Cadence, aka Cady, is a Sinclair, which means everything. A perfect family with a pristine record as far as outsiders are concerned. But beneath all that flawlessness are secrets darker than the waters surrounding the illusive island they spend every summer on. Four houses, one for Grandfather and one for each daughter and her family. The only thing the daughters seem to be lacking are husbands, and also the common sense to know when enough is enough. While it's hard to discuss the plot without ruining the mystery of this book, without spoiling it, so let me just give you the most general synopsis ever: in summer 15 (when the Liars- Cady, Johnny, Mirren, the three Sinclairs of the same age, and Gat, who was the nephew of a Sinclair Sister's boyfriend), some terrible, terrifying tragedy left Cadence with total amnesia of that summer. All she does remember has been told to her, and now that she's back for her 17th summer, she has to discover for herself what her conscious tried to hard to make her forget.
This book draws a lot of mixed reviews, which isn't really all that surprising. The writing of the book is... different, to say the least, really. The problem a lot of people have is that it sounds kind of pretentious, and the story follows a rich family, which can rub people the wrong way. What really bothers me are the reviews that make it really clear the person just read the book wrong, which is kind of terrible. Because if read wrong, it might sound like the character is praising the exclusivity of being a Sinclair, as if she is proud of the fantasy they've built. But it's just not the case, at all really. She knows better, she know that there's a darkness to the family, this ignorance they paid for. If someone tells you they don't like the book because of the writing style, I'd say you should really give it a chance.
To say that I love this book is an understatement, and all of the bad reviews confuse me. Yes, it's the kind of book that has polar reactions; if the writing style bothers you, you won't understand Cadence, and if you understand the amnesia wrong, you might be fooled into thinking the story relies on the amnesia. The strings of the book just tie together in this unusual and somewhat alarming way, and the skill with which E. Lockhart accomplished this is kind of... indescribably amazing. It's hard to describe this book more without spoilers; it's the kind of thing you have to discover for yourself. When I put this book down, I couldn't stop thinking about it and I will be picking it up again to read, probably sooner that usual.
I'm thinking of making a video or writing another post sometime soon to discuss the book in more detail, with spoilers, assuming that those watching have already read it. If anyone's reading this blog, let me know if you're interested.
I'm not sure there's much more I can say to make you want to read this, but let me just say that this is one of the best books I've read in a while, and I'm still thinking about it days later.
Rating: 5/5Would I Recommend: Eff yes.
To... Literally every single person ever.
If You Liked...
Literally any book ever.
My Playlist for This Book:
"Ulay Oh" by How I Became the Bomb
"Eden" by Sara Barielles
"Basket Case" by Sara Barielles
"This Love" by Taylor Swift
"In The Mourning" by Paramore
Links:
Buy this book on Amazon here, Barnes and Noble here, Powell's here, or be a boss and Buy Independent!!!
Find this book on Goodreads here and Shelfari here.
Click here to visit the author's website, and here to read an interview about the book.
Peace out girl scouts :)
R
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