The Liars Society

Weatherby is a fish out of water. When she lands a scholarship to the prestigious Boston School, she’s excited to be in the same world as her dad, whom she’s never met, and make real friends. But Weatherby has a secret she’ll risk everything to protect, one that could destroy her new life. 

Every member of Jack’s wealthy and privileged family has made their mark at the Boston School. Everyone, that is, except for Jack, who is entirely mediocre. He’s desperate to prove his worth to his influential father. But Jack has a secret of his own. . . one with the power to ruin everything. 

When the money for their school trip to a private island—exclusive to Boston students—is stolen, Jack and Weatherby are invited to play a high-stakes game and solve the mystery of the missing money. If they win, they’ll be selected to join the oldest, most powerful secret society in the world—and they’ll be Boston royalty forever. If they lose. . . well, they better not lose. 

The Liars Society is told from first-person point of view that alternates between Weatherby’s and Jack’s points of view. This allows the reader to understand Jack’s family, the Hunts, while also giving an outsider’s view of his family. However, Jack’s and Weatherby’s voices aren’t always distinctive, making it hard to remember whose viewpoint the chapter is from.  

Weatherby’s character is defined by deception from the moment she enters Boston School. She harbors a major secret that calls her integrity into question, and despite initially struggling to fit in with her wealthy classmates due to her own modest background, she quickly adapts by choosing dishonesty over authenticity. Her willingness to deceive everyone around her—classmates, her best friend, and even her mother—makes it difficult for readers to sympathize with her struggles. Moreover, her obvious enjoyment of the exclusive school’s privileges and her wealthy friends’ lifestyles reveals a shallow side to her personality that undermines any potential for genuine connection.  

Jack wants to win, but not if that means hurting others. However, Jack relies on his father’s wealth and power to get himself out of trouble. Like many middle schoolers, Jack wants to make his father proud, and the way to do that is to get into the secret society, Last Heir. Jack realizes that his father has prepared him to get into Last Heir by teaching him “Hunt-isms,” such as, “Keep it in the family” and, “Ignore. Deny. Threaten.” However, Jack also realizes that his family is keeping secrets—secrets that may reveal Jack’s dad is willing to do anything, including killing others, to maintain his position at the top.  

The Liars Society revolves around several mysteries—who stole the money for the field trip and what the Hunt family is hiding. However, the story mainly focuses on five students trying to complete tasks to prove they belong in the Last Heir. The five students—Prescott, Harper, Iris, Weatherby, and Jack—are not trustworthy because they all have hidden agendas, which makes the conclusion problematic. When each person reveals their secret, the others instantly forgive them despite their previous deception, which is unrealistic. In the end, the kids decide to form their own secret society, promising that there will be, “No secrets among friends.” But being in a secret society means they will have to lie to everyone outside of their group, creating a contradiction. 

Right from the start, many of the plot points are implausible. For example, when Jack first meets Weatherby, he instantly dislikes her. Yet, after winning just one regatta, Jack suddenly chooses to trust Weatherby over his own family. The conclusion wraps up everything so quickly that the events become unbelievable. The kids discover that Jack’s family has been dumping harmful chemicals into the ground for decades—chemicals being dumped on a lush island that the Hunts and the school own together. When the EPA discovers this illegal dumping, they clean up the site in a few weeks, and the Hunts receive no punishment. The Liars Society implies that if you are wealthy enough, you can get away with anything, even criminal activity. 

Although The Liars Society has conflicting messages, its strongest message is that “you get to decide who you want to be.” Even though Jack’s family is corrupt, Jack and the Liars Society have decided they will not harm others in their pursuit of the truth. Despite the book’s conflicting messages and underdeveloped characters, readers who enjoy mysteries will enjoy trying to figure out all of the clues. The book will leave readers questioning what they would do to win money, power, and influence. 

At her new school, Weatherby reinvents herself and makes new friends while struggling with keeping a lie. Readers who want to explore these issues should read Pippa Park Raises Her Game by Erin Yun and High Score by Destiny Howel. 

Sexual Content  

• None

Violence  

• None

Drugs and Alcohol  

• To win a regatta, Jack puts a laxative in an opponent, JB’s, water bottle. Jack thinks, “I didn’t mean to hurt him. I was only trying to make him get stuck in the bathroom and miss a race or two. . . JB had a bad reaction and pooped his pants in front of everyone, all their parents, and our biggest rivals.” After the incident, JB is sent to a boarding school.

Language  

• While describing people, the term jerk is occasionally used. For example, when being introduced to Jack, Weatherby thinks, “The Hunt jerk who laughed at me.” 
• A boy calls Weatherby a turd. 
• A police officer questions Jack’s father. After the officer leaves, “Dad slams the front door behind him and mutters, ‘Loser.’” 

Supernatural 

• None 

Spiritual Content  

• One of the characters is preparing for her bat mitzvah. She says, “I’m a woman now in the eyes of the Jewish people’s view.”