NessaS

Most of the book I was going to give it 2 stars, I really don't like how it's written but then the truth came up finally and just destroyed me. I'm still crying as I write this, since I just finished it.
My heart bleeds out for the Liars, for reasons that I won't say since they're spoilers.
If the writing had been better, and by that i mean the similes for things that weren't happening like her headaches and her grief, this would've been even better.
It's still such a heart twisting story, and though flawed, you really end up caring about all the Liars. Though the one I ended up liking the most was Gat, with his ideals and his need to right the injustices in this world.
Not for the weak of heart, the last third really murdered me and put in perspective everything that had happened before in the book. Because suddenly conversations had a whole new meaning.
I didn't expect that ending or the answer to the mystery of why she can't remember her 15 summer or what happened, at all.

Now to spoil stuff so don't click, cause I need to unleash this saddeness



I never expected this book to be about grief or how to deal with it, I think that's why it hit me so deep. The liars had so much potential, especially Gat, and they all died without being able to do anything.
A big part of me is angry at Cadence, because she was the one that brought it up and put the idea in them. Tbh, I don't think she suffered enough since she was blissfully ignorant on a conscious level, though not on a subconscious one.
After she said they were dead, I didn't believe at first because she has a tendency to over exaggerate and dramatize, so I thought she meant died as in emotionally/mentally/who they used to be.
Turns out it wasn't, they really were dead, and it devastated me so much, I don't even know why. Whatever it was, it clicked and made me bawl.
I fully expected her to try to kill herself after she realized the truth, though she didn't. I got a feeling she did try it after the burning happened, because of that scene where her wrists are taped and her legs burnt. It also explained why her mother was always hovering and reminding her that she was loved.
I'm still tearing up/crying as I remember and write this. Mostly because it was the 3 liars with potential that died, and not Cadence who didn't have any aspirations aside from wanting to be with Gat. Which was also why she ended up killing them with the fire. What kind of stupid kids don't know to start a fire from top to bottom one at a time, and not all of them at the same time??? Though I get that they were drunk, it just seemed so odd and off to me. That's the part where I'm not convinced tbh.
The scene after she meets them Johnny, Mirren, and Gat, knowing they're dead and just an hallucination/delusion, really killed me.

I need to nurse my wounds and try to stop crying now.

Oh and I totally forgot to say I loved that this author put two of Diana Wynne Jones, my fave author ever, in this book/that the characters read. Though it was only from the Chrestomanci books, and not my faves from her, I still loved that shout out!

Edit: originally I gave it 4 stars, but after thinking it over and over, since the book is still juggling in my head with questions and etc, I realize that I don't feel satisfied. There were a lot of things and questions roused that I wish the book had addressed. The book to be longer, even just by 50 pages. Or at least that the author explained at the end or after the book.
She said the answer to why they were called Liars was cut out of the book to not slow it down, well then just explain it yourself! There's no good reason no to do it, ffs.
It's still a book that impacted me a lot, so I'll leave it at 3 stars~