I absolutely lost myself in this book. Hawthorn dazzled me. This book was a ball of emotion which we all need occasionally!

Lizzie Lovett is missing. The word spreads around town like a wildfire out of control. The former cheerleader and all-American girl from Griffin Mills went camping with her boyfriend and *poof!* Search parties yield nothing. Tears and please from her mother lead nowhere.

Hawthorn Creely is immune to ensuing drama. Or so she would have you think. She doesn't miss Lizzie Lovett one bit. Everything that Lizzie seemed to be, Hawthorn isn't. And she really doesn't care a bit about what happened to Lizzie.

Except she starts to. Because maybe Lizzie didn't disappear, exactly. Maybe she just changed, sort of. And slowly, Hawthorn finds herself drawn to all things Lizzie. She doesn't mean to, exactly. But she ends up taking Lizzie's old job. She befriends Lizzie's boyfriend - and maybe there's something more there between them.

Between her hippie vegan mom, her odd theories, her status as an almost-friendless high school outcast and bullying target, the barely-running old car, and even the band of hippies camping in her parents' backyard, Hawthorn is just a little bit different. Is that a good thing or not?

Sometimes I admired Hawthorn's optimism and her ability to dismiss other people's opinions. Sometimes I cringed at her flights of fancy, her crossing of boundaries, and general obliviousness to others. But maybe, just maybe, Hawthorn's search for Lizzie was really a search for herself. And maybe, just maybe, she succeeds.

What an interesting take on a girls obsession for another. One line, in particular, made the book for me "You only know the part of the story people want you to see." This I think can be seen every day with everyone not just with the obsession from Hawthrone was showing towards Lizzie.
This book made me laugh, cry, and scream and the writing was beautiful; yet kept me intrigued the whole time.
One of my favorite lines was "Confusion is like curiosity- it reminds us we're alive. To not feel confused means we no longer care. Not caring is death."

I loved this book! I loved the mystery and suspense of the book. I enjoyed the comedic parts. I actually read this book in one sitting because I couldn't put it down.

I had to DNF this book at 50% because I found myself getting frustrated with Hawthorn and the direction that the plot was going. At first I thought Hawthorn was eclectic, but as the story progressed, I found that she was immature and lacked common sense. She'd say things that were quite rude at times, or that she knew was stupid but said them anyway and then didn't understand the repercussions of her actions. I didn’t understand her obsession with Lizzie and her life, nor why she genuinely thought that Lizzie had turned into a werewolf. It was one of those things that I shrugged off as Hawthorn just being eclectic, but once I realized she was serious and this idea was carried throughout the rest of the book, I had to stop reading (plus the pacing was killing me) .
I also had a hard time connecting with any of the characters and felt like their relationships with Hawthorn needed some work. Particularly Emily, who was supposed to be Hawthorn's "closest friend,” but she was anything but a friend to Hawthorn. I did skim ahead after I decided to stop officially reading, and I’m glad that I stopped reading when I did. I don’t agree with where Hawthorn’s relationship with Enzo went (it just seemed super creepy at first, then turned slightly pathetic). Hawthorn tired to literally insert herself in Lizzie’s life and then got upset when (unsurprisingly) it turns out that didn’t work and Hawthorn didn’t magically turn into Lizzie.

Overall, I guess I just wanted something more from this book, just as Hawthorn wanted something more from the world. I was expecting a story that had more mystery and actually involved Hawthorn helping to solve Lizzie’s disappearance; instead what I got was an ‘eclectic’ character that often took things way too far and ultimately made the book unreadable for me.

I have to admit when I saw this book on Netgalley it so didn't catch my eye. Then it fastly became one of the most requested books on there. Of course now I was curious. Sounds like thriller-ish young adult. Do I like this? Not really... So I didn't asked for the galley. When I got the Spring preview for the Store, there it was again. Yellow Lizzie staring at me. And on top of it, EVERYONE seemed to talk about it on Goodreads.

Ah well, my curisouity got the better of me. I do like to know hypestuff, especially books. So I asked for it, got approved and started reading almost right away. The big surprise? I really got into that story! I was dreading a long read, with myself forcing me to read it. But as soon as I started I was hooked. The beginning already, "Lizzie was missing. Who cares?", got me! I liked Hawthorne from the start and could rely to her. I guess this could not work for everyone but she sure hit a homerun with me.

Sadly after the strong start, getting her history with Lizzie wasn't all to interesting to me, but it's a nice touch to the persona. The topic od perception and hidden deph to everyone of us was intriguing. During this read you start questioning a lot of things, mostly Hawthornes sanity in all of this. For a long time I wasn't sure, with all the hints, if it wasn't her who killed Lizzie. What really happened stay quite a mystery till the very end.
Nice development!

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".

Everyone seems to either love or hate this book.

So yeah, its one of THOSE.

I requested this on Netgalley because 1) it sounded interesting and a I was on a contemporary binge and 2) People were raving.

I, however, didn't hate it or love, it was just alright.

Let's start with the good.

The plot is intriguing, it grabs you from the beginning. The characters are all interesting and complex. The writing was great. The voice of our main character unique.

But wow was she annoying as hell (Looks like were on the bad already).

Because yeah, Hawthorn was a complex character, with a unique and entertaining voice, but she was too old to be so stupid, and had too good a family to be so emotionally stunted. By the end of the book I was ready to strangle her.

This is very much a "life lessons, character growth" type of book. And I appreciated seeing how Hawthorne changed, and started treating people better. But the ending fell flat for me, it was too "I'm done now so all the complex mystery is this contemporary or is this thriller stuff I've been building is done now". Its abrupt, (and Enzo needed a swift punch in the face).

So yeah, it was a good book, and I liked the lessons and the character growth, but the plot was ended weakly, like the author didn't know how to end the book, which makes it just alright in my eyes.

I reccomand checking it out if you like these sorts of books. Though just a warning, there is sex in this book, non-explicits, but still. It sort of rubbed me the wrong way and made me want to stop reading (it was just so awkward).

I was really interested about getting into this book after reading the description. Murder Mystery in a sleepy town, that's always interesting. I found myself disappointed though. The main character, Hawthorn becomes obsessed with the disappearance of Lizzy Lovett, a girl who was popular in highschool, and decides to find out where she went. Right off the bat, Hawthorn runs into Lizzy's boyfriend at the dinner Lizzy used to work at and they form a friendship. I felt like that's as much investigating that happens. There is a lot of wandering around in the forest and talk about werewolves, but nothing really happens. Now if there really were werewolves in this story, then I would have been super stoked.

The writing was good and the concept was good. I felt like it was a little slow at times. All together, I think someone who exclusively reads contemporary fiction would love this. It just wasn't my cup of tea. I gave it three stars since it didn't really capture my interest but was still a good read.

This book was not what I expected. The whole werewolf theory seemed a little too crazy for me, and most of Hawthorn's choices were just not good choices. As the story went on, she continued to make bad choices instead of learning from past consequences. I can't see myself adding this book to my library or a specific teenager that I would think to recommend it to.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I'd give it 3.5 stars. The voice of the narrator was fantastic, and it carried me through some of the more annoying and unbelievable parts of the plot. Chelsea Sedoti really got inside the mind of a teenage girl. I liked that Hawthorn wasn't always likeable, but I was still rooting for her to get some sort of happy ending. I'd recommend it if you're looking for a fun, quick read.

SUMMARY

The perfect blue-eyed blonde 21-year-old Lizzie Lovett has disappeared from a campsite during the night, leaving her boyfriend, Lorenzo behind. Lizzie had been the most popular and talented girl at Griffin Mills High School. Hawthorn Creely, a quirky, imaginative teen, was never a member of the Lizzie Lovett fan club. But despite not liking Lizzie, Hawthorn thought that Lizzie was perfect, Lizzie had everything, and Lizzie was everything. Hawthorn couldn't believe that something like this could happen to a girl like Lizzie. Things like this never ever happened in Griffin Mills. Hawthorn really needed to uncover the truth behind Lizzie's disappearance. She has her own crazy theory of what happened that night. Hawthorn applies for Lizzie's waitressing job at the Sunshine Cafe, and befriends Lizzie boyfriend when his comes into the diner. Hawthorn tries just about everything to figure out what happen to Lizzie.


REVIEW

Like Hawthorn, this book is very imaginative and yet a little quirky. The book is about Hawthorn, and yet the title, The 100 Lies of Lizzie Lovett might lead you to believe something else. Not until you step back after finishing the book do you really get the reason for the title.

Many of the characters in the book are very unique. Hawthorn's dad was obsessed with Edward IV, and her vegan mom's name is Sparrow, a take-away from her hippie days at Kent State. Coincidently, Sparrow's gypsy friends show up one day, in a caravan led by an old purple school bus, and camped in Hawthorn's backyard for the duration of the book. Very quirky! Sundog, the gypsy leader, surprisingly becomes Hawthorn's most-trusted confidant. He is the only person who could make her feel good about herself.

There's a huge cast of characters in the book, yet each of them is well-developed and memorable. The author, Chelsea Sedoti's writing is very easy to read and the dialogue is very natural. It's perfect for the characters in this book. The 100 Lies of Lizzie Lovett is funny and emotional, but Hawthorn's unrelenting insecurity is a little frustrating at times.

This book contains so many stellar one liners! "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." was one of my favorites. "Happiness is living in the moment and not thinking about the future at all." is another. However, "When something starts out perfect, it usually lets me down." fits Hawthorn's character perfectly.

It's a good first book for Chelsea Sedoti. The ending of The 100 Lies of Lizzie Lovett makes this unique book worthwhile.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebook Fire for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was... Interesting.

Let me explain - the premise was brilliant, I adored the characters, but the sudden leap to a missing girl being a werewolf was incredibly far fetched and had little to no context. I didn't understand in the slightest, I will be honest. But it was easy to read, with a really nice writing style, the kind of thing I really enjoy reading.

Enzo... Oh, Enzo. He's your typical 'messy hair don't care' character, lax and rebellious and playful. Everyone tells Hawthorn not to trust him, which I completely get, but why does everyone seem to dislike him in this book? We are given literally no reason, other than the fact that his girlfriend is missing.

The ending surprised me and bored me, at the same time. I guessed the twist from the start, it wasn't hard to spot coming, but I did enjoy Hawthorn's emotional growth throughout the novel, along with her acceptance of both her name and her mother's beliefs and background. That was, in a way, very inspirational, and I loved the message of that.

So, in all, I liked the book, but the plot wasn't particularly inspired or new, as the summary made out. But I definitely enjoyed this book.

Wow, this is a great story. I was pulled into it from the very beginning. It is a pretty complex story and the characters are really fleshed out.

This is one of those books that kept me reading until the very end. Hawthorn is that teenage angsty girl who at the end of this novel comes to several realizations pertaining to her life. She is that person that is hopeful and believes in the unseen, that has no friends, but wishes for many. A girl that that at first doesn't admit that she is jealous of Lizzie's life, but as the book progresses she acknowledges everything she envied about her.

"Instead of paying attention to the game that night, my eyes were on Lizzie Lovett as she smiled and laughed and joked with her friends. And I wanted what she had. I wanted her charisma. I wanted to be that comfortable in my own skin. i wanted to have a high school experience that was as much fun as hers seemed to be."

Hawthorn begins to live as Lizzie did by including herself into her job and befriending her boyfriend Enzo (Lorenzo). She begins to see that not everything is as she thought and Lizzie's life is more complicated than she ever expected. There are secrets she kept, an ever changing personality, and an obsession with wolves.

"Lizzie the wolf-lover wanted to camp at a very specific spot during the full moon. I thought about how Lizzie had changed since high school. No more glossy-magazine-cover Lizzie. She became unkempt. A little wild-looking. She became a girl who loved nature and had a thing for wolves."

I was taken further in by Hawthorn's growth in this novel. The more I read, the more I came to love her character. There was depth, heartbreak, mystery, and an expansive amount of lore on wolves and werewolf's. Even though Hawthorn's theory seemed implausible, it brought her closer to the truth. And through the life and lies of Lizzie Lovett, she brought more meaning to her own life.

"It was January, the beginning of a new year, and it felt like a fresh start. My life was changing, but for once, that was a good thing. I felt like I was seeing the world more clearly."

I didn't know how much I would love this book until I realized I couldn't place it down. Chelsea Sedoti brings plenty of emotion and humor into these pages. Keeps you wanting more. A great read for the new year.

***I received this copy from Sourcebooks Fire via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.***

Deep and emotional, this beautiful novel was thought provoking and character driven. This book dealt with emotions in a raw and gripping way, drawing me in while reading and holding me there for the duration of the story.

I’m going to preface this by saying I think that this book was just not for me. I think it might be a preference issue. This is where reviewing books gets a little murky for me. When we write a review we express our opinion of the book and our overall enjoyment (or lack of enjoyment). If you did not enjoy a book, a low rating is fair (that’s your opinion and your take on it). However, I’d rather give a book a low rating due to an uninteresting plot, it was poorly written, flat characters, boring….it makes me feel a little meh when I don’t think the book suffered those things necessarily and it was really a me issue—a matter of me and the story just not gelling.

Our MC is pretty well developed and complex, and she had a distinct voice but I didn’t connect. I don’t have to like a character necessarily to connect with them or relate to them and I still just didn’t connect with Hawthorne. I had some sympathy…she felt non existent and completely insignificant in her world but that was about the extent of my feelings for her.

While the storyline sounded interesting to me in the synopsis it just didn’t grab me. I just really didn’t care what the outcome was and that is a problem if you are reading a mystery. I think part of this was due to Hawthorn’s outlandish theories (as in zombies and werewolves)….just lost me there.

I know I said that I think this was a “me not the book” thing and then I proceeded to list some specific problems I had, BUT I honestly think plenty of readers will find this book quite enjoyable and entertaining. It just wasn’t my cup of tea.

I received a free digital copy of this title via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influences my review. Thanks Sourcebooks Fire and Netgelly for the review copy!

I’d recommend this for older YA readers. It was a quick read as I was drawn into the story, but it holds at heart one of the key truths of life: how much do we ever really know a person? Well-written and well-paced, it is one I will be recommending.

Thank you for my review copy!