E. Lockhart (Again Again) powerfully explores grief and betrayal in this unforgettable prequel to the bestselling We Were Liars.
The Sinclair sisters--17-year-old Carrie, 16-year-old Penny and 14-year-old Bess--spend every summer at Beechwood, their family's private island off the coast of Massachusetts. The summer of 1987 is the first one without their 10-year-old sister, Rosemary, who drowned the year before. While the rest of the family have seemingly moved on from Rosemary's death, Carrie numbs herself with pills left over from a jaw surgery her parents forced her to have to look less "weak" and "foolish." Carrie, now armed with a strong-looking jaw and a narcotics addiction, is ready for a typical Beechwood summer filled with "tennis and ice cream and suppers cooked on the grill."
This summer will be anything but typical for the Sinclair sisters, though. First, Rosemary's ghost haunts Carrie, as Rosemary "searches for rest." Then, their cousin Yardley arrives with her boyfriend and his two friends. Carrie is immediately pulled into Lawrence "Pfeff" Pfefferman's orbit when he spontaneously kisses her, telling her "I had to kiss you. Because look at where we are.... It would be a shame to waste it." As the fateful summer continues, lies are told, secrets spilled and a tragedy occurs that tests the teens' bonds.
E. Lockhart begins the Sinclairs' story with a present-day Carrie talking to the ghost of her dead teenage son, who wants to hear about "the absolute worst thing you ever did, back then." What follows is an unforgettable, sorrowful story of grief, guilt and regret. The Sinclair motto is "be a credit to the family" but perfection has a price, and Lockhart skillfully uses Carrie's addiction to show the cost--the drugs console her grief and block out the "full force" of her parents' expectations. Carrie uses vivid language ("A ball of hot fury and pain... melts my face. My features ooze like wax, sliding down my bones, dripping onto the boards beneath my feet.") and switches to fairy tales, like "Cinderella" and "Mr. Fox," to explain the emotions for which she has no words. These elements bring an ethereal feeling to an otherwise heavy story. Lockhart further contrasts death, lies and grief with movie nights and sunny afternoons on sailboats, giving depth to this unsettling yet striking story. --Lana Barnes, freelance reviewer and proofreader
Shelf Talker: 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.