Sinclair----unhappy old-money family

In the book, We Were Liars, the story takes place in Massachusetts America, specifically a private island; it is about a distinguished family, Sinclairs. This family spends every summer in their own private island, and the story starts when the main character, Cadence is eight years old. Cadence and her cousins have a good time in the first few years, until an accident takes place suddenly.

Sinclairs are all white, blonde, athletic and beautiful, however, they are not actually as perfect as they seem like. Sinclair is an old-money family, but they are almost running out of their money. Harris and Tipper are Cadence’s grandparents, and they hold the money. They are deceitful; they also teach their children to smile all the time, even though they are in a bad mood. When Carrie brings Ed to the island, even if they do not like Ed, they still smile to him and praise him. Also, Carrie and Penny have failed marriage. When Cadence’s father leaves, Cadence is sad and upset, but her mother said to “get hold of myself. Be normal, now, she said. Right now, she said. “ (E. Lockhart, We Were Liars, Kindle Locations 182-183). People in this family actually live in other’s eyes. They fear that other people know they are not happy, so they smile all the time. They hide their true emotion, and they wear masks everyday.

Children are more honest and happy than the adults in the Sinclair family. Cadence has six cousins: Johnny, Will, Mirren, Taft and twins. When Cadence is eight, Gat starts coming to the island and playing with them. Since then, Johnny, Mirren, Gat and Cadence are called liars. Gat is not like Sinclairs at all. Gat has dark skin, and he does not have blonde hair. Gat is a quiet boy; he is not as active as Johnny. He likes reading books alone in the hammock. Although Gat is just a kid, but he is clever. He understands that he is not a Sinclair, and he cannot borrow the boat by himself. Though he is close to Sinclair kids, there is still a line between them. He comes to Cadence, because he likes Cadence. The “liars” are so naive so far; they just play together. Johnny is a naughty, bounce boy, and he hates girls. He kicked his cousins, instead saying hi. “ Back then he would hang our Barbies by the necks or shoot us with guns made of Lego.” (E. Lockhart, We Were Liars, Kindle Locations 209-210) In addition, Johnny is the first grandson, so the grandparents hardly refuse his requests. This makes Johnny spoiled. Oppositely, Mirren is a sweet, curious but wet girl. Cadence is a sensitive and clever girl, but she is not happy. Through the words, Cadence always uses a sarcastic tone; she actually hates her family and the way they live. Her father’s departure hurts Cadence, but she does not say that, like all the Sinclairs do. Cadence is also a clever girl; she understands her situation all the time. When her father leaves, she follows her mother’s orders, because she does not want to lose her mother. When other kids live in the appearance happily, Cadence knows the real situation the family is in. Like what she said:“Suffer migraines. Do not suffer fools.” (E. Lockhart, We Were Liars, Kindle Location 164) Though these kids have different personalities, skin color or background, they are still close friends.

In conclusion, Sinclair is an old-money family, but people are not happy. They hide too many secrets, and they actually live for other people’s eyes. The first five chapters are just beginning. Readers have not known about the accident Cadence suffers, the secrets Sinclairs hide, the lies they tell yet. 

Notes

In this two chapters, Lorenzo went to the hospital where his grandma lived to find some medicines for Olivia. Lorenzo started changing in these two chapters, he wanted to help and save his sister. When he got the pills, he woke his grandma, and she thought Lorenzo came to visit her. Lorenzo then told her a story about the robot which cleaned their swimming pools. The robot's name was K19, which had an electronic brain. It was designed for assassinating Saddam, however, the postman made a mistake. The robot was sent to a family in California. Because K19 is a weapon, it killed thousands of people who lived in California. The government sent armies to kill K19; K19 then jumped into the sea. It seemed like a sad ending, so Lorenzo made up a new ending. K19 lived in the sea with turtles, and it had its own babies. After telling the story, someone saw Lorenzo, so he had to run away. On the way to the cellar, he destroyed Silver Monkey's soup and stole his beer. When he got to the cellar, he saw his sister was lying on the bed. He thought she was dead, but she was not. She just took some sleeping pills and slept.

reaction

When I finished reading chapter 10, I thought this is a good ending. They danced and sang to celebrate the last night. Olivia promised that she would never take drugs, and Lorenzo promised they would meet again. I started imagining the picture of their second meeting. I really hope I didn't keep reading, I should've end in chapter 10! I know I should've go to bed immediately! His sister died because of overdose! She broke her promise, and they met after she dead. This ending made me sad and angry. I feel sad for Olivia, because Roman did not be with her when she was dying, and she was alone again at last. I was mad, because how could the author make up this ending! After reading this book, I only learned one thing: never take drugs, because once you take, it is hard to live without it. 

Revised Haiku Poems

Moonlight

Moonlight is so sweet, 

It lay on my bed tonight , 

say good night to me. 

Go outside

You need to listen,

ha, birds are singing outside, 

but you are working. 

Umbrella 

My heart is raining,

Please give me an umbrella, 

Now it is sunny. 

Three thinking questions

1. What do Lorenzo's parents think about Olivia?
2. Why Olivia has nowhere to go?
3. Why Olivia doesn't ask Lorenzo's parents for help?

Lorenzo's sister

In my opinion, Lorenzo's sister, Olivia is a sensitive and rebel girl who lives in absence of affection, but she is also a poor girl. She smokes, takes nude photos, and keeps getting into trouble. She seems like a bad girl, but this is not all her fault. She lives in a divorced family, and she did not get enough love from her father. However, a father is a big role in either a family or a kid's life. In kids' development, there should be a father to teach them something necessary. In the book, when Olivia gets into trouble, Lorenzo's father just gives money, and he does not teach Olivia the rules in the society that she is supposed to know. Even when they are together, Lorenzo's father is just telling Olivia negative things about her mother. Thus, Olivia keeps making trouble. She is so sensitive that when she saw her box was in the cellar, she was angry. In my opinion, Olivia actually loves her father, and she cares about his feelings. That is why she keeps the stuff and memory of her father in the box. Lorenzo mentioned that when he saw his sister in a party which was held by his father, his sister looked pretty good. When he saw his sister in the cellar, she looked bad. Olivia loves her father, and she wants to get his attention. That might be the reason of why she dressed well in the party and rebel. Olivia wants her father's attention and love, but she goes the wrong way which makes her sensitive and rebel. 

Summary of chapter 5

At the beginning of the chapter, Lorenzo imagined himself as Countess Nunziante. He held a party, everything was interesting. However, his sister Olivia just came, and they were looking for a box together. His sister did not ask why he was hiding in the cellar; she just took her book and left. After she left, Lorenzo read a letter from Olivia to his father. The letter showed how much Olivia hated their father, and then Lorenzo was angry at Olivia. In the midnight, his sister came and asked Lorenzo to let her sleep here. If Lorenzo did not agree, she would tell his parents that he was hiding in the cellar, so Lorenzo allowed Olivia to sleep here for a night.