'We Were Liars' author returns for more teenage catharsis in 'We Fell Apart'

NPR's Book of the Day

NPR

Arts, Books

4.2 • 671 Ratings

🗓️ 26 November 2025

⏱️ 8 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

E. Lockhart understands the struggle of being a teenager. Her first novel We Were Liars was a standout YA hit of 2014, celebrated (and at times, criticized) amongst teens in particular for its twisty and devastating coming-of-age narrative set on a fictional island near Martha’s Vineyard. Lockhart returns to the East Coast for We Fell Apart, her third book in the series, crafting another summer tale of mystery and self-discovery. In today’s episode, Lockhart joins NPR’s Juana Summers to discuss her newest novel, and what we could all learn from teenagers — and perhaps their reading habits too.

To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbong.
0:06.0	What is it about teenagers that make them fascinating subjects for novels?
0:10.7	How many of the great books that you've read focus on those awkward, scary, exciting years?
0:17.3	E. Lockhart is a best-selling author, and she not only writes about teens, but four teens.
0:22.4	Her latest novel is titled We Fell Apart.
0:25.1	And in this interview with NPR's Juana Summers, she talks about not just what makes teens good characters, but also what makes them good readers.
0:33.6	That's ahead.
0:35.4	You may know author E. Lockhart from her bestselling novel, We Were Liars.
0:40.3	It came out back in 2014, and the young adult novel became a bestseller.
0:44.9	And the story about an affluent family who spent every summer on a fictional island off of Martha's Vineyard,
0:51.1	gripped new audiences through its Amazon Prime series adaptation, which got some big emotional reactions from fans online.
1:03.4	And this ending was insane. jaw dropped on the floor.
1:10.1	This is devastating.
1:13.2	I'm part broke.
1:14.4	Oh my God.
1:16.5	Oh my.
1:19.2	Oh my God.
1:21.3	I can't breathe that. I have full body chills.
1:24.1	Those were videos from TikTok users Tyler Conroy at Emma 0612 at Howley Likes to Read and at Addie on Addy.
1:32.7	Now Loghart is back with a new novel. It's called We Fell Apart. It traces the story of a young woman named Matilda.
1:40.5	She receives a message from the father she's never met.
1:42.8	And she flies across the country and she gets to this kind of incredible property on the island of Martha's Vineyard.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NPR, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of NPR and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.