Wonderful!!! The story-line kept me hooked and the characters drew me in. I loved it so much, I have been handing it to all the teens who come in the library!!!

Thanks to Net Galley and to Sourcebooks Fire for offering me an ARC of this book that I voluntarily chose to review.
This Young Adult novel is told in the first person by the protagonist, Hawthorn, a girl named after the tree, not the writer, as she has to clarify many times throughout the book. She’s seventeen and not the most popular girl at school. She feels the least popular, as she only has one friend, Emily, she never eats at the cafeteria to avoid others, never gets invited to parties… She has an older brother, Rush, who was a popular football player in High School, although he hasn’t made his dreams come true, her mother is a hippy who stays at home baking and cooking vegan food that nobody seems to appreciate, and her father is more practical and keeps trying to push Hawthorn into choosing a college and growing up. Hawthorn, who writes the story in a diary format, in the first person, is not a lovely girl (well, she is lovable but that’s different). She is selfish and has nothing kind to say to anybody or about anybody. As is often the case at that age, she always thinks the worst of anybody who tries to get closer to her and assumes that everybody’s life is better than hers. She also knows everything and everybody else is boring and/or lame. Let’s say that although she complains bitterly about how unfair her life is, it is not surprising that she doesn’t have a big fan club.
Then, one of the popular girls, Lizzie Lovett, who went to High School with her brother and had since left to live in a nearby town, disappears. She was a cheerleader and a popular girl, everything Hawthorn assumes is a recipe for happiness. She dismisses everybody’s concerns and decides that she’s alive and well. Later, she comes up with a fantastic and paranormal explanation for the disappearance, something that makes her the butt of everybody’s jokes. Somehow, despite the dislike she manifests for the missing girl, she decides to learn everything she can about her in order to prove her theory right, and that becomes her mission in life. That results in her investigating her life, working at her old job and even befriending her boyfriend.
The writing is strong and the character of Hawthorn is realistic and strongly rendered (like her or not. After all it takes all kinds of people). However much or little we might like her take on life (she does moan a lot and can be extremely negative, not only about herself but about everybody around), she is clever, she has a strong imagination and she refuses to be constrained by other people’s expectations and never follows other people’s lead. She refuses to grow up if that means you have to become dull and you can only do what others have done before. How convinced she is of some of her hare brained schemes is debatable (even she comes to question that towards the end) but that doesn’t stop her or make her less determined.
Throughout her investigation and her adventures, Hawthorn gets to hear quite a few truths about herself; she discovers that she should extend the kindness and tolerance she wishes for herself to others, and finds out that friends aren’t there only to make you feel good and to agree with you. She also discovers that people aren’t who they seem to be, that identity is fluid, and that happiness is less straightforward than she imagines.
Hawthorn’s character grows and matures during the book, even if others don’t, and the cast of secondary characters, that include from the members of her family, to the people at the café and the visiting hippies, are vividly portrayed and all have important lessons to teach. Even Enzo, Lizzie’s boyfriend, offers her an insight that is reproduced in the novel itself: sometimes it’s best to leave the ending to the imagination and not to tie all the loose ends. We can’t know everything but that doesn’t mean we can’t make good use of what we learn along the way. (I don’t mean the novel doesn’t end; it does and in a satisfying if somewhat unsurprising way, but the mystery of Lizzie Lovett isn’t fully resolved.)
This novel is strong on characterisation and makes us share the life of a seventeen year old girl (however uncomfortable that might be), one that craves excitement and interest and likes to bring drama into her life. I have read negative reviews by people who strongly dislike the main character, although acknowledge the book is well written and the character sounds real. Perhaps for some of us Hawthorn reminds us of aspects of our personality and our experiences as teenagers that we’d rather not remember, because there’s no doubt that most of us have at times been as obnoxious and annoying as her. The mystery and the plot aren’t the main drivers of the book therefore I recommend it to those who enjoy character driven novels, quirky stories and personalities, and to those who still remember or want to, the difficult and challenging years of adolescence. And of course to young adults looking for a different kind of heroine.

Why do teens want to get involved with missing persons or murder investigations?

This book had plenty of good. Especially the great writing, the issue is that this wasn't exactly a mystery, and if it was it wasn't investigated as such. In actuality the lead character Hawthorn decided Lizzie's disappearance was because she turned into a werewolf, and that's where you lose me.
Sedoti did a wonderful job with the coming of age elements. A great view into the life of a lonely and unpopular 17 year old girl. Getting to know Hawthorn made this book worth reading. I would recommend this to all high school girls and I would even be happy to see it brought to the big screen.

<b> 3.5 stars for it. </b>

<i> The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett </i> is a really interesting book. It's easy to get into the story, the plots, and characters. All of the characters are very unique and so authentic. There was a moment I found out that I were Hawthorn Creely, the main character. But I suddenly realize I'm not Hawthorn. Because I don't have her bravery to show her distinct traits. No matter how unwelcome she is, she has faith on herself. She can speak out loud to others her crazy theory, also executing the adventure to explore the truth. That's why I like her. <s>Honestly, I think she is a little bit annoyed at first. </s> LOL

The story is filled with humorous, hysteria, also enthusiastic atmosphere. And it makes me feel very relaxed while reading it. Even though the pace is kind of slow, still having patient to finish it. So just don't read this book too seriously, and will find out how joyful it is.

I'm not sure I can talk about this book without spoilers so be warned.

This book was ultimately a lot different than what I was expecting it to be. I was expecting a thriller and ended up with a very unique contemporary about a girl who feels alone in the world. The main character, Hawthorne, was very unlikeable but I felt like that was intentional. So many other characters were constantly calling out Hawthorne for being a "special snowflake" that I felt like the author wasn't excusing Hawthorne being selfish and abrasive. However Hawthorne being so unlikeable made it very difficult for me as a reader to feel any sympathy for her. She was funny and authentically quirky, but she continuously made horrible decisions and expected everyone to coddle her. I thoroughly appreciated that every character in this story did not. Everything in this book had to be about her. Even once you found out Lizzie had killed herself, Hawthorne still had to make it about her, which was incredibly frustrating to read.

I liked the realistic nature of the relationships in this book. I liked the relationship between Hawthorne and her friend Emily. I liked that Emily didn't take any of Hawthorne's unnecessary drama and that she felt like a real person wanting her own things. I liked the growth between Rush and Hawthorne as they came to understand each other a lot better. It was a new thing to see in YA. I liked that the relationship between Enzo and Hawthorne was incredibly flawed and that they didn't end up together. That felt very authentic because not every person you like is going to be your one true love, especially someone you get close too under the circumstances like in this book.

My only other complaint is that this book had so many messages in it. It felt like the author was trying to drive home a point on every other page. It was kind of exhausting and it made the novel feel too forced, like everything was happening just so the author could make this one particular point.

Otherwise I thought it was an interesting read, though perhaps not one that will still be with me in a few months time.

1.5 Stars. I wanted to like this book. I really did. I thought "Ohhhhh mystery GIMME!" and NetGalley was generous enough to fulfill my request.

Right from the start I had a problem with Hawthorne, the protagonist. She was a whiny brat that complained about everything without taking any initiative to change those things. I kept having to remind myself that she was a senior in high school and not 12 years old. She lacked empathy to a disturbing level and if someone dare disagree/try to check her she became even more hateful and sometimes wished physical harm on that person(s). Hawthorne is obsessed with Lizzie, a girl she had a total of 2 conversations with years before, and inserts herself into her life in a borderline stalkerish way. I mean... Why??? When it comes right down to it, she's at best as bad and at worst MUCH more horrible than any of her "bullies".

As for other elements of the book...

I found the romance to be cringy and couldn't overlook the fact that Hawthorne is 17 and her love interest is 25. So not ok.

Hawthorne's theory regarding Lizzie's disappearance. OMG. And no mater what she just. wouldn't. let. it. go. I'm a huge fan of paranormal but this book was not billed as even close to that and I just had no willing suspension of disbelief.

There was one bright spot and it was Hawthorne's friend Emily. Emily called her out on her shit at every turn, she was smart and driven, and even though Emily seemed to be as ostracized as Hawthorne she didn't let it ruin her perception of other people or life in general. Emily was the realist here. Please write a book about Emily!

Again, thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the ARC. This one just wasn't my cup of tea.

Again, a prompt from the reading challenge that could fit many titles. And is definitely open to interpretation. I downloaded this title from Netgalley based on the publisher’s blurb. You might say it features more than one interesting woman since the reader gets to know Lizzie from the title and Hawthon who is trying to find out the truth about Lizzie.


lizzielovettSedoti, C. (2017). The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett. Chicago: Sourcebooks Fire. ISBN: 978-1492636083

Hawthorn is obsessed with Lizzie Lovett. Or maybe just with Lizzie’s disappearance. Lizzie was the kind of girl in high school that all girls wanted to be and all guys wanted to date. Hawthorn imagined Lizzie like a big sister but in the end, she was not on Lizzie’s radar. Years later, their small town is stunned when Lizzie disappears. At first Hawthorn doesn’t get it. Who cares what happened? And then she starts to wonder and to investigate and next thing you know, she has Lizzie’s old waitressing job and is dating Lizzie’s boyfriend Enzo.

This is definitely a quirky book. Hawthorn’s mom is an ex-hippie whose hippie commune comes to camp out in the backyard. Hawthorn is quirky and out there herself and swings from being endearing to frustrating and back again. Her long time best friend loses patience and her brother’s best friend waits in the wings for her to notice him. The publisher tries to hard to make this sound like a murder mystery–it isn’t. It feels like it has a lot in common with Megan Miranda’s All the Missing Girls. Less about solving a murder and more about learning, no seeing, how the world really works.

But for once the publisher is right, “Told with a unique voice that is both hilarious and heart-wrenching, Hawthorn’s quest for proof may uncover the greatest truth is within herself.” Less a laugh out loud funny and more a people are strange and the world is too kind of story. I did like that Hawthorn uncovers the real Lizzie, and I want to say more but don’t want to giveaway the plot. I saw this listed on one of those books to look forward to for 2017, and I do think this unique debut has its own charm but would be interested to know how wide its appeal really is.

Review Excerpts:

“A solid coming-of-age novel with light spunk and individuality” – Kirkus

“Sedoti’s debut offers an enlightening look at the dangers of relying on outward appearances to judge someone’s character, and Hawthorn’s first-person narrative, filled with obsessive thoughts and, eventually, meaningful reflection, is a lively, engaging vehicle for the story… Fans of character-driven novels will appreciate this.
” – Booklist

“Hawthorn’s wildly creative imagination and humor drive this mystery’s plot forward…Recommended for teens who appreciate a protagonist with a lively imagination and an acerbic tongue” – School Library Journal

“Sedoti deftly pulls readers into [Hawthorn’s] head where her yearning for excitement, angst about the future, and insecurity bring further depth to her character. Hawthorn and Lizzie both emerge as surprising, intricate characters whose stories are resonant and memorable.
” – Publishers Weekly

Reviewed from publisher provided e-galley. Amazon Affiliate: If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.

** I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley

So I am giving 1 star for fair closure, 1 star for moderately interesting characters, and 1 star for fairly accurate depiction of high school, and .5 a star for a realistic-ish sex scene.

So first things first. I have a love-hate relationship with Hawthorne. She's interesting and definitely unique but she is so naive and childlike that it was hard for me to believe she was about to graduate high school. I mean, she *believes* in werewolves.

*also a side note I had issue with: skin walkers are NOT the same as werewolves. Also the skin walker legend is affiliated with a specific tribe, the Navajo. If you are going to mention such a specific legend please give proper credit. When this happens you generalize a margin of people who are very different and you muddle the rich cultures.

Aside from that. I found Enzo infuriating and sleezy.... but I liked it? It made my feelings towards the end much less complicated. People want to say Enzo and Hawthorne's relationship was inappropriate but I didn't have that much of an issue with it until it turned romantic and I was reminded of the age gap.

I loved that the parents were involved and seen throughout the book and weren't just absent from her life (like most YA).

Rush is flawed, but a really good, thoughtful big brother.

I didn't care for Emily or Mychelle. I just really didn't see their purpose? Like Emily is cool and I'd love to see this story from her Point-Of-View but if she's the voice of reason in this book she shouldn't have peaced out on her best friend. And Mychelle, GOD, especially Mychelle. I didn't get why there needed to be this girl-on-girl cat fight stuff going on. And the slut-shaming was unnecessary and annoying.

I loved that we got a very real ending to a missing person's case with a very important message and awareness.

I also commend the author on a very realistic "sex scene". YA usually overplays sex or doesn't mention it at all.. I think it'd be better if Enzo was closer to 21 or 20 rather then being 25.

Overall, I liked the book.

I came across this book by chance. I was actually searching for another book and this one popped up. I thought it sounded really interesting and as it was available to "Read Now" on NetGalley" I snatched it up....and I'm happy that I did.

As the book opens we meet Meredith Oliver age thirteen. Meredith is in the eighth grade, she tells us how it's all downhill after grade five.

"In fifth grade you were still friends with everyone, whether you liked it or not because it was easier for the adults that way"

The playing field was even and the same things happened to everyone. But by sixth grade the playing field drastically changed. Meredith has spent the last two years since trying to find her place.

All of this is made so much harder by Lisa Bellow....

Lisa Bellow and Meredith Oliver are not friends. They actually don't like each other much at all.

One afternoon after school Meredith decides to stop at the local sandwich shop. She really wants a root beer. However, when she sees Lisa Bellow in the shop placing an order for moment she debates walking away. But when Lisa catches her eye through the glass, Meredith figures it will look weird if she leaves now, so she walks in to the store. Two minutes later a man enters the store with a gun and orders the girls to the floor.

Both of their lives are forever changed.

Meredith is terrified... positive she's about to die but the next moment the man is gone and she's alone on the floor. The man has left ....but he's taken Lisa with him. Meredith is paralyzed, still on the floor when another customers comes in. It takes two men and medication to pry her off the floor.

How does a family go on after something like this happens?

Where is Lisa?

Meredith was very close to her brother Evan. We learn that just the year before the family was rocked after an accident seriously injures her brother and derails his dreams for his future.

In the aftermath of Lisa's abduction the community rallies together determined to find out what happened, Meredith retreats into herself. She rarely speaks to anyone, Even her brother. Her mother, Claire doesn't know how to get through to her. She knows she's still lucky that her daughter is not the one missing, she's right down the hall in her bedroom.....yet she's not.

A story about a missing girl but also the girl left behind. We also see how the families are affected by this devastating crime. How they relate to each other as they try to deal with what has happened. Each individual copes in their own way, ways very different from what we might expect.

This is a well-written story that was easy to follow. A fast but interesting read. The characters realistic and well-drawn, flaws and all. I was fascinated with how Meredith coped in the aftermath of what had happened and I found Meredith's mother, Claire especially interesting as I tried to understand the motivation behind some of her actions. I can't imagine being in the position of either of these mothers. As the mother of a teenage girl this was a terrifying read in many ways.

The Fall of Lisa Bellow is a novel about a horrible crime and the aftermath of that crime. But it is also about family, love, friendship, loss, anger, guilt, and forgiveness.

A dark yet beautifully written coming of age story. I am absolutely looking forward to reading more from Susan Perabo.

Thank you NetGalley, Simon & Schuster, and Susan Perabo for providing an advanced readers copy of this book for me to read in exchange for my honest review.

I just finished The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett by Chelsea Sedoti and I must say it was quite a whirlwind. I feel like this book had lots of highs and lows and to be honest it isn't going down as one of my favorites but it was a decent read. I'm glad I read it though. I feel like it was missing something and up until we learn about what happened with Lizzie Lovett, it was actually dragging a bit. I did enjoy the main character alot though!

For starters, Hawthorne Creely(whose first name is incredible if I may add), is a down to earth and relateable character. I really felt it when Hawthorne was sad and when she was happy. I feel like she is like a lot of girls in high school. Not everyone is a cheerleader or even has a niche they fit into. For all those girls, there is Hawthorne. She is sometimes irrational and jumps to conclusions..but shes so darn loveable. And she kept me going while I waded through the river that was this book. And let me tell you, the current was strong at times.

The basic premise of this story is that a girl named Lizzie Lovett who used to attend Hawthorne's school has gone missing. Lizzie was a cheerleader and basically the opposite of Hawthorne. She was THAT girl in high school...but after high school we'll just say she didn't continue to impress. She became a waitress in a neighboring town before going misisng. Hawthorne decides to trace Lizzie's steps in life so to speak in an attempt to figure out what went wrong. However, a few romps in the wood with Lizzie's ex did not turn up anything and the book begins to get stale. Somehow I am still attached to finding out what happened to Lizzie and follow Hawthorne's journey on what I believe will be one of self exploration. It does get quite a bit better when we find out what happens with Lizzie and while I still was ready to be done, I did enjoy the plotline that explained Lizzie's fate. I liked alot of the other characters well enough but I couldn't deal with the monotony of the story however, Hawthorne is so likeable that I had to see how it ended. Each chapter leads us one step closer to learning more about Lizzie and Hawthorne and the last 20-30 percent of the book was great. I also really liked the beginning of the book. The middle was the meh part for me.

All in all, I would recommend this book but if you go in with high expectations, you may be let down. I was. I would give this book a 3.5/5 and I will end with saying what I've said already...Hawthorne is a great character and I feel like Sedoti really nailed it when she created her.

I had a hard time rating this book. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either, so it was just ok. But I feel 2 stars don't amount to much, whereas 3 stars and an "I liked it" feels to strong. So 2.5/3?

The book is about a girl named Hawthorne/Thorny, who is a bit of an outcast. She lives in a small town where there isn't much to do and being different is pretty much a no-no. I liked the basis of the book and I could identify with Hawthorne's character. I was definitely a little unique in high school, I didn't party or drink. I wouldn't say I was an outcast, I was social and had my friends but I kinda did my own thing sometimes. She has an older brother, Rush, who was popular in high school and is now in college but lives at home. Her mom is sort of a hippie, who is pushing her veganism on the family. Her dad isn't really a strong character in the book. Hawthorne has one good friend, Emily and that is about it. But her and Emily are still quite different from one another.

The book starts with a flashback of Hawthorne going to hide out during lunch/free period something like that and runs into Lizzie Lovett in the locker room. Lizzie is the high school "it" girl. She's popular, beautiful and people are just drawn to her (boys and girls alike). Lizzie is everything Hawthorne isn't and would like to be. Hawthorne has a small interaction with Lizzie in the locker room, and blows it up in her mind to become a future friendship. When in reality, Lizzie recognized her as Rush's sister, and gave her a piece of advice. But Hawthorne envisions Lizzie taking her under her wing. But the next encounter Hawthorne has with Lizzie is anything but that, Lizzie seems to be a different person around her friends. She ignores Hawthorne and brushes her off, and Hawthorne is hurt. She hates Lizzie.

All the sudden, Lizzie goes missing without a trace. She had been camping with her boyfriend, Enzo in the woods and when her boyfriend woke up she was gone. No sign of foul play, no evidence, nothing. That is, unless Enzo did something to her. Everyone assumes something bad happened to Lizzie, but Hawthorne sees it as a ploy to get attention. Lizzie is no longer in high school and had moved to the next town. Hawthorne has nothing better to do, so she decides to find out what happened to Lizzie.

All the sudden, Hawthorne has Lizzie's old job in a cafe, and is getting friendly with her boyfriend too. From what Enzo is saying, Lizzie is not the same person Hawthorne knew. But she can't tell Enzo that, he is starting to become a friend.

Now here is where the book gets a little weird...Hawthorne decides to come up with different theories of what happened to Lizzie. One of them is that she turned into a werewolf. Lizzie apparently had a fascination with wolves and even wore a necklace (I think with a wolf tooth?) All the sudden she finds herself hanging out with Enzo almost daily. They spend half their time trying to find Lizzie in the woods and the other half getting to know one another. Even weirder, Enzo is like...25? Hawthorne is 16? It's just kinda strange. People don't trust Enzo and think he's too old for Hawthorne (...he is!). But Hawthorne sees an ally in Enzo. He seems just as strange as she is, and he's not exactly mature for a 25 year old.

Enzo and Hawthorne's relationship is not only strange because of how they met but because of the age difference. I read "All the Ugly and Wonderful Things" which has a similar age difference with an underage girl and felt conflicted with that book also. After finishing both, I feel more conflicted with this one. On the surface, both relationships seem similar. Older man, younger girl and forbidden/illegal feelings and relationships but the nature of the relationships could not be more different. The storylines could not be more different.

So without giving any spoilers of what happens, I felt just kinda meh when the book ended. It tied up loose ends and wasn't a bad book by any means. It isn't a book I feel compelled to read again or recommend to a friend. It was just kinda there.

Thank you to NetGalley/Sourcebooks for my free copy in exchange for a honest review.

As fetching as Hawthorn Creely is, even she couldn't save this read for me. The focus was on this self-imposed obsession to find out what happened to a missing "friend" - Lizzie Lovett, by walking in her shoes. She follows these theories that were off the wall and that, for me, built a discrepancy between the way she behaved and her age. There were other elements that felt out of place, such as the supernatural notions Hawthorn had. There was another friend of Hawthorn that I actually liked, a character by the name of Emily and sadly, there wasn't enough of her. This is supposed to be a mystery, but given the direction the story took, it didn't seem like a mystery in the strict sense of the word. The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett had an interesting premise, but a failed delivery. However, Sedoti has a really easy writing hand; making this a smooth and fast read. This is marketed as YA fiction and I would add to that - probably the 15 year old teens with a parent's permission.

I love mysteries, and I'm generally a fan of books where an amateur detective tries to help find a missing person. Like Last Seen Leaving, this seemed to me to be part coming-of-age story and part mystery. When a popular fellow student named Lizzie disappears, Hawthorn (child of hippie parents and sibling to a popular older brother) becomes fascinated with the case. But then things got weirder. Hawthorn spends a lot of time wondering if Lizzie disappeared because she was a werewolf. (Um.... huh? For a while I wondered if this was going to turn into a paranormal book. Not really.) Then Hawthorn takes over Lizzie's old waitress job and takes up with Lizzie's boyfriend. And not because she thinks it will help her crack the case.

On the positive side, I liked the writing a lot and will definitely try future books by this author. On the negative, I found the main character hard to understand or connect with. I love quirky characters and am even fine with unlikeable. For me, Hawthorn took quirky and unlikeable and narcissistic a little too far. Her desire to take Lizzie's place started to seem weird and distasteful.

The mystery is eventually solved (not by Hawthorn) and I did think the ending fit the story.But that didn't outweigh my feeling that I wanted more mystery solving, less werewolf rumination, and a main character that I enjoyed spending a few hundred pages with.

Strange little YA book, about a girl growing up (slowly in some ways, faster in others) who worries where a girl from her school has gone to. One of the school's seemingly most popular girls, Lizzie Lovett, goes missing at the beginning and whislt you do find out what happened to her by the end, our main character Hawthorn, doesn't try too hard to find her, getting caught up investigating Lizzie's old job and Lizzie's old boyfriend. Really, having being through adolescence, it's a depressing reminder of how mean, deluded and selfish people can be growing up. I found it quite generic, with the bad experience of her virginity, the terrible job, the hating of school, the hint of happiness with the boy next door, and I had guessed what had really happened to Lizzie long before were told - and how Hawthorn kept along with the werewolf thing at 17 years old for so long, I have no idea. That didn't work too well for me. The whole book felt quite confused..

THE HUNDRED LIES OF LIZZIE LOVETT is one of those rare gems you find and can't stop reading until the very last page. At the end, all you want to do is savor it and share with a friend.

Hawthorn has had an interesting upbringing, what with her formerly hippie mom and lost in history professor father heading up the family. And while I think this works well as a piece about how it's ok to be yourself and have your own dreams. I didn't think it was as successful because of how we got there. Hawthorn becomes obsessed with the disappearance of Lizzie, a girl she barely knew, who graduated from high school a few years ahead of her with her older brother's class. Naturally, Lizzie's life looked picture perfect--cheering--boyfriends--looks--etc. But what Hawthorn discovers is that all may have been just what Lizzie wanted them all to see. Having Lizzie disappear while camping with her boyfriend was a great plot device, since naturally everyone would suspect him. But when Hawthorn shows up at the diner where Lizzie worked and applies for her job, this is where things got muddied for me. It was weird having her insert herself into that life, on many levels.

This book was not at all what i thought it was going to be. Thats not bad in any way. I dont want to ruin the book but let me just tell you, read it till the end. It's a different look and approach on something that happens to people everyday. I can say I enjoyed it, was freaked out by it, and cried, was on the edge of my seat and more. I would say this is a yound adult or teen book not really a middle grade book. Just read it, you wont be dissapointed.

Review also posted at: http://underthebookcover.blogspot.com/2017/01/book-review-hundred-lies-of-lizzie.html

3.5/5

Thank you to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for review!

I'm very torn on how to feel about this book. On one hand, I loved the writing and the unreliable narrator. On the other, I couldn't stand the main character and thought the whole thing was just meh. I hate that I'm unsure on how to feel, because this was a book that I was really looking forward to reading, and it's left me with a rather indifferent feeling overall.

Lizzie Lovett has gone missing. One night she's camping with her boyfriend, and the next she's just gone. Hawthorn Creely has a theory, but it's a pretty crazy one. In order to try and prove her crazy theory, she decides to insert herself into Lizzie's life to try and get to know her better. She gets a job at the diner where Lizzie worked, and even starts hanging out with Lizzie's boyfriend, Lorenzo. But by trying to learn more about Lizzie and prove she's right, Hawthorn starts to understand that things aren't always what they seem, and neither are the people you think you know.

Plot:
I think the concept of this book was fairly solid. Girl goes missing, no one knows why, misfit outsider decides to solve the mystery, ends up learning about herself and her place in the world. That's about as bare bones as I can break down the plot, and it sounds like it could be a good one. One thing that I feel I should mention is that Hawthorn doesn't literally insert herself into Lizzie's life. She doesn't start living at her house, or using her name, or crazy things like that. Hawthorn does get a job at the diner that Lizzie worked at, and she does end up spending an uncomfortable amount of time with Enzo, Lizzie's boyfriend. The way that the synopsis was written gave me the impression that Hawthorn would literally try to become Lizzie, but that's not how things ended up. Although, Hawthorn was uncomfortably obsessed with Lizzie, to the point that it kind of bugged me. She knows absolutely nothing about this girl, but basically makes it her mission to uncover the truth about what happened to her, and she becomes absolutely obsessed with her. At several points, Hawthorn is refusing to get out of bed, or eat, and her life basically stops all because this girl she doesn't know is missing. It was really hard to accept, because I knew that Hawthorn didn't personally know Lizzie, only knew of her, and I didn't really understand why she was so affected by her disappearance. I suppose it was because she lived in a small town and almost idolized Lizzie, who she thought nothing bad would ever happen to, and she was shocked that she was missing? I'm not sure, but the obsession (I know I've used that word a lot but it really is uncomfortably obsessive) just rubbed me the wrong way. Also, I just couldn't get behind her crazy theory about what really happened to Lizzie, whether she really thought it was true or not. I understood that she was out there, and eccentric, but the theory was way out there and I just couldn't really allow myself to believe it. I did, however, enjoy the almost coming-of-age story that was woven in to the disappearance of Lizzie Lovett. Hawthorn spends a lot of time obsessing over this girl that she doesn't even know but that she thinks she knows from merely observing her in school. She thinks that Lizzie had the perfect life, and that she's just an outsider who no one understands and who will never have as good of a life as Lizzie does. But slowly, she learns more about herself and starts to accept that her life isn't all that bad, and that she doesn't have to have everything figured out right this second. The ending of this book was probably what I enjoyed the most, because you get closure on the Lizzie situation, and you see Hawthorn moving on from it and trying to live her own life. No matter how crazy things got, Hawthorn was able to grow and learn from it, and find her spot in the world.

Characters:
Let's start with our main character, Hawthorn. She's a completely unreliable narrator with a knack for saying the first thing that comes to her mind. She has absolutely no filter when it comes to other people and their feelings, and the things she says have a tendency to hurt feelings or offend, even when that's not her intention. I thought her Lizzie disappearance theory was absolutely insane, and the fact that she believed it was even more insane. There were times throughout the book that I found myself going, "Really, Hawthorn, really?" simply because I just couldn't believe some of the things that she was saying or doing. Her relationship with Lorenzo was incredibly awkward and uncomfortable, and her decision to try and peruse something with him was honestly unbelievable. I cringed when she would bring up Lizzie in almost every conversation that they had and it really felt that she was just using him to try and get closer to Lizzie in some messed up obsessive way. But despite all of that, I liked her. She was quirky, sarcastic and really just a girl who felt out of place. I know that's something that a lot of readers will be able to relate to, Unfortunately you don't really get to learn anything about Lizzie. A lot of the book is based on what Hawthorn thinks Lizzie is because all she knows about her is what she's seen from afar. I did like that there was an element of mystery to Lizzie, because you really don't know anything about her, and everything that Hawthorn thinks she knows is pretty much wrong. There was a quote from a character in the book that I think sums up Lizzie and really this entire book perfectly: "You only know part of the story people want you to see." Basically, Hawthorn only saw what Lizzie wanted her to see, and never got to know the real Lizzie. As the reader, you can make up all kinds of stories and go along with what Hawthorn says about her, but even then, you'll never know the truth. The other side characters, such as Enzo, Emily, and the band of hippies that shows up were pretty well written. Although I was not a fan of Enzo and Hawthorn's relationship, and Emily didn't seem like much of a best friend, I can appreciate the way that the author approached them and while I didn't like them, I did. Does that make sense? I do think that Hawthorn's brother, Rush, was fantastic. Their relationship as brother and sister did feel strained at times, mostly due to Hawthorn obsessing over Lizzie and Rush moving on from her disappearance, but when it really mattered, Rush was right there taking care of Hawthorn. Also, I really liked Connor so much more than I liked Enzo!

Writing:
I cannot deny that this book had some beautiful and effortless writing. The dialogue between characters felt so natural, and Hawthorn's voice was so authentic for someone her age. Everything flowed so well and I really enjoyed how there was never a dull moment or a lull in the story, although Hawthorn was too loud and opinionated to really allow for a lull! I really did feel like I could relate to the feelings that Hawthorn had when it came to her feeling different and like an outsider. I feel like every teenager can relate to those feelings, whether they admit it out loud or keep it to themselves. While I may not have been the biggest fan about how the story went, I did enjoy how easy it was for me to fall into the story and read about half of the book in a short amount of time. The writing overall was definitely the high point of this book for me, and I'm definitely interested in reading Chelsea Sedoti's future books!

While my overall feelings about this book were kind of half and half, I do think The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett would be perfect for fans of YA mystery novels with unreliable, sassy narrators and incredibly elegant writing that is easy to get lost in.