We Were Liars: Part One

by E. Lockhart
Something terrible happened on the private island where Cadence and her family spend their summers — but Cadence can't remember what it was. When she returns to the island, Cadence begins to uncover the truth.


Here are links to our lists for the novel: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five

Here is a link to our lists for Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. aggressive
    showing determination and energetic pursuit of your ends
    The Sinclairs are athletic, tall, and handsome. We are old-money Democrats. Our smiles are wide, our chins square, and our tennis serves aggressive.
  2. cluster
    a grouping of a number of similar things
    It doesn’t matter if there’s a cluster of pill bottles on the bedside table.
  3. desperately
    with great urgency
    It doesn’t matter if one of us is desperately, desperately in love.
  4. suffer
    put up with something or somebody unpleasant
    It is true I suffer migraines since my accident.
    It is true I do not suffer fools.
    I like a twist of meaning. You see? Suffer migraines. Do not suffer fools.
  5. fond
    having or displaying warmth or affection
    He was never fond of my grandparents, either, and it was a sign of how much he loved both me and Mummy that he spent every summer in Windemere House on Beechwood Island, writing articles on wars fought long ago and putting on a smile for the relatives at every meal.
  6. assets
    anything of material value owned by a person or company
    We asked Granddad’s lawyers to secure Mummy’s assets.
  7. majestic
    having or displaying great dignity or nobility
    Made for princes and Ivy League schools, ivory statues and majestic houses.
  8. effort
    use of physical or mental energy; hard work
    Johnny, he is bounce, effort, and snark.
  9. curiosity
    a state in which you want to learn more about something
    Mirren, she is sugar, curiosity, and rain.
  10. contemplation
    a calm, lengthy, intent consideration
    Gat seemed spring-loaded. Like he was searching for something. He was contemplation and enthusiasm.
  11. falsehood
    the act of faking something
    I had come here to this island from a house of tears and falsehood and I saw Gat, and I saw that rose in his hand, and in that one moment, with the sunlight from the window shining in on him, the apples on the kitchen counter, the smell of wood and ocean in the air, I did call it love.
  12. relentless
    never-ceasing
    Here is something I love about Gat: he is so enthusiastic, so relentlessly interested in the world, that he has trouble imagining the possibility that other people will be bored by what he’s saying.
  13. warp
    a moral or mental distortion
    “We have a warped view of humanity on Beechwood,” Gat said.
  14. agitate
    try to stir up (e.g., public opinion)
    “I should live for today and not be agitating all the time.”
  15. selfish
    concerned chiefly with your own advantage
    “What we mean is, we love you. You remind us that we’re selfish bastards. You’re not one of us, that way.”
  16. tentative
    hesitant or lacking confidence; unsettled in mind or opinion
    Our kiss was electric and soft, and tentative and certain, terrifying and exactly right.
  17. legendary
    so celebrated as to having taken on the nature of a myth
    The legendary Sinclairs, what fun we’d had, how beautiful we were.
  18. distress
    psychological suffering
    Don’t cause distress, she said.
  19. critical
    urgently needed; absolutely necessary
    At meals with the aunts, on the boat with Granddad, even alone with Mummy—I behaved as if those two critical people had never existed.
  20. oblivious
    lacking conscious awareness of
    Every time Gat said these things, so casual and truthful, so oblivious—my veins opened.
  21. agony
    intense feelings of suffering; acute mental or physical pain
    I’d stagger from the table or collapse in quiet shameful agony, hoping no one in the family would notice.
  22. covert
    secret or hidden
    He touched me whenever he could. Beneath the table at dinner, in the kitchen the moment it was empty. Covertly, hilariously, behind Granddad’s back while he drove the motorboat.
  23. plunge
    drop steeply
    I remember only this: I plunged down into this ocean, down to rocky rocky bottom, and I could see the base of Beechwood Island and my arms and legs felt numb but my fingers were cold.
  24. prone
    lying face downward
    I lay prone on the bathroom floors of several museums, feeling the cold tile underneath my cheek as my brain liquefied and seeped out my ear, bubbling.
  25. revive
    restore from a depressed, inactive, or unused state
    Instead, we knew our affection would revive when we saw one another on the dock the following June, salt spray in the air, pale sun glinting off the water.
  26. devise
    come up with after a mental effort
    Play tennis. Build a bonfire. Then report back. I am desperately bored and will devise creative punishments if you do not comply.
  27. explicitly
    in a clearly expressed manner
    We believe, although we will not say so explicitly, in prescription drugs and the cocktail hour.
  28. impact
    a forceful consequence; a strong effect
    We haven’t the weight of Granddad in Boston or the impact of the whole family on Beechwood, but I know how people see us nonetheless.
  29. aura
    distinctive but intangible quality around a person or thing
    Still, she has an aura of mystery that stops her from being teased or singled out for typical high school unpleasantness.
  30. narrative
    an account that tells the particulars of an act or event
    However, I am not immune to the feeling of being viewed as a mystery, as a Sinclair, as part of a privileged clan of special people, and as part of a magical, important narrative, just because I am part of this clan.
Created on Wed Mar 09 13:34:04 EST 2016 (updated Wed Dec 12 11:59:18 EST 2018)

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