Book Review: The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett

The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett by Chelsea Sedoti

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The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett revolves around Hawthorn Creely’s quest to solve Lizzie Lovett, her town’s beloved resident, sudden disappearance when she went camping with her boyfriend. At first, finding Lizzie was the whole town’s goal, and hundreds of rumors spread all coming down to the focus that Lizzie’s boyfriend killed her. However, as time drags out, people slowly began giving up on searching for Lizzie—everyone except Hawthorn. Hawthorn believes that nothing damaging could have happened to Lizzie because she’s pretty, happy, and popular, thus causing Hawthorn to come up with an absurd theory that she soon convinces herself to be true with every passing day. Since Hawthorn knows nothing about Lizzie, she decides to integrate her life into as much of Lizzie’s as possible before her disappearance, from working at the same place Lizzie did to spending time with Lizzie’s boyfriend. The more Hawthorn learns about Lizzie, the more she’s sure her theory is correct; after all, girls like Lizzie don’t just disappear and die.

When I first begin reading, Lizzie Lovett’s mystery disappearance and Hawthorn’s quirky and unapologetic personality hooked me. Sadly, this did not last. I had thought that the main focus of the book would be about Hawthorn attempting to debunk the truth behind where Lizzie is, but it soon turned into Hawthorn desperately trying to prove that her theory is accurate; this becomes extremely repetitive and annoying half-way through the novel. From this, I do want to point out that I believe the description of the book proves misleading, as what I read did not fit the description. Additionally, although Hawthorn’s character was fun and fresh near the beginning, I soon realize how horrible of a person she is. She’s eccentric and has no filter, but she’s also just downright mean and inconsiderate to everyone around her, even though she seems to realize her problem. However, the principal reason that made me dislike this book is because of a relationship within the novel that’s weird, untimely, and even toxic at times. I won’t go into detail because I don’t want to spoil the book, but I despised the relationship with a burning passion; it made me cringe throughout my whole time reading (which was not a pleasant feeling).

In general, The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett has a plot with potential, but its execution failed to impress me. Don’t read this book if you’re expecting to find an exciting mystery.

-Review by Teen Advisory Board Member, 11/21/20