2 of 8 copies available
"I anticipated that at some point a shocking twist would come. And, wow, does it ever." —The New York Times
"A perfect beach read." —The Boston Globe
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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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
May 3, 2022 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780593608869
- File size: 254815 KB
- Duration: 08:50:51
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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The prequel to the popular WE WERE LIARS has serious spoiler alerts, so listen to these audiobooks in the order they were published. Narrator Kimberly Farr convincingly delivers the jaded viewpoint of privileged 17-year-old Carrie Sinclair, who recounts the worst thing she ever did in her childhood. In the summer of 1987, she was recovering from a painful operation and dealing with her sister's ghost, as well as her own jealousies, betrayals, and attempts at avoidance through pain medication. That's all before her family's secrets begin to be revealed. Farr captures the tense tone of a story in which events build dramatically, unexpected happenings add darkness, and surprises lurk around every corner. Though it lacks the first book's twist at the end, this is still a gripping listen. S.W. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine -
Starred review from March 21, 2022
Lockhart returns for another look behind the privileged Sinclair family’s gleaming facade in this absorbing prequel to 2014’s We Were Liars. Centered on the original Liars’ mothers as teens in 1987, the story is narrated by Carrie, the eldest of the three surviving Sinclair sisters, in response to a request for details about “the absolute worst thing you ever did, back then.” The bulk of the action unfurls on and around Beechwood, the wealthy family’s private island off the Massachusetts coast. Though the rest of her family seems to have moved on, 17-year-old Carrie still grieves for her youngest sister, Rosemary, who drowned the previous summer at age 10. Numbing herself with prescription codeine and filched sleeping tablets, Carrie finds comfort in visits from Rosemary’s palpable, talkative ghost. When the siblings’ uncle and cousin show up with surprise guests—three charismatic teen boys—Carrie is swept into a romance with one of them, dishy but careless Lawrence “Pfeff” Pfefferman. In the weeks that follow, she learns several ugly family secrets as events stress-test the sisters’ bonds. 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. Characters read as white. Ages 12–up. Agent: Elizabeth Kaplan, Elizabeth Kaplan Literary.
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