There is a certain beautiful urgency that comes from renting a book from the library. You have a deadline. You must finish the book before then, which is exactly what I was doing yesterday afternoon.

Instead of my usual power nap, I was powering through We Were Liars.

It was painless – until the shocking twist at the end. It was addictive, and it was beautifully written, like poetry.

Cady spends every summer on her family’s private island with her two cousins and family friend, Gat. They are called the Liars. They are inseparable, until Cady has a horrible accident that makes her forget. .

Why was she swimming alone? Why weren’t her clothes on the shore? Why won’t Gat talk to her? Why so many secrets?

These questions will keep you guessing until the very end, when Cady remembers it all and discovers the shocking revelation about herself.

VIOLENCE/GORE: E. Lockhart uses a lot of metaphor to describe Cady’s emotions and the physical pain she feels from her accident such as a crow picking at the flesh of her brain or her veins splitting open from hurt. I found it beautiful. It described the feelings so well.

LOVE/SEX: This is very much a longing love story. Characters kiss but nothing inappropriate.

DRUGS/ALCOHOL: The adults drink wine and other alcoholic drinks, getting themselves drunk on occasion. In one scene, the teenagers steal some and drink as well.

I am currently obsessed with this book. I didn’t want to give it back to the library. (The library is so greedy sometimes.) It’s beautiful, and sad, and thrilling. John Green calls it “unforgettable.”

That it is. Unforgettable.