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2.95 AVERAGE
2.95 AVERAGE
This was a quick, entertaining read. There was a lot I didn't like about the book - Hawthorn's ridiculous theory about what happened to Lizzie Lovett being the main thing - but it's worth a read for the story of a high school outcast who wants to be more.
This review, and many more, are available on my blog Girl About Library!
Looking at the cover of "The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett" I'm pretty sure most readers would not be able to correctly guess the book's plot. In an ultimate test of "do not judge a book by its cover", this book most certainly does not match the bright yellow cover and flower petals it is adorned with. " The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett" was absolutely not what I expected at all - in some not so great ways, but also in some awesome super surprising ways...
Initially, my biggest issue with this book was the narrator, Hawthorn. For the first half of the book she was just so incredibly immature - particularly in her thoughts about Lizzie. Lizzie Lovett is someone Hawthorne, and most of her small community, has put on a pedestal. And as such, it is hard to imagine anything bad happening to her - but I have to think that most 17-18 year old high school seniors, like Hawthorn, know that bad things happen to girls every day, even those on pedestals. Hawthorne's complete ignorance to that was just so incredibly frustrating for me as a reader.
" I was trying to explain that I wasn't trying to be a jerk. I just didn't believe anything bad could really happen to a girl like Lizzie. That's not how her life worked."
And then, Hawthorn took it to the next level. Instead of acknowledging that something real might've happened to Lizzie, for the majority of the book Hawthorn pursue's the idea that Lizzie has in fact become ... a werewolf. Yeah... I just, ugh. There were times when Hawthorn seemed so naive and easily tricked that I was genuinely worried for her wandering around in the woods.
I considered not finishing the book a couple of times throughout the weird werewolf phase... but then something magical happened, Hawthorn grew on me. She is such a confused, but lovable teenager and overtime, despite her antics I really started to enjoy her voice and story and was genuinely sad went it was over! All of this, of course, is due to the incredibly writings talents of Chelsea Sedoti. And regardless of how I feel about portions of this book I would absolutely read another book by this author.
While I wasn't always a huge fan of Hawthorne's at times, the other characters in the book were definitely compelling - particularly the assortment of hippies that live in Hawthorne's backyard. I enjoyed reading the interaction between their ragtag leader, Sundog, and Hawthorn. But really the whole cast of secondary characters are incredibly strong and keep the story grounded whilst Hawthorn is going through her werewolf conspiracy phases.
If you enjoy YA fiction and have ever felt like your imagination was under appreciated or enjoy female coming of age stories, and don't mind the occasional werewolf side story - you will enjoy reading " The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett".
Looking at the cover of "The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett" I'm pretty sure most readers would not be able to correctly guess the book's plot. In an ultimate test of "do not judge a book by its cover", this book most certainly does not match the bright yellow cover and flower petals it is adorned with. " The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett" was absolutely not what I expected at all - in some not so great ways, but also in some awesome super surprising ways...
Initially, my biggest issue with this book was the narrator, Hawthorn. For the first half of the book she was just so incredibly immature - particularly in her thoughts about Lizzie. Lizzie Lovett is someone Hawthorne, and most of her small community, has put on a pedestal. And as such, it is hard to imagine anything bad happening to her - but I have to think that most 17-18 year old high school seniors, like Hawthorn, know that bad things happen to girls every day, even those on pedestals. Hawthorne's complete ignorance to that was just so incredibly frustrating for me as a reader.
" I was trying to explain that I wasn't trying to be a jerk. I just didn't believe anything bad could really happen to a girl like Lizzie. That's not how her life worked."
And then, Hawthorn took it to the next level. Instead of acknowledging that something real might've happened to Lizzie, for the majority of the book Hawthorn pursue's the idea that Lizzie has in fact become ... a werewolf. Yeah... I just, ugh. There were times when Hawthorn seemed so naive and easily tricked that I was genuinely worried for her wandering around in the woods.
I considered not finishing the book a couple of times throughout the weird werewolf phase... but then something magical happened, Hawthorn grew on me. She is such a confused, but lovable teenager and overtime, despite her antics I really started to enjoy her voice and story and was genuinely sad went it was over! All of this, of course, is due to the incredibly writings talents of Chelsea Sedoti. And regardless of how I feel about portions of this book I would absolutely read another book by this author.
While I wasn't always a huge fan of Hawthorne's at times, the other characters in the book were definitely compelling - particularly the assortment of hippies that live in Hawthorne's backyard. I enjoyed reading the interaction between their ragtag leader, Sundog, and Hawthorn. But really the whole cast of secondary characters are incredibly strong and keep the story grounded whilst Hawthorn is going through her werewolf conspiracy phases.
If you enjoy YA fiction and have ever felt like your imagination was under appreciated or enjoy female coming of age stories, and don't mind the occasional werewolf side story - you will enjoy reading " The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett".
Ugh. WTF. I listened to the audiobook as part of the Library Big Read. Going in, I knew there were mixed reviews. I considered abandoning it pretty early on because the main character is self-obsessed and stupid AF. She is so the kind of person who, well, I would recommend her friends break up with her cause no one needs that in their life. I'm not feeling all that smart for finishing this book, but what's done is done.
I liked this book a lot. Hawthorne is funny and weird and very much like how I felt in high school. The story is mysterious and tragic, but also left me wanting more and more (in a good way!). My favorite character is Sundog, the weird hippie. I want to be friends with him.
First let me say that this book was very different from what I thought it was going to be like or what the summery had sounded like.
I will say that I didn't hate this book or even dislike it, but I definitely had issues with it.
I guess my main problem was with the main character, and not for the reason some people seem to have. I didn't mind that she was kind of a quirky, weird, original character with a wild imagination. But I did mind that she was so obsessed with every aspect of Lizzie Lovett, that she could hardly think about something without thinking about Lizzie or comparing herself or the situation to Lizzie. It was just so frustrating how much focused she was on Lizzie in every section of this book, either in hate or intrigue or envy. I also found it weird and unbelievable that she had become so attached to her toward the end of the book, without hardly knowing her.
My second issue with Hawthorn was that she never listened to the people who love her. She is constantly ignoring their warnings over and over and over again, even though they are all saying the same thing. She is was so reckless that she puts herself in a couple of bad situation and makes several bad decisions, like spending time alone or getting involved with a much older guy who she knew almost nothing about.
I didn't really care for Enzo and his relationship with Hawthorn made me uncomfortable. I just didn't love his character. I did like Hawthorn's parents, her brother, Emily, Sundog, and Connor. I really wish she had listened to them.
An even 3 stars out of 5
I will say that I didn't hate this book or even dislike it, but I definitely had issues with it.
I guess my main problem was with the main character, and not for the reason some people seem to have. I didn't mind that she was kind of a quirky, weird, original character with a wild imagination. But I did mind that she was so obsessed with every aspect of Lizzie Lovett, that she could hardly think about something without thinking about Lizzie or comparing herself or the situation to Lizzie. It was just so frustrating how much focused she was on Lizzie in every section of this book, either in hate or intrigue or envy. I also found it weird and unbelievable that she had become so attached to her toward the end of the book, without hardly knowing her.
My second issue with Hawthorn was that she never listened to the people who love her. She is constantly ignoring their warnings over and over and over again, even though they are all saying the same thing. She is was so reckless that she puts herself in a couple of bad situation and makes several bad decisions, like spending time alone or getting involved with a much older guy who she knew almost nothing about.
I didn't really care for Enzo and his relationship with Hawthorn made me uncomfortable. I just didn't love his character. I did like Hawthorn's parents, her brother, Emily, Sundog, and Connor. I really wish she had listened to them.
An even 3 stars out of 5
Once again, another book I just picked up on a whim and decided to try out in Florida. This follows our main character social-outcast Hawthorne who ends up getting obsessive about this girl who went missing, Lizzie Lovett, even though she was mad jealous of her in high school. Hawthorne ends up taking Lizzie's old job at a run down café and befriends her boyfriend. She and the boyfriend, Enzo, end up going on a hunt to try and figure out what happened to Lizzie, and Hawthorne ends up taking this too far.
I'm just gonna state that the main character is very unlikeable. Very. I didn't mind, but I know some people would. This was mediocre until the last 150 pages, and I only actually liked it because of the relationship. Hawthorne and Enzo's relationship is so similar to a relationship I once had, that it literally shook me to my core and made my almost nasty sob. It was too much for me, but in a good way? It made me feel so connected to Hawthorne and really understand what she was feeling. For that reason alone, I gave it 4/5 stars. However, my reason for liking this is super personal and I would totally understand why most people don't really like it.
I'm just gonna state that the main character is very unlikeable. Very. I didn't mind, but I know some people would. This was mediocre until the last 150 pages, and I only actually liked it because of the relationship. Hawthorne and Enzo's relationship is so similar to a relationship I once had, that it literally shook me to my core and made my almost nasty sob. It was too much for me, but in a good way? It made me feel so connected to Hawthorne and really understand what she was feeling. For that reason alone, I gave it 4/5 stars. However, my reason for liking this is super personal and I would totally understand why most people don't really like it.
I thought I'd read some YA as a bit of a palete cleanser, but this is just too terrible. The narrator is an insufferable imbecile. I'm giving up after 85 pages.
I borrowed this as part of the Big Library Read and enjoyed it. Hawthorn is a lot of fun, and I particularly loved her recurring lists of amusing bad things she wished upon people who annoyed her. Her instinct to seek out a more interesting (supernatural) explanation for mundane tragedy reminded me a lot of myself.
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
