrary rules of powerful, moneyed White families; and the strength required to bear witness to terrible truths. Beautiful and devastating." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"A summer of lies and secrets unfolds on a private island in 1987 in this unsettling yet striking prequel to the bestselling We Were Liars." - Shelf Awareness

This information about Family of Liars was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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Author Information

E. Lockhart Author Biography

E. Lockhart is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller We Were Liars and its prequel, Family of Liars. Other novels: Whistle: A New Gotham City Hero, Again Again, Genuine Fraud, Fly on the Wall, Dramarama, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks and the Ruby Oliver quartet: The Boyfriend List, The Boy Book, The Treasure Map of Boys, and Real Live Boyfriends. How to Be Bad was co-written with Lauren Myracle and Sarah Mlynowski.

Disreputable History was a Printz Award honor book and a finalist for the National Book Award. We Were Liars won the Goodreads Choice Award and was Amazon's #1 YA novel of 2014. Genuine Fraud is a Times bestseller and was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times book prize.

Lockhart has a doctorate in English literature from Columbia University. ...

... Full Biography
Author Interview
Link to E. Lockhart's Website

Name Pronunciation
E. Lockhart: lockart (Lockhart is Emily Jenkins' middle name - and she likes it so much she uses it on her books)

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