The book shows a valuable lesson for young adults, and I appreciated it. Their grandfather uses his daughters' inheritance to get his way, and shows how an elitist and racist man of power can yield that influence to cause pain to the family. But the book itself is well written and even poetic. The lead characters get drunk when they are 15 years old, use the 'F' word in casual conversation often, discuss and use name-brand prescription pain medicine like it was common knowledge, touch and kiss each other while getting 'almost naked,' sometimes discuss having 'sexual intercourse,' and possibly refer to cutting or harming themselves.

As a parent, I would prefer that my daughters not read this book until they have completed high school - not because it is complicated to read, but because it has mature themes that would be best appreciated and understood when she is older. After falling in love, the oldest cousin experiences something that leaves her emotionally traumatized, but desperately tries to piece back together her life and move on. We Were Liars is about a privileged group of cousins (and an outsider boy who is an almost-step-cousin) who live on their wealthy and manipulative grandfather's private island off the coast of Martha's Vineyard each summer.

We were liars description