Penny, Carrie, and Bess, the three daughters of Harris and Tipper Sinclair in We Were Liars, make Cinderella's wicked stepsisters look like best friends. Wealth has made them ill-equipped for the real world (affluenza, anyone?), and they're practically clawing each other's eyes out over who inherits what. The Boston house in which they were raised is the big prize, but they're not above squabbling over tablecloths.
Their competition is primarily driven by financial insecurity, but because Harris and Tipper have pitted them against each other their whole lives, getting the most material possessions equals getting the most love. Until Harris keels over and they find out which one of them is truly the favorite, they'll be in the New Clairmont kitchen drinking and fighting.
Questions About Competition
- Does Harris really have a favorite daughter? If so, which one?
- Why does Harris promise the same houses to different daughters/grandchildren? Does he just enjoy watching them fight, or is he so senile he can't remember?
- Why don't the daughters just stay in school and get jobs? Does this book argue that money makes people helpless?
Chew on This
Harris wouldn't get away with pitting the daughters against each other if they weren't on an island. The isolation exacerbates the competition.
Being pressured by their moms to fight for the family fortune makes Johnny, Mirren, and Cadence grow closer. Obviously, it backfires, though, since the cousins want nothing to do with the competition, even if it means their families get less of Harris's fortune.