The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett

I honestly judged this book by its cover and went in not knowing what to expect from it at all, and you know what? I’m so lucky that I was a blank canvas. So to protect your Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett virginity, I’ll focus this review mostly on my experience of reading it rather than plot. Trust me. It’s for the best.

The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett is about Hawthorn Creely, a young misfit girl who becomes obsessed with a local police investigation. Lizzie Lovett disappeared one evening whilst out camping with her boyfriend. No one knows what happened, but Hawthorn has a theory and is ready to prove it.

Working in publishing, I read a lot of young adult books and many have blended into one story arch. There are only so many “sick lit” books, dangerously dreary love triangles and predictable dystopian novels that I can handle. Chelsea Sedoti’s debut contains none of these elements. It is such a breath of fresh air. I had no idea where the plot was headed.

Hawthorn is a slightly creepy main character. She is a mega-obsessive girl who oversteps the line of common decency a lot (like, seriously, a lot).

Regardless, Hawthorn’s motives are mainly pure. She is just a mystery-obsessive, much like anyone who has gotten caught up in the podcast series Serial. Each piece of new evidence forces you to question what really happened to Lizzie Lovett. Lizzie’s life had a darkness to it, a mystery, and just like Hawthorn, I became deeply entangled in the riddles.

The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett really caters to my inner conspiracy-theorist. The real magic in Sedoti’s writing lies here. Sedoti creates a world where Ockham’s razor doesn’t apply.

I loved it. I truly did and I cannot wait to see what Sedoti does next.