Review: The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett by Chelsea Sedoti

Title: The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett
Author: Chelsea Sedoti
Pages: 398
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Source: Free ARC from SOURCEBOOKS Fire

Rating: A

Note: As stated under the Source (above), I received this book for free from SOURCEBOOKS Fire via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review (and trust me, honest is always what you’ll get).

Summary: Hawthorn loves to read, loves a good story, and comes up with insane ideas and adventures that often get her into trouble. She’s an outsider, often bullied by her peers, but she persists in being herself (one of the traits I love about her). She is persistent and wildly open-minded. Hawthorn is also prone to crazy theories and to poke her nose in where it doesn’t belong. Despite the fact that she doesn’t really know Lizzie Lovett, she knows of her, her seemingly perfect life, and she can’t believe that anything bad could happen to someone who has it all. In Hawthorn’s mind, that just isn’t how the world works. So when Lizzie goes missing, Hawthorn is determined that she can be found, that there is some supernatural explanation for her disappearance. By chance, Hawthorn inserts herself into Lizzie’s old life, taking her old job waiting tables, which leads to her meeting Lizzie’s boyfriend Enzo, with whom Hawthorn builds a strong connection. As time passes, lines begin to blur, Hawthorn grows confused, and things head in a direction she had never anticipated. In the end, Hawthorn gets answers to questions she knew she had, and even more she didn’t.

Review: In the beginning, I didn’t like Hawthorn Creely. Not because she was different, but because her honesty was too brutal, because her head was so high up in the clouds that she seemed annoyingly immature, almost disconnected from the realities of life, willfully ignorant of her impending future and adulthood, somewhat selfish and either unaware of or completely unconcerned about the feelings of others. And on many levels, my perceptions of her were on point. But. She grows on you. Or she grows, and you grow with her. You start to get her, even like her, as she starts to get herself. And it’s an experience worth having.

This book is NOT about Lizzie Lovett. This book is not a mystery in the traditional sense. There isn’t a lot of suspense, no real thrill. Because it’s not about finding Lizzie Lovett, it’s about Hawthorn finding herself while looking for Lizzie Lovett.

As I said, at first I wasn’t so sure about this book, but I am so glad I stuck with it. It’s a wonderful, introspective look into the mind of a peculiar teenager who finds her way while looking for something else. At the end, I loved Hawthorn, empathized with her, and felt relieved for her. A pleasure to read.

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