Review: THE HUNDRED LIES OF LIZZIE LOVETT
Book Summary:
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 â but it's just what Hawthorn needs to find her own place in the world.
Release Date: January 3, 2017
ReviewÂ
(light spoilers below)
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I think this is the kind of book that will only appeal to a certain group of people and everyone else wonât like it or flat out hate it. If youâre someone like me, whoâs anxious, often stuck in their own head, and took a really long time to find a balance between believing in the fantastical and being logical, you might find a kindred spirit in Hawthorn Creely. If not, you may want to pass on this book.
This is definitely a character-driven book. If youâre looking for some grand, all-encompassing, Nancy Drew finds the missing Lizzie Lovett plot, this isnât it. Not by any stretch of the imagination. Itâs about Hawthorn growing up and into her personality, learning how to process the world around her, how to deal with disappointment, and how to grieve.
It did take a few typical YA turns--Iâm hesitant to use the word bullied here because the nature of bullying has changed drastically in the past ten years, but Hawthorn is occasionally ostracized and antagonized by her classmates, which further serves to isolate her especially when  her and her best friend stop speaking for a time , but she mostly goes unnoticed. There was also more than one love interest which was handled very well. I LOVE happily ever after, but I support any book that sends the message the first person you like and have sex with might not be forever. The world will not end because you broke up. Someday, you will move on, hopefully find someone knew (if youâre into that) and THAT IS PERFECTLY NORMAL. The aftermath of sex was handled so realistically, I had to stop and take a minute to think. I don't think I've ever read a book that addressed the awkward bits quite so frankly.
The voice in this book is 100% on point, as is the characterization. It took me the first few pages to adjust to Hawthornâs self-centered ways and off-color humor, but once I was in, I couldnât stop reading. I loved all of Hawthornâs quirks, especially how she would list small curses to cope with her anger or frustration.
Itâs obvious Hawthorn has anxiety and an obsessive personality. The thing is, everyone else around her knows it too but dismisses her as being âmorbidâ or âweirdâ. Her support system, her family and friends, failed her in this book. Iâm not saying that she needed to see a therapist or be medicated or anything, however, the option was never presented to her so she could decide if that was something she needed. In one scene, she goes on about how she wishes she had someone to talk to about something special that happened to her. She lists every important person in her life along with a reason of why she canât talk to them. She follows this up by saying  something along the lines of âI shrug when anyone asks why Iâm being weird.â
Another thing I loved is Hawthornâs honesty. Usually, bad decisions go hand in hand with the main character lying to cover their tracks, but Hawthorn isnât a liar. She tells everyone exactly what sheâs doing and when they tell her not to, she does it anyway. She never hides her actions from anyone. Sheâs young and flawed and desperate with no filter so she makes awful decisions. And I mean, awful. But she narrates in such a way that the reader slowly comes to understand why sheâs doing these terrible things--itâs compulsive. She canât help herself. The reader probably wonât like it or agree (God knows I didnât 75% if the time) but I was never not on Hawthornâs side. I wanted her to find whatever it was she searched for.
The one thing I did not like and have to point out is Hawthornâs internalized misogyny. Her number one retort for when Mychelle picks on her is to slut shame. And Hawthorn is vicious when she snaps back. Â But like I said, sheâs young, has never left her town, and hasnât really had any time to grow/learn about the larger implications of what sheâs doing. Towards the end, she gets a taste of how hollow her victory was so all was not lost.
I didnât give this book five stars because the editing wasnât as tight as it could have been. There were some filler scenes that only served to increase the word count and the introduction of the hippies felt a bit heavy handed. I saw Hawthorn âfinding herselfâ with Sundogâs help coming the second the caravan showed up. Â Also, I look for diversity (sexual, racial, disabilities, the whole shebang) in everything I read and there wasnât much, if any here. Mental illnesses (depression) is not directly addressed although it is referenced. No oneâs race is specifically stated but I donât think itâs too much of a stretch to assume everyone was white.
Still, itâs a lovely book, with a soulful message and teenage me would have devoured this repeatedly. Iâm certain it would have been my favorite book.
