We Fell Apart: A We Were Liars Novel
by E. Lockhart
High School    Delacorte    320 pp.
11/25    9780593899168    $22.99

The summer after she graduates from high school, Matilda receives an email from the father she’s never known. Kingsley Cello, a famous artist, invites her to his home at Hidden Beach and says he has a painting he wants to give her. Intrigued and feeling at loose ends—her existing relationships are tenuous—Matilda makes the trip from Los Angeles to Martha’s Vineyard. When she arrives, Kingsley is nowhere to be found, and the people she does meet, including her half-brother, Meer, and Kingsley’s romantic partner, June, dismiss his absence as artistic eccentricity. Strange discoveries follow as Matilda gets to know Kingsley’s off-the-grid household, leading eventually to major revelations and then devastating consequences. Matilda’s yearning for connection with and validation from her father is palpable, as is her confusion about the unconventional situation; occasional passages of cascading short lines create a sense of immediacy and, as the story progresses, of her trying to piece things together. Set in the same world as We Were Liars (rev. 5/14) and Family of Liars (rev. 5/22), this novel takes place immediately after the former’s pivotal event; as an opening note from Lockhart indicates, it can be understood on its own but includes spoilers for the previous books. Like those, this book’s plot hinges on secrets, but an affecting emotional arc is at its core. A concluding note expands on literary and other references.

From the November/December 2025 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.