Here’s where I ruin your life if you haven’t read it. At the end, Cadence finally remembers Summer Fifteen. The Liars—Cadence, Gat, Johnny, and Mirren—got drunk one night and decided to burn down the main house on the island. They were furious at their grandparents for their greed and toxicity. So, they poured gasoline… and then something went horribly wrong.
We Were Liars - Apple TV
The house burned, but Johnny, Gat, and Mirren died in the fire. Wait, what? Yes. They all perished. And Cadence? She survived with brain damage and amnesia because she tried to save them. For two years, she’s been hallucinating her dead cousins and boyfriend as if they’re still alive. The whole book is a ghost story, and she’s the ghost who doesn’t know she’s haunted.
Wait, So the Liars Were… Ghosts?
Exactly! For the entire novel, Cadence has been chilling with dead people. She has deep conversations with Gat about love and justice, but Gat is a corpse. She bakes cookies with Mirren, but Mirren’s ashes are scattered in the Atlantic. It’s like The Sixth Sense but with more boat shoes and trust funds. The reveal is so sneaky that most readers scream and throw the book across the room.
And get this: E. Lockhart wrote the clues right in your face. The Liars never interact with anyone else. They only appear when Cadence is alone. Their “summer adventures” are literally memories. There’s even a scene where Cadence tells her dad, “I miss them,” and he says, “You mean you miss him,” meaning Gat. No one else acknowledges the cousins exist because they don’t.
