This month’s book of the month is a prequel, not only that it’s a YA. Family of Liars – you have been warned!
Family of Liars – the blurb
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.
Liar, liar
I absolutely adored We Were Liars when I read it earlier this year so when the prequel came out it was only a matter of time before it became book of the month. Unlike most book of the months it’s not a middle grader. Tackling addiction, death and summer romance it’s definitely young adult. It’s not too graphic but I think to get the most out of it you need a certain level of maturity and understanding.
The book is told from the perspective of Carrie, one of the aunties in We Were Liars. There are strong similarities to it’s follow on with the same setting and same use of fairy tales. Family of Liars however is set in the 1980s not present day. Despite this apart from musical references it didn’t feel very 80s. In fact there were a lot of woke characteristics that overall gave it a very modern feel. You might like this if you’re a teen reader but I wanted a more authentic 80s vibe.
I did enjoy learning more about the adults in the story and would like to re-read We Were Liars with this knowledge in my back pocket. It does contain spoilers so you really need to read WWL first which is a shame as I think I would have enjoyed Family of Liars more reading it first.
Book club questions
+++ These questions contain spoilers and should only be used if you have read the book already!+++
- Have you read We Were Liars? Which book did you enjoy more and why?
- In what ways did Lockhart make Pfeff unlikeable to the reader? Did this make the murder more forgiveble, more palatable?
- Who would you have preferred murdered Pfeff, Bess or Carrie?
- Why did Penny go after Pfeff even after Erin had left? Was she a good sister?
- Money bought Pfeff a place at college. Holidaying on a private island ‘is just my life’ according to Carrie. How much does money help or hinder the teens on the island?
If you would like to join in with our Children’s Book of the Month keep your eyes peeled when we announce December’s book in a few days time. Our review with book club questions is usually posted on the last Monday of the month and you can check out previous Book of the Months such as Orion Lost by Alastair Chisholm by clicking on the Young Adult/Kids button at the top of our Home Page. In the meantime we would love to see what you have been reading.