By: Chelsea Sedoti
The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett is a coming of age story with a unique voice. In a sleepy American town where nothing of interest ever happens, a young woman goes missing during a camping trip with her boyfriend. Hawthorne, a high school student who once knew the missing person, Lizzie Lovett, integrates herself into Lizzie's life in order to supposedly solve the mystery and provide herself with some much needed relief from her humdrum life.
Hawthorne
is a self-proclaimed, misunderstood
outcast with very few friends. Self-absorbed to the core, Hawthorne
treats the
disappearance of the once “It girl” of her high school as an opportunity
to create a
fantasy for herself. Hawthorne becomes obsessed with Lizzie’s life. She
takes Lizzie's job, befriends her boyfriend, and creates an outrageous
theory on what actually
happened to Lizzie which she forces on anyone who will listen, despite
how
emotionally upsetting it might be.
As
she gets closer to Enzo, Lizzie’s 25 year old boyfriend, the characters
really come to life. Enzo is emotionally devastated by
Lizzie’s disappearance and grasping at any distraction to steer his
thoughts
away from the tragedy. Meanwhile, Hawthorne becomes more and more
obsessed with
having everything Lizzie had and knowing everything and anything about
the
missing girl’s life. Emily, Hawthorne’s best friend, recognizes how
unhealthy
Hawthorne’s behaviour has become and tries to help her but to no avail. Hawthorne is oblivious to the emotions of everyone
around her; their turmoil, suffering, and being exist only as they affect her. Themes like bullying, mental health, relationships, sex, and obsession are the backbone of this book.
Reading
through Hawthorne's unique voice makes you
want to shake the her! What truly makes this novel enticing are the
characters. Chelsea Sedoti managed to create well rounded, unique, and
believable characters that keep you reading to the end! That
said, this book was very enticing, infuriating, but enticing. I was
compelled to read to the end and find out what happened to Lizzie Lovett
despite (or perhaps) because of Hawthorne’s approach to her
disappearance. I couldn’t stop thinking about this book
whenever I wasn’t reading it. It made me mad, excited, confused, and
everything
in between. When I made it to the very last page, I let go of a breath I
didn’t realize I had been
holding the entire novel.
Warning: For older
teens due to sexual content.
Similar reads: Bone Gap, The Leaving, Tragic Kind of Wonderful, The Thousandth Floor, Last Seen Leaving.
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