FINDING AUDREY READ-ALONG discussion

Gabby wrote: "Did anyone have trouble with those metaphors? At the beginning of the book, there was a long period where I thought she actually got shot by her father."

I THOUGHT THE SAME THING! For awhile I thought that was her accident thing, but nope. The writing was really confusing at times.

I didn't have any problem with that metaphor..for like a second I thought it was literal, until her mother said "Get up and act normal" then I knew it was a metaphor. But it was a STRONG one, and really made you stop and think a second, which was probably the intention.

Can't wait for the live show for this one! This will be a fun one to discuss.

@swathi I completely agree.

The ending blew my mind. I did not see that coming! I had this feeling throughout the book that Cady was going to commit suicide or attempt to, but wow what a plot twist.

Nice work, E. Lockhart!

The ending blew my mind. I did not see that coming! I had this feeling throughout the book that Cady was going to commit suicide or attempt to, but wow what a plot twist.

Nice work, E. Lockhart!

I LOVED the writing and the violent, blatant metaphors! I love that there were so many misleading things (unreliable narrators are awesome!) and that absolutely everything was so suspicious. I did end up guessing the ending, but that didn't take away from my experience at all. The biggest thing I would have changed is the length. I feel like if it were longer and gave more character background it would have been better, but nonetheless I gave it 5 stars. Will definitely re-read to catch ALL of the clues!
(Also how sweet would it be to have a private island filled with BookTubers every summer? :P)

I didn't quite understand the metaphor in the beginning about her dad shooting her. Was it his words that made it feel like a bullet being shot into her body? Or is there something I'm missing?

The ending was so unexpected. I had no idea what was going on. I cried because it all felt so real. Summer seventeen felt so real.

I'm on page 203, and all I have to say is... OH MY GOD!

I had semi suspected the ending from the beginning, but I was leaning more towards the family members poisoning the kids. Nonetheless, the ending was still a shock to me. Gat and Cadence would've been so perfect together. I feel so bad for Cadence as well for feeling like she robbed her own family, and the love of her life, of life itself. Flew through this book. Fastest I've ever read one. Definitely happy I read it! I wouldn't mind seeing this made into a movie. I think it'd be kind of cool.

Also, I just found out via Twitter that this is being optioned as a movie. I know some might not like this idea, but I think it'd be pretty interesting. I really hope it pulls through to the big screen. I'd LOVE to see it!

just finished the book awhile ago and... that ending tho!! may eyes are watery and i am a mess. :( i enjoyed the book alot though just having some hardtimes catching up with scenes... but the storyline is fluent and clear! the characters are really lovable and the book itself is so special and unique!! it made me cry, laugh... it made me felt sorry for certain scene and i love it!!! 4.75 stars

just finished the book awhile ago and... that ending tho!! may eyes are watery and i am a mess. :( i enjoyed the book alot though just having some hardtimes catching up with scenes... but the storyline is fluent and clear! the characters are really lovable and the book itself is so special and unique!! it made me cry, laugh... it made me felt sorry for certain scene and i love it!!! 4.75 stars

The ending of this book was like a slap to my face. I knew that there was something fishy with the Liars but I was not prepared for them being dead. Like literally when I even think of it now it gives me a shock still! I did not even expect to cry so much at the end. I haven't cried like that for a book in quite a while! Amazing book

Mac wrote: "I read this in one sitting. 3 hours with nothing but feels. I can't fathom how amazing this writing is and this story line. The characters were developed so well and it was such a smooth story. I w..."

I completely agree and those sayings/mottos they had were a nice touch. I really liked them.

I was really baffled by that ending. I didn't see it coming at all. I thought they were all alive but keeping something from Cady. Great ending and I gave the book 5 stars. The whole time I was glued to the book and loved everything about it.

I liked that fact that it also touched upon social issues like race and social classes.

It's so true what everyone is saying about the missed clues about Cady's friends being dead. I went back over some parts of the book like Carrie wandering around in the night and understand now. I think E. Lockhart is a very good writer and I will definitely be reading more by her.

Sophie wrote: "Yelz wrote: "Daniel wrote: "Lily wrote: "I have to admit I kind of questioned some things... Also why were they called the Liars if they rarely ever lie?

But I blew off these things so the ending ..."

I think they are called Liars because they lie about who they really are. All the aunts (Carrie, Bess and Cadence's mom)were trying to get their kids to win over the granddad for the inheritance, pitting them against one another. Also, the idea that they are pretending to be a perfect family when they have so many issues underneath the surface kind of makes them "liars".

OMFG JUST REWD THE WHOLE THING WHAT EVEN

Probably the biggest plot twist I have ever read. EVER. I can not believe that happened! I'm crying my eyes out right now, I can't handle all the feels. I LOVE how everything ties together in the book from the beginning to the end. That's what I look for in a book and while I was reading it I could imagine it happening without any trouble. The author did an amazing job with describing the feelings and the thoughts that it all came naturally to me. I was left completely heart broken and amazed. Definitely left with some valuable lessons, and that is STAY AWAY FROM YELLOW SNOW

I never saw that ending coming but now that I think about it it makes perfect sense! The end was such a huge plot twist but I loved it! I thought this was a really great book!

I was so shocked. I read this book in one 3 hour sitting and I started croon at the end when I realized what happened. Since I read it in one sitting I didn't get to try and guess what happens and I was completely shocked and sad and that ending just killed me. But I really loved it too.

WHAT WHAT WHAT DID I JUST READ?!?!

So I finished TFiOS yesterday and finished We Were Liars today... I think I'm ready for something happy NOW! (but I also kind of want to go back and re-read We Were Liars and try to pick up on all the clues I missed...)

I did not expect the ending at all. I thought Jonathan, Mirren and Gat did something horrible to Cady and she tried to commit suicide by throwing herself off the cliff and failed. I thought Gat might have raped her. I thought Mirren was dying of cancer. I did NOT think, did not even imagine all three (and two dogs) were killed in a fire. I did not think that Cady heard the screams of her cousins before they perished. I did not think this family was so completely broken. This is definitely a book that's going to haunt me.

This book, it just, ugh. Feels.

The ending was amazing. My mind was going crazy, I didn't really want to believe it when the truth was revealed. I was saying, "THEN WHY WERE THEY THERE? THEY'RE NOT DEAD.
NO. EXCUSE ME? NO." It was such a shock for me.

I applaud the concept of the Liars being some kind of physical-formed ghosts. That was- *SIGH* HEART BREAKING.

Let's just take a moment to remember the scenes where Gat hated himself and tried to get away from Cadence. He wanted something he couldn't have. When Cady said she loved him, he said that it's all so fucked up. He was sorry. Now we know WHYYYYY

When I started to read this, I thought is was going to be cute and fluffy with a little mystery. But no. No, no, no. They just had to be dead and make me sob for an hour straight. *ANOTHER SIGH* I rated this 4 stars for the abstract writing style..not really my thing. The book overall was borderline amazing.

And she though only those poor dogs had died.
Smh-

WHAAAAAAAAT.

I didn't expect that at all. The ending was so shocking and heartbreaking but also amazing. When the truth was revealed, I was confused at first. Then it all hit me, and then the tears came. This book was really good. 4 stars.

This book only gave me the feels of boredom. I tried to have an open mind and not find out anything about the book but by the time that I was half way through I had to peak at some reviews to find out if ANYTHING was going to happen. I had suspicions that they were dead when they said that they weren't coming to Clairmont for dinner. And then the house was a mess. I was hoping that I was wrong and something would make me feel something but I feel like I just solved a mystery. I did feel bad for Cadence though. That was a great loss for her. However, I would not recommend this book to anyone. Maybe it's just not my favorite genre.

QUESTIONS:

1. Do you trust Cady's narration? Is she lying...or hallucinating?

2. Were the Liars justified in any way to commit the crime they committed?

3. Was the crime successful in any way?

4. Is the Sinclair family acting of their own free will or are they in some way merely moving through patterns established in fairy tales that existed long before them? Consider the author's use of Shakespeare's King Lear and Bronte's Wuthering Heights.

5. Was the ending a surprise...or did you see it coming? Return to earlier passages in the book and locate instances of Lockhart's of foreshadowing of events to come.

6. What does Cady come to learn at the end of the novel—what insights are gained?

ANSWERS:

1. I completely trusted Cady's narration. That's why I ended up in such a stupor when the truth was uncovered. She was neither lying nor hallucinating. I think that she eventually confronted the truth as her mind allowed her to do so. I would like to think that the ending is actually a real possibility.

2. Such a heinous crime is never justified.

3. Unfortunately, it was successful in reuniting the family but only due to their shared sense of extreme loss.

4. Of course, they are acting upon their own convictions. Everyone has free will but history repeats itself and life often emulates fiction.

5. I knew ahead of time from reading a few non-spoilery reviews that I should expect a twist at the end. I purposefully looked for examples of foreshadowing, and they were plentiful. However, the ending was still a surprise. I had a theory but didn't really 'get it' until they read the emails together.

6. I'm not sure how I feel about this question. It will be interesting to read your responses!

At what moment did you KNOW?

Full Review: http://casualreadersbookclub.blogspot...

Yolanda wrote: "This book only gave me the feels of boredom. I tried to have an open mind and not find out anything about the book but by the time that I was half way through I had to peak at some reviews to find ..."

I agree. The writing and lack of anything going on storywise and with the characters took me out of the whole thing.

Amy wrote: "Also, I just found out via Twitter that this is being optioned as a movie. I know some might not like this idea, but I think it'd be pretty interesting. I really hope it pulls through to the big sc..."

I actually think it would work way better as a film than a novel! :)

I saw the ending coming with the help of some clues.
The first half of the book just bored me. I just couldn't believe (view spoiler)[Gat died. damn it! :( (hide spoiler)]

I like the ending though it's just that the writing style bored me and the characters were annoying.

For once, my predictions about a book panned out! I didn't predict that I would still get a little emotional, though (given that I saw what was coming).

I think the most moving part of the book is the revelation about how everyone, including Penny, was trying to tell Cadence that they still loved her anyway - and not just in principle, but in a loyal, tried and tested way, tempered with compassion. Also it is ironic how the whole Summer fifteen, the Liars were unwilling to abandon their principles to be pawns in the Aunts' negotiations, but wound up making a much larger sacrifice for the cause of family unity.
Still, it's hard not to be irritated with the Liars' overwhelming carelessness, which is not wholly excused by their youth and self-righteous fervor. I was probably more sad about the dogs, all things considered.

I really appreciated the writing. You could feel the haziness Cadence was muddling through, punctuated by moments of clarity. The atmosphere was very water-color-y. I don't know that the fairy tale allegories really added anything to the plot, but you have to rely on your narrator, and maybe that was just her coping mechanism. I'm not sure that this is a re-readable book, but nevertheless, it's a solid 4 star piece. And a quick, exhilarating read at that. Thanks Booksplosion, for yet again broadening my horizons!

I was so invested in the story that I wasn't even thinking about the possible twists that could occur, but when we learned the truth I just sat there staring at my book for minutes. Although many people could have, and did guess the ending, I didn't. I really love the writing and the way everything was woven together. The author had a way of writing a relatively short story, but when I stopped reading every so often it felt like I had read 200 pages. Not going to lie... I may have gotten emotional at the end. My only issue was that truth was revealed a little too fast for my taste, but I still gave this book 5 stars because I loved it so much.
This is a book that I think you will most likely love or hate. For me it was a fantastic read. Also, a big part of this story was the romance aspect. I can agree with a lot of people when I say that Gat was my favorite character.
All and all, everything in this book comes together at the end and now I really need to get my own physical copy of this book.

I didn't like this book until I got to this part. After this I loved it. :)

this is probably one of the weirdest books I have read in a long time. That being said, I did enjoy it, and I would recommend it for others to read... but only because i think it is a "must-read" in the sense that the different writing style needs to be appreciated and people need to be exposed to different books that aren't just cookie-cutter YA novels. this book steps out of the box and explores a wide range of writing style, narrative flow, word choice, plot reveal etc.

various metaphors took a few pages to figure out (the shooting, the wrists being cut) and as much as that was a different way to describe her emotions, i'm not sure if i would view those sort of sections as writing genius or anything like that.

the ending, as everyone has mentioned, surprised me. I knew something was up, at first i thought Gat might have died, but then he was there on the island .. I also thought Mirren might have been pregnant, as she was getting sick etc. But until the end, I did not think they were all going to be dead (except Cady). I guess the fact that the ending did shock me shows that Lockhart did weave and create a brilliant story -- I just feel the presentation could have been done a bit differently.

The one issue, aside from the writing style, which as I have mentioned is not my cup of tea, I have is the fact that her mom, and any "living" relative won't tell her what happens.. How could they not tell her that three of her cousins died? What does her mom and her aunts think she is doing with all her time? Do her aunts and her mom see her talking to thin air? I understand that she went through a traumatic expiernece ... but don't you think her mom and her aunts could have prevented the summer of seventeen, by telling Cady what had happened .. she may have pieced together her memories quicker ... I understand that by talking and having expierences with the ghosts she was able to cope and retrive the memories at her own pace .. but I just find it logically confusing when I stop to think about what her aunts and mom and other cousins (the littles) see Cady doing when she is with the "Liars" ...

For anyone who is wondering, I think they are called the liars because they are not real, and Cady and the other liars are lying to her throughout the book by thinking that they are real.

I bawled. Somehow already having the suspicion that they were dead didn't lesson the blow of how her finding out was portrayed. The author did an excellent job with descriptions for the entirety of the novel. I wasn't expecting the exact way they died, that definitely made it more traumatic.

Dude I need a moment to gather my thoughts.... okay so as I was reading I started to figure out what happened during summer 15. There is so much that was wrong with their plan on setting the house on fire. I was all like NONONOnononononono!!!! and I knew they were all dead it just confirmed all of my theories.
Even though I saw it coming I was lost in Cady's grief. She finally had her memories but it came at the cost with the knowledge that she was the only one who survived....the one who is partly responsible for the deaths of her friends and two dogs.
It was an interesting read, I really enjoyed this book.

Oh. My. God.
I.....I What ?!?!?!
What did I just read ?!?!
Okay...
Wow.
The last part was just... Wow.

Did not see the ending coming, but I did compare it to Mara Dyrer. I kept waiting for the hallucinations, and eventually forgot about it because she never acknowledge any hallucinations even though all along she was living one. Big. Lie. Hence, we were liars. I gotta say, I got a little bored now and then because nothing much would happen, and I got frustrated because nobody told her anything, but I enjoyed it overall! (Also, might have been that I read it in less than 6 hours.)

I really enjoyed reading this book. I have to say I did not expect Lockhart to just tell us what happened as soon the final part called "Truth" began. Lockhart just came out and told the reader what the truth was, and I was not mentally prepared for that!
This book was overall really good though. The characters really got to me, especially Gat and Cadence's love story. I cried at the end because I was upset that they were all really dead and Cadence had to discover that on her own, and then live with it. Lockhart included a very good twist! I would recommend this book to anyone, but tell them not to know a lot about it; People need to just jump in and start reading it!

Most of my thoughts have already been said, but I will add that the scene where they set the fire was so painful and traumatic to read, when she hears the screams and then tries to get out and find them... ouch, especially since I was terrified of fire as a child that was horrible!!

I did end up liking the characters more by the end, especially the littles. Think there were still some loose ends but overall I liked this book.

I pieced together what was happening just before it was revealed yet it didn't stop me from crying at the end. The book was beautifully written and is definitely one of the best books I've read in a long time!

I was talking to my mum about the book and how it was to have a twist ending and I couldn't figure it out! straight away she told me 'what if they're all dead?' and I can't believe she was right! When I told her she was right, she said it was totally copying other books/movies and most people should see that coming. I guess if you haven't seen movies with that ending, like me, then it's more enjoyable. Knowing it was a possibility kind of ruined it for me but I still really enjoyed the writing! It all makes sense at the end even though it was very sad. It fit really well! I kept wondering how Gat etc kept turning up in her room in the middle of the day/night but never did I think that would be why! I gave it 4/5 stars. Probably the best written book I've read in a while :) Got me out of my reading slump!

I wasn't even really attached to the characters that much, but it still was a major shock finding out the end. Going back, it made sense, but still.

Also, I'm still a little confused on why they are called The Liars, when I don't remember them telling a single lie together...

I did not see the end coming. I had so many theories but this wasn't one of them. This was such a surprising and unique read; the writing was at time a tad melodramatic but for the most part I really liked it and I liked the characters. I will admit my eyes were definitely watering at the end. I can't imagine living with that kind of grief. Very sad but a great read!

I honestly didn't see the end coming, but looking back I'm surprised I didn't. I thought the book was brilliant and I didn't realize how much I'd grown to love the characters until I was sobbing over my copy.

I went into this book knowing there was going to be a big twist and when it was finally revealed I was so shocked haha. I kept thinking all these crazy things and when the ending came I was totally shocked I had never even thought of them being dead. I definitely want to re read this book again sometime in the future to see all the clues that I obviously missed!

I wouldn't say I enjoyed this book, only because this one of those powerhouse reads that has such an amazing impact on the reader and me as an individual. This book is so thought provoking that it's not enjoyable, but amazing and even slightly overwhelming just the same. I hope this is canonized as a contemporary classic and that students will be reading it in school one day, because everyone should experience Lockhart's story.

Wow, just wow. They were ghosts the whole time and it all started to make sense. This kind of reminded me of the movie The Uninvited ( a little bit).

OMG I feel so blind that I didn't figure out the ending! I literally couldn't believe it! I can't believe that I never noticed that the rest of the liars never talked to any of her family members! Oh and I was a little confused about the "bleeding" Cadence always said she had and when her mom told her to be normal. I was hoping it would be explained a little more but I think it was her grief expressing itself. But this book was amazing and just yes

Ash wrote: "Wow, just wow. They were ghosts the whole time and it all started to make sense. This kind of reminded me of the movie The Uninvited ( a little bit)."

Funny... it reminded me of the Sixth Sense