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Duran Duran, Imelda Marcos and Me.

Our group discussed many things about this book. We all agreed that we did not like this book, it lacked interest, meaning and a plot. We perceived the main character as a spoiled girl trying to find something to complain about. We believed that she was not the right character to speak to us about this renown problem. It should have been really affected by the ruling of Marcos. Someone who was also a struggling citizen in this third-world country, to represent the Philippines as a population. The meaning was all over the place and it went from one plot line to another without elaborating. The author included lots of random moments and yes it was authentic, but did you really need to mention about the soup man that come around? Was it needed? Did it have any use? Many moments were like the one I just mentioned. Any good book should feel like time just flies by, but with this one it was like dragging on the story by adding random unnecessary information to a comic book that could’ve been amazing.

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Passage #4

“The Liars swim out, past the edge of the cove and into the open ocean. The sun is high in the sky and glints off the water, so bright, so bright. And then they dive-

Or something-

Or something-

And they are gone. I am left, there on the southern tip of Beechwood Island. I am on the tiny beach, alone. “

Loneliness. An emotion that can eat you up. Something that can make you fear your own mind. Loneliness a dangerous place, that enables your mind to think. That enables your mind to overthink. That makes you question. Makes you doubt. Makes you wonder. Makes you rethink. Every decision you’ve ever made in your life is dissected by your brain. Every person that you trust is questioned by your brain. Every thing that you like is criticized by your brain. Loneliness is a villain that slowly creeps up on you. He creeps up behind your back without a sound. He slides a knife at the back of your heart. Making the cool metal glide across your skin. His hands enclose around your throat until your face turns red. He slowly twists the knife inside your heart from the back. His eyes trail down the blood drip seeping out and creating a beautiful masterpiece. The knife is pulled out even slower making your face twist and turn. Until you freeze and fall. Loneliness leaves having once again accomplished his job.

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Connection

In the story, We Were Liars the main character, Cadence, doesn’t want to come to terms with the fact that she killed her cousins and her first love. She tries to avoid it and doesn’t want to accept that she did that. That’s why I believe that part of her amnesia is because she doesn’t want to remember what happened that night. Because she knows it’s her fault, deep down. Why would you want to be the one at fault? Therefore, Cadence tries to avoid it. She can’t believe she did such a horrible thing. She can’t believe that it’s her fault. That she is the one who ruined the family. So instead of accepting what she has done, she ignores it or denies it. I can connect with Cadence because I have done things that I regret and that I am ashamed of. I want to take back what I’ve done, but I can’t. I use to want to act like it wasn’t my fault like it couldn’t be me who did it. Because that’s not who I was. I wasn’t mean, impolite and hurt people on purpose. I wasn’t someone who committed a crime. I wasn’t someone who made mistakes, that get me in trouble. I wasn’t someone who could possibly be this monster that I see. I was kind, I said to myself. I was caring, I cried out. I was sympathetic, I shouted to the world. That’s how Cadence thought, that she was someone who was confident, strong and selfless. But her action portrays a jealous, venomous, cruel and selfish person. That’s not who she is. And that’s not who I am. We sometimes think that one action defines us. That that specific action is who we are and what we are. That that action represents us. The reality is that it doesn’t. We are not defined by our mistakes. We are not defined by our problems. We are defined by how we act in everyday life. We are defined by the decision we take daily in our life. We are defined by how we chose to portray ourselves. Just like Cadence, I couldn’t come to terms with what I did, which made me an in-denial person. We must accept the past and move on from it.

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Signpost

Contrast and contradiction

We did not expect Cadence to decide that they had to burn the house down. We didn’t expect her to come up with that decision and be able to  convince the others. Because she is a shy, quiet girl, who seems to accept what happens happens and there’s no point of changing it. We can obviously see that Gat has influenced her to think and see things from a different perspective that she has decided to adopt. What I expected was  for her to just not do anything about it just be her quiet self. It contradicts what I expected from her.

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Opinion

“Gat was my love, my first and only. How could I let him go?

He was a person who couldn’t fake a smile but smiled often. He wrapped my wrists in white gauze and believed wounds needed attention. He wrote on his hands and asked me my thoughts. His mind was restless, relentless. He didn’t believe in God anymore and yet he still wished that god would help him.

And now he was mine and I said we should not let our love be threatened.

We should not let the family fall apart.

We should not accept an evil we can change.

We should stand up against it, would we not?

Yes. We should.

We would be heroes, even.”

It seemed that she was weak. This whole time. She wouldn’t stand up to her mother or anyone. She would keep her opinion to herself. She was scared and lonely. She wrote stories to comfort her loneliness. With all this information, my group and I concluded that she’s weak, but the thing is that Cadence is strong. Cadence is powerful. Cadence matters. But the moment she decided to be that strong person that she is, take control of her life, she ruined everything. So, it’s understandable why she’s weak now. Because if things don’t end up as planned and end horribly because of you. Do you want to be that person again? That person who destroyed their own happiness? That exact person who ruined the family? Ruined everything for everyone? You probably won’t. So, Cadence doesn’t interfere in anyone’s life. She listens to what people tell her to do. She doesn’t rebel. She copes with all that rebellion inside of her by writing stories. Because why would you want a repeat of despair?  

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Questions #4

Would things have still been the same if grandma Tipper didn’t die?

Was anything of summer seventeen real?

Why is Ed there?

How has Grandpa changed after the fire?

Why does Cadence write stories?

Why is the book called We Were Liars?

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Questions #3

Why did they burn down the house?

Would you have listened to your mother and written the notes to grandpa?

Why did granddad lie to who he was going to give it to?

How would you fix the problem of the aunts fighting?

Do you believe that they did save the family?

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Creative

At the top of the mountain

We stood together

We raised our hands to the sky

We cheered for our success

But then a blade was struck through my spine

Red seeped through my shirt build off of innocence

A screech lunged out of my throat

My eyes were filled with tears made of salt ready to be unleashed for the world to see

But that wasn’t it

A fall awaited me, once they shoved me to the cold hard ground

A soul was shattered to millions of pieces

Bones were broken into dust

I was lying on the cold hard ground

Smashed to pieces like a porcelain doll

I was sucked away from reality

Mouth wide open of shock

I was D-E-A-D

While you stood there watching me

While you looked at me bleed

While you just left me to rot

At the bottom of the mountain

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Signpost: Words of the Wiser

When Gat is alone with Cady he expresses his feelings on granddad. The fact that he’s racist and doesn’t approve of him. It makes Cady think and wonder if he is a good person and what truly are his intentions. It helps Cady understand why they couldn’t be together. Gat in this situation is considered the wise character.

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Review

The first literary circle we had permitted us to explore each other’s thoughts on the books. It made us question characters and enabled us to see a different point of view on the story. My group and I talked about what were Gat’s intentions, why was the book named We Were Liars. We swooned over Gat’s actions and tried to figure out what truly happened the night of Cady’s accident. We pointed out clues that we thought might be relevant at one point in the story and expressed our point of view on the main character. The first literary circle helped us have a better understanding of the book. The only critique would be we needed more time to go over everything that happened in the book. 

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Passage #2

“SOMETIMES I WONDER if reality splits. In Charmed Life, that book I gave Gat, there are parallel universes in which different events have happened to the same people. An alternate has been made, or an accident has turned out differently. Everyone has duplicates of themselves in these other worlds. Different selves with different lives, different luck,

               Variations.”

I wonder too. I wonder if I were to be born, when my mother wanted me two years after her wedding what life would be like for me. I wonder if I would have never met that boy at the age of 9, would I still have been a good girl. I wonder if my past was different would I still be the same person. I wonder what would have happened if I never had the guts to talk to the girl who was now my best friend, would we still be friends? Is it fate that we are who we are today? Or is it temporary something that will change? We all wonder about what could have been, if things were different, but we must keep in mind that they aren’t. That we cannot change who we are. That we cannot change what has happened. We must focus on the present, because in the moment you can change the future. In that moment, you can shape your future and the decisions you make will impact you later. The past is the past; it isn’t something you can change, so focus on what you can change like your future, the path you’re taking.  

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Passage #3

“They will not lie to me anymore. Go places without me, make decisions without me.”

Betrayal. Have you ever felt like you could trust this person? You could believe that this person won’t stab a knife in your back? You could believe that this person will always be there to catch you if you were to fall? Have you ever felt that way? And then the moment you fall, you end up crushed, crippled on the ground with a blade stuck in your back, cries of help leave your mouth needing that person’s help. You search for them everywhere so they can comfort you and help you get back up on your feet. Just to learn that they are the one that shoved you off that cliff. They are the one that shoved that knife in your back, until red started pouring out of your body. They are the one who fucking watched you bleed and did nothing about it. They stared while you helplessly begged. They laughed while you bled to death. That’s betrayal. Watching loves one not give a damn about you. One of the worst things that could happen to you.

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Our youth is wasted We will not waste it Remember my name 'Cause we made history Na na na na, na na na

E. Lockhart, We Were Liars

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Questions #2

·         Why does Gat tell Cady she doesn’t know the real him?

·         Why does Gat tell Cady he wants them to be normal?

·         Why didn’t Johnny or Mirren answer Cady’s emails?

·         Why was Gat not there for her? Why does he feel bad for something he could have done?

·         Why do they lie to Cady about the donuts?

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I think an inspirational quote can get you through hard times.

E. Lockhart, We Were Liars

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It is possible people are curious about us because we do not show them our hearts. It is possible we enjoy the way people are  curious about us.

E.Lockhart, We were liars

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Vocabulary

·         Summer - This is the time that everything happens. This is where discoveries are made, love blooms, hearts are broken. This is the place that we learn about what happened and why it happened. It’s a place where the Sinclairs live in their own little world.  

·         Normal - Normal is the goal of each and everyone Sinclair. It’s what they thrive to be. This is what keeps their reputation intact and makes them who they are, Liars. Normal in the sense that joy is the only emotion they portray, that they cannot be hurt, be ill, scared or any other negative emotion. 

·         Love - Love is what Cadence discovers. It’s what she tried to understand, wrap her head around. It’s a word that she wants, a feeling she looks for.  

·         Accident - Accident is what ruined Cady’s perfectly crafted lives. It ruined her life because it made revelations she didn’t notice, it made her realize things she didn’t notice before. It made her question her morals, lifestyle, family and friends. This is what Cady needed in her life to come to terms with what’s happening around her and realizing that life isn’t perfect. 

·         Shut up - Words to comfort someone. An indirect I love you.