Reviews

Going in blind thinking this would be a fluffy read. There are alot of twist and turns. Teenage years are hard. The experiences that Hawthorn has are real and raw. Really makes you stop and think about those years.
Overall it's an engaging read that offers a fresh perspective on the themes of identity and belonging. It’s a reminder that sometimes, the greatest discoveries come from looking within. Loved it. I can't wait to read more of Chelsea Sedoti's books.

graciesmom's review

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4.0

I truly enjoyed this book, The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett. I found that the pages just flew by right from the first to the last.

Hawthorn Creely, the main character, is a lonely outsider in high school when she meets the golden girl of town, Lizzie Lovett. When Lizzie goes missing, Hawthorn can’t seem to let it go, long after Lizzie has become yesterday’s news. She even comes up with her own strange theories about the disappearance. Her tenacity involves getting hired for Lizzie’s job and securing Lizzie’s boyfriend, who gets caught up in Hawthorn’s unconventional ideas.

A well-written debut book by author, Chelsea Sedoti. The prose captures what it is like to be lonely, bored, and waiting for something bigger or more magical to happen in life. The dialog feels true and the relationships between characters by turns is funny, touching, mean, etc. Hawthorn’s family life, and her friend, Emily, ground her as she is the butt of a great deal of teasing at school.

4 stars out of 5

Publication Date: 03 Jan 2017

Thanks to Sourcebooks Fire, Netgalley and Chelsea Sedoti for this Advanced Reading Copy in exchange for an unbiased review

babs_reviews's review

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1.0

To each their own; I wasn't impressed. No arc to the plot. It just fell flat for me. :( I spent most of the time wondering what the point of her obsession was.

ash_reads14's review

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3.0

I am conflicted with this book! In the beginning I had a lot of issues with the main character. I found Hawthorn to be selfish, childish, and self-absorbed! Despite that I wanted to know where the story was going. As I read further into the book Hawthorn became less intolerable and if Im being honest is one of the main reasons I kept reading. She definitly redeemed herself for me by the end of this book. The author did an amazing job at developing Hawthorn's character by the end. Definitly an improvment from the Hawthorn we are first introduced to. Overall not a bad book, but wasnt my favorite.

kaleyamo's review against another edition

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4.0

This book was nothing like I expected. I can't decide if that's a good thing or a bad thing. But I liked the book, so I guess.... a good thing? I just expected there to be investigating a missing girl's disappearance. I didn't expect creative theories and folklore.

I liked most of the characters. Hawthorn, the main character, was a little self-centered . . . but that never bothers me, because it's a typical teen trait. Sundog, a hippie from a commune who hangs out in Hawthorn's backyard, was my favorite. I loved Connor (Hawthorn's brother Rush's best friend) as well and really wished we had seen more of him. He seemed sweet, smart, and thoughtful...but his scenes were fleeting.

I did not love Emily. She seemed pretty hypocritical to me . . . doing something or wanting something herself, and then being mad if Hawthorn did something similar.

I didn't really understand how I was supposed to feel about Enzo the whole time. It was so confusing. Because 1) he was 8 years older than her....which is a big deal if one of you is 17. It made me, at 26, think about how if that was me I'd be dating an 18-year-old and yuuuuck. But 2) Hawthorn was so into him.

But I still don't know if Hawthorn was into him because of him, or because Lizzie was and Hawthorn had a weird obsession with her.

Spoiler

And I don't really understand Hawthorn's grief at finding out Lizzie died. It was someone she barely knew and had a love/hate relationship with. And more hate than love. I know everyone deals with grief differently, but seriously! I had a love/hate relationship with someone who died...and yeah, I was sad. And yeah, I still get sad if I think about it too much. But it does not seem normal to me to grieve so deeply she hardly got out of bed, missed school for a week, saw no hope, and then tried to "see what it feels like" by reenacting how she died. Hawthorn was having some serious depression about it....and it was kind of just glazed over. It wasn't addressed. It was so strange.

jongseobxenvy's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

izzys_internet_bookshelf's review against another edition

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1.0

1/5

I was excited about the mystery of this story and to see how things unravel but instead I got a pretty uncomfortable romance and an anxiety educing ending. and here I was trying to find a somewhat peaceful read.

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