We Were Liars, aka, We Were Spoiled Rich Kids.

A few weeks ago I finished We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. I didn't have too much trouble finding my way through it. I did, however, constantly find myself asking why they were called the Liars. It's not until the very end that we have any sort of inkling as to why they are called as such. Everyone lies and I didn't find them doing it more so than any other normal person.
Also, I don't
understand
the change in writing style.
It doesn't always
flow.

Ugh.
I had an issue picturing any of the characters besides Cady in my head. None of them have any real background or personality. Okay so they have personalities, but not very big ones. The whole love affair Cady has with guy-who's-name-I-already-forgot is so BORING. It reminds me of every dance movie ever made. Like the Family Guy joke, "I'm rich and you're poor. Let's dance together." "Society won't like it." "I don't care." Gag. That's so overdone and I don't understand dudes issue anyway. Did he have brain issues or what. He's all over her, he ignores her, he leaves. I wanted to punch him. Just make up your damn mind!

If only the acknowledgments were at the beginning of the book instead of at the end I would have noticed freakin' Justine Larbalestier's name mentioned as being a friend. RIGHT THEN, I would have put the book gently back into the library return slot and screeched away as I put on the gas and driven away as fast a possible. I had the misfortune to read her book Liar for my Adolescent Literature class in college and I don't think one person in the room liked it. It's full of Post-Modern crap and I just wanted to throw the book out of the classroom's third story window. We Were Liars is full of this same Post-Modern bullshit.

Here's Post-Modernism in a nutshell:
"In essence, it stems from a recognition that reality is not simply mirrored in human understanding of it, but rather, is constructed as the mind tries to understand its own particular and personal reality. For this reason, postmodernism is highly skeptical of explanations which claim to be valid for all groups, cultures, traditions, or races, and instead focuses on the relative truths of each person."

No one can trust a word a Post-Modern narrator says. But what makes it so dang frustrating is that you don't know it, usually, until the end of the book slams you in the face. (And not in a good way). You knew from the beginning of Liar that the narrator was full of it, but We Were Liars made you suffer through until the end to figure it out. 

John Green praised this book. After reading The Fault In Our Stars and being disappointed, I was skeptical. But lord knows I did I anyway.

''Thrilling, beautiful, and blisteringly smart, We Were Liars is utterly unforgettable.
John Green, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Fault in Our Stars''

1 of 5 stars.

G.I.R.L.

I recently finished Guy In Real Life by Steven Brezenoff. I was very intrigued by the idea behind the book. The summary on the book jacket is one that would seem very overdone. "Boy and girl meet in unexpected way just when they need each other most". What peaked my interest is was the whole RPG element behind it.

Svetlana is a sort of indie-hipster chick and Lesh is a metal-head. What really kept me interested with Lesh was that he reminded me so much of one of my old friends from high school. I even dreamed about him after reading for a couple hours before bed. Weird.

 Lesh is so enamored by Svetlana, that he takes it upon himself to create a character in an MMO(RPG?) that has her name and her silvery-blonde hair. That in itself isn't all that creepy. But he becomes very obsessed with this character and loves getting to be her. That's slightly creepy.

The chapters alternate between Lesh, Svetlana, and game Svvetlana. I was slightly confused at first by the chapters that involved Svvetlana. I kept waiting and waiting for there to be some deeper hidden meaning behind them.

Sadly, there really wasn't. In the end, it was just building up to a creepy guy in the game happening to live close by and find the actual Svetlana. Eh. I don't know about all that. It seemed too convenient to keep me locked inside the story. First off, no one uses their actual name in an online game. Everybody knows that. For that very reason. So if Stebbins is such a hard gamer, why on Earth would it ever occur to him that that was Svet's actual name? Or that it was really a girl? No gamer assumes that the player is a girl. I've played such games and most everyone is skeptical of whether they are actually talking to a female or not because dudes do it ALL THE TIME.

Lesh is a walking stereotype. He listens to metal. He listens to metal at absolutely every possible moment. He wears all black and is secretly sensitive. His hair is even black for crying out loud. Not all metal-heads or goths or whatever you want to call them are like that. I'd like to consider myself normal-looking. Jeans and a t-shirt all the way. But, BUT, I listen to some pretty heavy stuff myself. Am I a walking stereotype? No. I don't have black hair, I like the color pink, and Disney movies are just the bees knees. The friend Lesh reminded me of? No black hair, no all black clothes, no headphones in all the time.  

 Lana. Oh Lana. She is a super anti-social little lassie. Who has an activity wheel on their door? Who actually expects their parents to listen to it? I suppose we wouldn't have a YA novel without the absence, or hatred of parents somewhere but still. For being as rich as they are, her parents are not snobs. They are not mean or spiteful. They just want Lana to go to a soccer game or two with them. It wouldn't kill ya Svet-y.

She's incredibly hateful towards Fry. He does have some anger problems, I agree, but come on now. She is nothing but rude towards him. Perhaps if she had told him A LONG TIME AGO that she didn't like him in a romantic way he would have backed off A LONG TIME AGO. But no. She acts like he's vermin and she needs to be saved from him.  
"He was never nice to me,” I insist. “That’s not being nice.”
“Sort of it is,” Hen says. “He talks to you and smiles at you. That’s something.”
“No, it isn’t. It’s lecherousness.”

What the hell girl?

I liked Lesh more than Lana. Their friendship was sweet, don't get me wrong. But their romantic relationship came out of nowhere and hit us like a freight train. He walks to her house and then all of a sudden they are kissing? But where was the amazing, romantic confession? I need it!

I really, really wanted to like this book. So badly. I thought, hey cool a book about gamers. But it could have been so much longer and had so much more to it. The conflict with Fry could have been solved but instead there is a huge hole in my brain waiting to be filled. I could go on and on I think but I will refrain and stop here.

My rating:
2.5 our of 5