Amazon is adapting acclaimed young adult bestseller We Were Liars as a series with Vampire Dairies creator Julie Plec. Which, on closer inspection, sounds very promising.
With We Were Liars, Amazon has commissioned a new thriller series for the Young Adult audience. But not just any series, this is a twist-filled young adult series based on a book by E. Lockhart that packs a punch.
Not just for Vampire Diaries fans: Amazon is filming acclaimed bestseller We Were Liars
After series like Panic and Cruel Summer, which focused on suspenseful teen entertainment on Amazon Prime, as well as the success of the young adult adaptation of The Summer I Became Beautiful, the streaming service has found its next big project for young adult viewers, according to Deadline:
In We Were Liars, Cadence Eastman, the daughter of a wealthy family, always spends her summer holidays on a private island. But after a terrible accident, she has trouble remembering her past and cracks begin to show in the perfect family façade.
We Were Liars: the book template
For the series adaptation, Amazon secured the rights to We Were Liars * as well as the later released prequel Family of Liars *. The series creator of Vampire Diaries, creator Julie Plec, is on board as the driving creative force, having already expressed her interest in an adaptation when the novel was published in 2014. She is also joined by screenwriter Carina Adly McKenzie (The Originals).
Amazon’s next shocking hit: why We Were Liars is so appealing
After its initial release, We Were Liars received many euphoric reviews. Literary book reviews praised the 250-page (300-page in German) book as “perceptive” and at the same time as “riveting, brutal and beautifully told”. In addition to the superbly constructed atmosphere, the Guardian was particularly impressed by the surprisingly dramatic final twist, which was “nastier and more shocking than anything we could have imagined”. These are the best prerequisites for a “mysterious and addictive” Amazon series.
We Were Liars won the Goodreads Choice Award as a Young Adult novel in 2014 and was the only young adult book to make Amazon’s 20 Best Books of the Year list. Now Amazon Prime is following up on that success ten years later. As a series, We Were Liars is expected to be released in 2024.
