We Are the Goldens by Dana Reinhardt

Title: We Are the Goldens

Author: Dana Reinhardt

Release Date: May 27, 2014

Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books

Format: eBook

Page Number: 208

Source: Netgalley

Synopsis(Goodreads): Nell worships her older sister, Layla. They're one unit, intertwined: Nellayla. As Nell and her best friend, Felix, start their freshman year in high school, on Layla's turf, there's so much Nell looks forward to: Joining Layla on the varsity soccer team. Parties. Boys. Adventures.

   But the year takes a very different turn.

   Layla is changing, withdrawing. She's hiding something, and when Nell discovers what it is, and the consequences it might have, she struggles. She wants to support Layla, to be her confidante, to be the good sister she's always been. But with so much at stake, what secrets should she keep? What lies should she tell?

   Award-winning young adult author Dana Reinhardt explores questions of loyalty, love, and betrayal in this provocative and intimate novel. 

My Review

I was really looking forward to starting We Are the Goldens. It sounded like it could be really interesting. However, when I finished, I was really let down. This book wasn’t quite what I hoped it would be. 

This book is about two sisters who are really close, and Nell (the younger sister) knows a secret about Layla (the older sister). I was really intrigued by this concept, however, it just fell flat. To me, it felt like this book was mostly about the Nell and not about the secret the sisters shared. It didn’t have any of the spark that I was hoping for, and overall it was just okay. 

This book is told in second person point of view, and that was interesting because I had never read something in second person before. I thought it worked for the most part in this story, because Nell was telling this story to Layla. However, sometimes I got confused with the point of view and I didn’t always know who Nell was talking to. Overall, I think the point of view hurt the story. 

The characters in this book were really lifeless. They didn’t show any emotion, and since this book was Nell telling a story to Layla, we didn’t get to see much of the other characters. I didn’t really like any of the characters, because they just seemed boring and lifeless to me. I wished we could have gotten to know the characters better and that they had seemed more alive. 

Rating: 2/5 worms

Overall, this book was kind of a let down. Everything was rather bland and I thought it could be much better.