I was given a copy of this book through NetGalley, thank you whomever approved me.

Have you ever had that one mean girl encounter with someone and then obsessively hating them for the rest of the life you've lived so far? Okay. Maybe not that second part, but Hawthorn Creely did. Hawthorn Creely finds herself immersed in the disappearance of Lizzie Lovett, the girl who ruined her. She gets her job, and then her boyfriend ? You know what comes next: And then a whole bunch of other things happen.

I can't say that I enjoyed every part of this book, as the three stars (3.5 I'll give it) is mainly because I spent way too long of a time to read it, and it's not just because of my schooling.

I honestly really didn't like Hawthorn at first. She was complicated, pretty lazy at times, and I knew that she wasn't really someone I would want to be around. But then I read on and found out that I could relate to her very much. It was like i already had an understanding of the concept, but I was never able to put it into words like she could. ANYWAY, I ended up respecting her as a person. The way she interacts with others is surprising. Like the way she first spoke to Enzo and Romana I think was her name?

I found the way Hawthorn views Lizzie to be interesting. I didn't hate Lizzie as much as Hawthorn said she did, but then again, it happened to her so I can't really say too much on that. Hawthorn was obsessed with everything Lizzie Lovett. I even went on to sympathize with Emily for having to be the one to listen to this. I find it funny that Hawthorn went from criticizing her brother for his reaction to Lizzie's disappearance to her own reaction when she was found (ohohohohoho not saying anything). I don't think Hawthorn actually resented Lizzie, but that she was mad at how horrible she was, and then continued to be mad because in a way there was some part of her that admired her. For her perfect life? Maybe maybe not, but I have confidence that Hawthorn at least admired her.

I found the romance between Enzo and Hawthorn to be a little weird, but okay (oh come on, you already knew that this was going to happen). Enzo seemed to really get Hawthorn and even if she didn't voice every single thought she had, i think she understood him in a higher extent than others. The way he handled everything after they ended though pissed me off (and there goes A spoiler). Like seriously? Mychelle? If he actually cared about Hawthorn, he wouldn't have lowered down to Mychelle. I can't be too mean on this because he did find out about Lizzie's death (might as well just go off now that I have the spoiler button on) and somehow that just ended his and Hawthorn's relationship.

CAN I JUST TALK ABOUT CONNOR AND HAWTHORN FOR A SECOND? FOR JUST A MILLISECOND? (Lowkey slip in a Hamilton reference Bc why not) No doubt I saw this coming. I mean, who cares about the Rush's best friend? Of course, that and his small conversations with "Thorny" really made their upcoming romance obvious. Add the advertised romance with her and Enzo, and you just know that whatever it was that they were having, they weren't going to have it. I didn't realize that Enzo was going to stand her up until a few moments into her waiting, and then who else but cONNOR COMES. I was pretty excited just reading the interactions between them. I even like that when the author established their relationship, it wasn't some random sappy love. It was just the beginning of something that was going to happen for sure.

This brings me to the part that I enjoyed how real a lot of things were. The part where Hawthorn talks about losing her virginity, the way Enzo just left her there, and of course how the author established that Connor and Hawthorn were going to have something happen between them. Nothing was overly sappy, not everything was too pessimistic, everything was just... real.

I'm just happy I was given the chance to experience this book. I enjoyed most of it!

Hawthorn gets carried away with her imagination, and when local it girl Lizzie Lovett goes missing, she has a theory of her own, that Lizzie has turned into a werewolf. This theory brings the derision and often anger of others who are struggling with their feelings of loss, except for Lizzie's boyfriend, who Hawthorn begins to have feelings for. As Lizzie's mystery unravels, Hawthorn will have to seperate her own life from Lizzie's and find her own path.

I love books with unlikeable characters, but even Hawthorn was a bit much for me sometimes. Very interesting read.

Great read! The author tells a great story. I look forward to reading more from this same author.

This book is one of the most genuine, honest teenage narrations I have ever read. There are no points during our time with Hawthorne (who we experience the story through) that I thought weren't characteristic of what a teenage would think or do. Kudos to Chelsea Sedoti for capturing that teenage brain and thought process so superbly.

I didn't really love this book to start with, it was okay, writing was good enough however to keep going. I'm so glad I did. This is a case where a YA book is truly written for YA audience. Most adults are going to roll their eyes at some of the absurdity of this book; like werewolves potentially being real...and yet not really real. But I think many of us that enjoy YA books need to remember that we are not the target audience; and shouldn't be.

There are so many great awkward moments in this books including the loss of virginity, coping with death and grief, coping with bullying and overall coping with not knowing who you are or what you want to do. These are all moments we've all experienced. Some of us more recently than others of course (lol); but for those who are living those moments everyday, right now as teens I believe this book may speak to them and for that reason alone it should be in the library of every high school in the world. These tough topics are not dealt with in an overly sentimental, flowery way; instead they are handled in a real life, uncomfortable, uncertain, despairing way. Just the way the real world is.

I'm not a big crier with anything really (you can psycho analyze that later), but I really don't like books where the point is to make you cry near the end. The great thing about The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett is that I didn't feel like I was supposed to cry. I felt many emotions for our characters but not once did I feel like things were so awful that I should cry for them. This way of writing the story and experiencing it was very honest to me. Some of you who are big criers will have your possible moment (or two) but for those like me that avoid the 'make you cry' books I can honestly say that while it feels like maybe this would be one of them it really isn't.

Overall I believe Sedoti has created a voice in the YA section that most teens will understand and relate to. That alone would be enough for a good review from me, but the fact that she has also instilled some learnings, understandings and reminders that are in the best interest for teens to adhere to is the icing on the cake.
Buy this book for a teen (especially a girl) that you know, they won't know it but maybe in ten years they will realize it made an impact and that it changed their life in small, important ways. That's what kind of book this is; one that unassumingly validates what you feel and then gently suggests a better way to view it or cope.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Fire via Netgalley for the free review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

"The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett". What can I say? I really did not like this book at first. I did not like Hawthorn at all. She was annoying and weird, and although her blunt remarks on Lizzie's disappearance made me snicker, I wasn't sure I could handle several hundred pages of it. Then I realized that Hawthorn reminded me of myself at that age, oops! So insecure, hardly any friends. At least I had gymnastics to keep me busy in the evenings and on weekends, but Hawthorn turns that downtime into a time to investigate Lizzie's disappearance, which is seriously a bad idea. She starts by getting Lizzie's old job, waitressing as a café in the next town over. I suppose this is somewhat understandable since Hawthorn was looking for a job anyway, so even though it was a little strange for her to go into the café snooping around for dirt on Lizzie, I could look at it as "being-in-the-right-place-at-the-right-time". A vacancy opened when Lizzie disappeared, and somebody needed to fill it, whether it was someone like Hawthorn, a girl with, let's face it, ulterior motives, or not.

From there, things got even more strange. Hawthorn strikes up a friendship with Lizzie's boyfriend. Then, she comes up with this bizarre theory on Lizzie's disappearance! At this point, I was thinking, "This girl is nuts!" Really, Hawthorn had no proof that Lizzie's boyfriend was not involved in the disappearance, just some sort of gut feeling, or wishful thinking, maybe. Anyway, by this point of the book, I was quite invested in finding out just what the heck was going on, and no matter my irritation with Hawthorn and her increasingly stupid decisions, I still had to read on!

There are some really touching moments between Hawthorn and her family and friends, and those were some of the most redeeming qualities of this book for me. I especially ended up loving Hawthorn's brother, which was a bit of a surprise. There were also some moments that made me rather uncomfortable, but I think they were necessary for the arc of the story, so I wouldn't take those moments back at all.

Would I recommend this book? I think certain readers will appreciate seeing the world through Hawthorn's eyes, but I predict that others will not know what to make of "The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett". All I can say to prospective readers is stick with it past the first few chapters and you might be as surprised by this one as I was.

Lizzie Lovett is missing and Hawthorn Creely needs to know what happened. Hawthorn doesn’t even really like Lizzie, but that’s exactly the point – how could a girl so beautiful, so popular, so happy, just disappear? The girls went to high school together, but Lizzie was a senior when Hawthorn was a freshman, so it has been years since they crossed paths. Lizzie had moved on after graduating, left town to live with a 20-something-year-old boyfriend, Enzo, a hipster artist type with a crappy apartment and no car. This new Lizzie was so different from the Lizzie that Hawthorn knew, and if she could morph to a different person, maybe she really hadn’t disappeared but turned into a werewolf and left her human life behind. Hawthorn takes on Lizzie’s life, working her old job, dating her old boyfriend Enzo, while trying to figure out what makes Lizzie better and what makes them the same.
I’ll be honest, I enjoyed The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett, and if I read this book at fourteen years old, I would have enjoyed it even more. It reminded me of a teenager’s Gone Girl, with the beautiful, mysterious missing woman, the life of questions, the brooding boyfriend/husband, the different identities. Sedoti has a great talent for writing multifaceted characters and natural dialogue, which immediately drew me in.
The most impressive part of the book is the main character, Hawthorn. Already I’ve been seeing reviewers say how relatable she is, but that is not what I like about her. What I find impressive is that I don’t like her. Well, at least I didn’t at the beginning of the book. She started off as being a petty, selfish jackass. She pitied herself, drowned in her own low self-esteem, and went around being bitter, closed off, and angry. As she investigates what happens to Lizzie, she lets herself be vulnerable and leaves her teenage bubble, opens to experiences and changes. That’s where it gets interesting. She grows, which makes her human and therefore relatable. I could picture myself doing, or wanting to do what she did when I was a teenager, like following a mystery, getting a job and dating an older, artistic guy.
That said, I thought that Hawthorn’s response to finding out what happened to Lizzie seemed strange. I couldn’t understand her being so distraught and depressed over a person that she has never met and who affected her life only briefly. Everything that she thought she knew about Lizzie wasn’t right, so to be so attached to her was odd. Also, Hawthorn sounded younger than seventeen, maybe fourteen or fifteen, especially when it came to her odd fantasies of Lizzie being a werewolf. That fantasy was dwelt on a little too much.
I enjoyed the book and I think it is a great example of a young adult mystery. I just wish that it delivered on the title. It’s not really about Lizzie Lovett and her “hundred lies”, which I found disappointing. Still, I think this book should be on everyone’s “to read” list this year, especially for YA fans.

An enjoyable read - good characterisation and descriptions of life as an unpopular girl in high school. A really good main and side characters who have faults any high-schooler can relate to.

Hawthorn lives in the tiny town of Griffin Mills where nothing seems to happen. Hawthorn isn’t popular, she is “different” and she wishes to fit in and be someone else prettier than herself. On what seemed like a usual day Lizzie Lovett the most well-known girl in town vanished without a trace. Hawthorn thinks that Lizzie is going to turn up quickly but after she doesn’t takes it upon herself to start a search mission for Lizzie Lovett.

I had so many high hopes for this book. I saw the cover when browsing Netgalley last year and this is what drew me in at first. It was so bright and stood out for me so I decided to give the synopsis a read. This got me quite interested so I decided to request it. After being lucky enough to receive the book I was quick to begin reading it. This is where the problems started. It is a very slow paced read which is something that I struggle with in books. I like having fast-paced books that I get very quickly caught up in and don’t want to put down. I had preconceptions that because this book was a mystery it would all be fast-paced instead the storyline developed slowly which is why it took me so long to read.

This book wasn’t all bad, I did love most of the characters in this book. Hawthorn being my favourite character in the book. The fantastic imagination that she has made me smile throughout this book. I think a lot of teenagers will be able to relate to Hawthorn because she is “different” and doesn’t fit in. She is bullied a lot throughout her time in high school and has trouble making friends which are both things I can relate to myself. I adored the family characters in this book. You don’t get too many books that include as many family aspects as this book did. The conversations around the dinner table that the family had were a highlight for me. I wasn’t a huge fan of Enzo’s character and his relationship with Hawthorn but I guess some people will enjoy the awkwardness between the characters.

Although Chelsea Sedoti’s writing style was something I loved, the book just didn’t have a brilliant plot. It had a lot of potential to go places but it just sticks in one spot and doesn’t ever get to reach its potential.

I had to take a few days before I reviewed this book in case my feelings changed but they didn’t. This book just didn’t live up to the potential I thought it would do. The plot is too dense for me. But that isn’t to say I hated the book, I did enjoy the characters and the relationships in this book.

Overall, I would have to say if you like overactive imaginations and a slow-paced mystery this is your book. It touches on a lot of issues and is a good book to read in your teenage years. You just should stick around with the rather dense plot to get to the real story.

Thank you to Netgalley, Chelsea Sedoti and Sourcebooks for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked the blurb for this, but the reality (for me at least) was an annoying teenage protagonist who is self obsessed, self absorbed and whiny. I completely understood why she didn't really have many friends - although obviously, bullying is bad. But Yeesh. Anyway, there was too much setting up and not enough plot and it just generally didn't work for me. But then I'm not an angsty teenager person. Never mind.

I really enjoyed the voice of this story and liked how it was different from a lot of stories I have read. This is a great story about being unique and figuring out life and herself.

After that, I started to get fascinated by the whole situation, mostly because I noticed a bunch of weird stuff. Which was how I figured out Lizzie Lovett’s secret.
The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett by Chelsea Sedoti follows Hawthorn Creely, with all of her quirks and insecurities, as she delves deeply into uncovering the reason behind a local girl's disappearance. Determined to leave no theory unexplored, Hawthorn takes to the woods where the disappearance occurred to satiate her need for answers.
Lizzie Lovett went into the woods and never came out. But I would. I would come back with all her secrets.
Lizzie Lovett appears to everyone, especially Hawthorn, as the eptiome of perfect highschool popularity- pretty, well-liked and stuck-up. She is the opposite of Hawthorn in every way. However, as the story progresses, Hawthorn learns this may not be quite true. A complicated love interest, developed as a result of her investigation, helps her see that.
Lizzie was… magnetic. But once you started talking to her, you realized there was no substance. She’s the kind of person who can be summed up in one sentence. You’re strange and complicated and sometimes really frustrating, but that’s what makes you interesting, Hawthorn. Doesn’t that mean something?

As the plot move along it becomes more about Hawthorn finding herself in the midst of finding answers to the disappearance of Lizzie Lovett. As she learns more about Lizzie's life post-high school she quickly sees life doesn't revolve around popularity and cliques. She learns that you are not defined by people but rather by yourself.

I would never have the guts to walk away from everything and everyone I knew. I thought of Lizzie, of course. Like Sundog, she shed her old skin and became someone new, started over from scratch. I wished I had their courage.
Hawthorns theories about Lizzie take both sinister and fantastical turns satisfying her need for adventure and mystery. Eventually she comes to learn the truth and is left with the stark realization that things, and people, aren't always what they seem.

There was no shapeshifting involved. Hers was a much simpler story than that. Afterward, everyone nodded and said of course, of course, as if they’d known what happened all along. But they didn’t. How could they have known? Their guesses were as good as mine.
Sedoti has crafted a solid coming-of-age tale that will be easily relatable to anyone who has ever felt to be a little outside of "normal".

The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett by Chelsea Sedoti flows naturally and without effort. The dialogue throughout this book really made the best part of the story. The main character is Hawthorn Creely who can at times be loveable and other times test your patience. She is a lonely teenager who is seventeen years old. She wants to fit in with the other people her age. This is a story about a typical high school girl who feels left out a lot of the time.

Lizzie Lovett goes camping with her boyfriend who is twenty-five years old and disappeared. Hawthorn becomes obsessed with Lizzie Lovett's disappearance. Hawthorn did not know Lizzie Lovett before she disappeared. It appears like Hawthorn is trying to take Lizzie Lovett's identity. On closer inspection Hawthorn does not feel good about herself. Hawthorn tries to find out everything she can about Lizzie. She gets different opinions from everyone else. She thinks Lizzie's life was perfect.

At its core, this book is a mystery, and it’s a great one. A popular girl named Lizzie Lovett has disappeared, and Hawthorn has a theory about what happened, so she decides to investigate. I thought this was GREAT. I was constantly guessing and trying to figure out what happened to Lizzie, and I found the twists and turns really rewarding. Also, the resolution was perfect and made total sense.

Thank you to NetGalley and Source books publisher for the advanced readers copy for a fair and honest review of this book.

Trigger Warning: Self-Harm, Suicide, General Bullshit About Mental Health

Oh boy, this one is going to be rough. Look, this is not some teen sleuth finding out what happened to Lizzie. This is all about Hawthorne being unstable, unlikeable, and full of herself. This is all about perpetuating the bullshit and stigma around mental health. This is another mediocre white girl thinking she’s a special snowflake and all the angst when the world won’t treat her like it. This is a 25 year old guy fucking high school kids. This is the worst mean girl ever written acting out because she’s jealous of fucking Hawthorn for no damn reason besides “Hawthorne is special”.

While there are some authentic moments, like wishing ill on people making fun of you, wanting to belong and being lonely, the non-perfect reality of losing your virginity, and small town life, it is buried until a mountain of harmful, painful, awful bullshit.

Let’s start with the title: what a crock of shit. Lizzie Lovett hasn’t spouted off ‘alternative facts’ to people. What the title referred to is actually other’s incorrect perception of her and social stigma against mental health issues.

Depressed people CAN have happy or content moments so Lizzie saying at one point that she’s happy IS NOT EVIDENCE SHE WASN’T SUFFERING.

I went search for articles about the bullshit that “happy” people don’t kill themselves and found this article from Jezebel. There’s an interesting quote:
“Appalachian State at least three — the disappearance in September of a freshman, Anna M. Smith, led to an 11-day search before she was found in the North Carolina woods, hanging from a tree.”

Hmmm, boy that sounds familiar? Just swap out the collage for a small town and that’s Lizzie. There’s lot of “but she had it all!” spouted and doesn’t get debunked. Hawthorn’s just confused, and then depressed. And her family doesn’t get her help or talk to her. They threatened her with a doctor and snap, Hawthorn got out of bed but she wasn’t better.

Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett perpetuals the social bullshit that comes along with mental health issues. Nothing is found out about Lizzie. She’s not in the story or part of it besides a Hawthorn’s obsession. She never gets inside Lizzie’s head and understands her or depression or suicide.

There’s no insight or consideration or thoughtfulness. There’s no exploring the grief of the people affected by a person dying by suicide. No hope or help. Just Hawthorn being Hawthorn, using her imagination as denial and escape and believing in it way too much. It honestly sounds like she has a disassociation disorder.

This is not some nerd geeking out about a fantasy or sci-fi world. She honestly thinks Lizzie turned into a werewolf and goes into a depressive state when finding out that’s not true. This is not about “oh, everyone grieves differently”. Hawthorne chokes herself with a scarf to “see how it’s like”, FFS.

If someone is grieving like this, they need help because it’s not healthy and needs at the very least a therapist to talk to.

Is this something kids and teens need to know, talk, and read about? Absolutely! But this is not this book. Please, for the love of all that is good and decent, do not put this book in the hands of someone who has mental health issues. And don’t praise it and support this bullshit either but the horse is already out of the gate on that one.


Next up, our leading lady Hawthorn:
Typical mediocre white girl that’s pretty but doesn’t think she is
Not Like Those Other Girls ™
Quirky ™
Self-involved
Selfish
Malicious. Constantly wishes minor inconveniences on other people.
Hates people that judge her but has a major in judging others
She’s different & special, “just no one understands her” angst
Thinks a boyfriend will fix everything
Has no plans or ideas for the future. Spurns everyone asking and trying to help her as sheep that just don’t get it.

Hawthorn’s super out there theory? Lizzie turned into a werewolf. Seriously. Really Really. Did I mention she’s 17?

She just wants someone to acknowledge and be open to the possibilities of magic though I don’t remember her using that term. But that’s what it boils down to, but has I stated earlier she uses it in unhealthy ways.

No one encourages her except Lizzie’s Boyfriend, her brother’s best friend, and hippies from her mother’s past that’s camping in the backyard. (This is important later, just wait.)

And apparently that kind of thinking makes her special and different and unique and should be a writer and she’ll go places! She won’t be stuck in a 9-5 job to pay the bills like everyone else, no siree bob. Those stupid sheep, just don’t get it. But this 17 year old white girl from a small white town has it all figured out. Even if she doesn’t know what she’s going to do after high school, it’ll work out just fine for Hawthorn the Special Snowflake.

Look, I’ve been a white girl in a small white town but I DO NOT identify with Hawthorne.

Did I wish bad things would happen to the people that made fun of me or joked around about things I was sensitive about? Yes. But when bad things enviably happened, like the popular girl breaking her arm, I wasn’t overcome with joy and thought she deserved what happened. That’s not karma, that’s just her being a cheerleader and landing horribly wrong once.

Did I anxiously want friends and a place to belong? Yes, but I didn’t alienate the one friend I had by treating her like shit, dominating the conversation making everything about me and daydreaming when she tried to speak. I sure as shit didn’t judge the dude she liked on assumptions and talk shit about him or try to break them up. Hawthorne should’ve been right there, getting to know the dude and making sure he treated her friend right.

Did I anxiously await the day to escape and never come back? Yes. But I HAD A FUCKING PLAN. You will not escape without a plan. Small towns live and breathe by families staying where the fuck they are. Like quick sand, panicking and screaming you don’t belong here make it fucking worse. You have to wait and plan until the time comes and strike out. Hawthorn is already working in a dead diner, I bet she keeps working there languishing until her parents kick her out to get her own crappy apartment.

If she really wants experiences, she could save up money and go traveling. But does she? No. Hawthorne doesn’t plan anything. She doesn’t follow through with anything like getting her fucking car fixed. Oh, did I mention she got an old used car because she wanted one with character and history? She turned down her parents offer and good advice to get a POS.

*SIGH* Anyways onto the plot…

There’s is Hawthorne being snoopy but she’s not a sleuth. There is no clues to follow or a mystery to unravel. It’s all about Hawthorne fucking over her one and only friend, her angst, and boys. And the feminine, traditionally ‘girly’ mean girl treating Hawthorne like shit because she’s jealous. (OF WHAT?!)

Oh and some hippies show up out of nowhere and camp in their backyard. Fun times!

Hawthorne hinks having a boyfriend will make her happy. She gets a sort-of one, loses her virginity, and she is admittedly happier than before with him by her side.

Her family and friend try to warn her off because the dude is 8 years older and used to date Lizzie. They surprisingly give up on talking about the subject quickly because Hawthorne has a temper-tantrum when they broach the subject. “At least she’s getting out of the house” WTF?

But wait! He’s a pathetic loser who’s not good enough for Hawthorne and finally she sees the light. Bam! Another dude who’s just been waiting in the wings for her is right there. HE believes her and thinks her way of thinking is cool. She promises to “search for magic but not invent it”. It ends with them walking and talking together and all is better.

SPARE ME.

This book was very unique! Hawthorne made the book come alive with her imagination and adventures. The ending was somewhat predictable but surprising at the same time. I highly recommend this book if you are looking for a fun, fast, and unique read.

I have seen a few bloggers mentioned how they loved this book and I use that excuse to keep on reading but I just couldn't get into it. The wereworf thing was just too much and it's not even a fantasy book. 50% of the book and still not a lot going on.. The cover is my kind of book but the plot is very hard to get into.

I did not do a review of this book bc it just was not for me.

To discuss The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett is to revisit what I loved as a young reader. I was obsessed with middle grade mysteries... Nancy Drew, horror mysteries, fantasy mysteries, pretty much anything that left me guessing. All of those. I have no idea why I stopped reading them, but I suspect it was when they made us read a mystery in grade school, and when you HAVE to read something, you suddenly don't want to read them anymore. Anyway... back to the review!

This story introduces us to Hawthorn, a snarky but honest and comfortable in her own skin teen, slash somewhat outsider, slash lonely but not lonely teen who is trying to figure out how to get her mom to let her stay home from school when her older (and clearly popular) brother shares that news that Lizzie Lovett has gone missing. Lizzie is beloved, or envied, and a former cheerleader at Hawthorn's high school. Lizzie is cast as a likable and valued member of their world, or the 'inner circle' of their world. Though Hawthorn seems completely disinterested over the initial melodrama, she starts to put pieces of the truth together.

Without spoilers (as it is a mystery), I will say that my favorite part of this book is Hawthorn's voice. It is so true, clear, imperfect, obnoxious, snarky, endearing and valid. Her voice is so effortless you may forget that you are reading an authored work and not listening to an actual person or reading their journal. Hawthorn is immediately likable by anyone who has ever felt like they were on the outside looking in.

This was a refreshing read for me as it is so different than many of the most popular offerings out there. It's not a sci-fi, or a fairy tale retelling, it's just an original read. I look forward to Chelsea's next book!

Synopsis: "A teenage misfit named Hawthorn Creely inserts herself in the investigation of missing person Lizzie Lovett, who disappeared mysteriously while camping with her boyfriend. Hawthorn doesn't mean to interfere, but she has a pretty crazy theory about what happened to Lizzie. In order to prove it, she decides to immerse herself in Lizzie's life. That includes taking her job... and her boyfriend. It's a huge risk — but it's just what Hawthorn needs to find her own place in the world."

This book sounded appealing to me, as I love a good crime mystery, and that's what I went in expecting. While this book is a mystery, it's less about solving the mystery and more about Hawthorn dealing with not loving herself for who she is and wanting to become someone else, Lizzie Lovett. The character herself just bugged me. She was whiny and irrational and pretty immature. The story itself is good, and that's where the 3 stars come in, but I could have used a lot less of Hawthorn's self-loathing & whining about her life. She gets so wrapped up in Lizzie and her life and what she thinks it is, that she misses great things going on around her. I will purchase this for my library and some teens will like it and identify with it. For me, it was just so-so.

I was given an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett
I liked Hawthorn from the beginning page when she compared her mother’s oatmeal to silly putty. My mother made oatmeal like that. This lighthearted opening for The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett by Chelsea Sedoti doesn’t stay lighthearted long.
Questions begin for Hawthorn as soon as word gets out that Lizzie Lovett has disappeared. Is she dead? Did her boyfriend kill her? Has she become a werewolf? And the big one, can Hawthorn find out what happened to her?
Relationships with her longtime best friend, her brother and his best friend Connor, the people at the diner where she works to keep her dilapidated car running, and Lizzie’s boyfriend round out the story of Hawthorn’s search. Then her mother’s long ago hippie friends show up to camp out in the back yard.
In an unapologetic spoiler, the book deals with bullying, social outcasts, and suicide. Hawthorn says it well, “The thing about high school is that you have to pretend you don’t care what people think, even though that’s all you care about.”
Hawthorn’s poor decisions sometimes had me wanting to yank a knot in her neck and questioning whether I would even use the book for a blog, but her frailties seemed so real and relevant that I began to come around. The final decision came when Hawthorn remembered and understood the significance of Connor’s words “about life looking different depending on where you were standing.”
This book is not an easy read but has relevance and would appeal to its intended audience of high schoolers.

Lizzie Lovett was the ultimate poplar girl, and Hawthorne Creely idolized her. So when Lizzie goes missing, Hawthorne decides to retrace her steps to find her. She befriends Lizzie's boyfriend, she works at the cafe where Lizzie worked, and she puts a lot of research into what she thinks happened to Lizzie- she turned into a werewolf.
Hawthorne is a naive high school student with a skewed view of the world. She thinks that just because someone's life looks perfect, it is. She can't imagine that anything bad could have happened to a girl like Lizzie, so she jumps to an extreme conclusion about werewolves. She is self centered and annoying, and although her voice made this a sometimes interesting read, The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett was a letdown.