Thank you so very much for the chance to read this, but I can't quite get into the story and the characters.

Once you start reading you wont want to put it down. Everyone wants to know what happened to Lizzie Lovett and why she walked into the woods and never came out. Hawthorn is on a mission to find out and what she discovers is herself and all things can be beautiful.

I feel like there should be a add for teen suicide prevention at the beginning of this book!!

My thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book did some things right but it was just awkward to read. Hawthorn and Enzo was weird and quite creepy.

Thank you so much to Raincoast Books for sending me an ARC/NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book for an honest review. As always, all opinions are my own.

This book is so much more than it appears. From the synopsis, one will see this as a book about a missing girl and the town that rallies to find her. And it is that book, but like the characters inside it, the book has so many more layers.

When Lizzie Lovett goes missing, the main character of the story, Hawthorn (named after the tree, not the author), doesn't really see what the big deal is. Her brother, Rush is freaking out - sure, they graduated together, but it's not like they were super close - and Hawthorn doesn't get why. To her, Lizzie is fine; she didn't run away, she wasn't kidnapped or killed, those things don't happen to people like Lizzie. Sedoti gives a unique perspective on an overdone trope of a small town missing girl. We've all read that book, where the whole town is out looking for the beautiful girl gone missing, not wanting to assume the worst. Sedoti writes Hawthorn's reaction as realistic, a little abrasive, but not necessarily negative. And I think that is more than okay. Just because someone goes missing, they don't become a saint that everyone loved. Hawthorn is the only one to grasp that at the beginning. In fact, while the town searches, Hawthorn concocts this crazy theory about what happened to her and jumps headfirst into Lizzie's world. She fills her job at the diner Lizzie worked at, she starts hanging out with Lizzie's boyfriend, Enzo, who is more deeply broken than anyone thinks.

There is, however, so much more to this book than just the mystery of Lizzie Lovett. Hawthorn struggles with her own life, facing problems at school and the impending future of college life. These elements add a dose of harsh reality that proves inescapable for both reader and character. I think this book will resonate with a lot of readers - whether they are starting college or just looking to change something in their life. Hawthorn explores this aspect of the book with very realistic commentary.

Another major element that this book speaks to is the MPDG or Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope. If you've read Looking for Alaska or Paper Towns by John Green, you will know what this is. A sort of infatuation with a person and your perceptions of who they are and not the person they really are. The whole town seems enthralled with Lizzie, Hawthorn gets to the point where she is unconsciously becoming Lizzie. But no one really knows her. Hawthorn begins to discover a girl that is very different from the peppy cheerleader she knew when she talks to Enzo, and another girl altogether when she talks to her brother's friend Connor, who was also in that circle. Lizzie is far from perfect and not at all the person Hawthorn believes her to be. I think Sedoti develops this idea and critique of the MPDG ideal very well throughout the book. She does a good job of showing what happens when we idealize an individual, and how harmful those assumed perceptions can be.

While there were many sad and bittersweet moments in this book, there were a lot of great, hilarious elements that helped to balance the sadness. I found myself heartbroken one minute and laughing out loud at Hawthorn's snarky comments the next. Her mother, called Sparrow, was part of a hippie movement when she was a teen and her old group comes to visit unannounced. These hippie elements added some much needed hilarity as well as some decent advice when Hawthorn needed it and had no one else to turn to.

I also really enjoyed the family dynamic in the story. Hawthorn's father is a university professor and is constantly on her case about applications, her mother is a Tofurky wielding vegan who is more focused on living in the now than anything else and her older brother Rush is an ex-high school football star who is stuck at home teaching football to kids and taking classes at a community college. No one in Hawthorn's family is perfect, but they were all there and they all tried - something you don't often see in YA.

Overall, I think this book is a great, unique story that will capture the hearts of many.

Hawthorn Creely is a misfit. Her dad is a History Professor and her mom is a vegan ex-hippie. Her brother, Rush, was a star of the football team when he was in high school. Lizzie Lovett was the town sweetheart. She was the most popular girls in high school and everyone loved her and wanted to be her. Lizzie goes missing while on a camping trip. Hawthorn can’t get it out of her head and starts to look into her disappearances and comes up with some wild theories of what happened. Then, she starts working at Lizzie’s workplace and hanging out with Lizzie’s boyfriend. When the truth finally comes out, will it be anything like what Hawthorn thought?

What I found most interesting about this book is that it revolves around a character that doesn’t exist. The Lizzie you come to “know” during the story is the one that Hawthorn creates. This story is really about Hawthorn and her journey in growing into herself and accepting herself for who she is. What she finds out is that the grass isn’t always greener and things are generally a lot different than what they appear on the surface.

This was a dark comedy and I found myself laughing several times. I mean, you have hippies living in a backyard, theories of werewolves, and the normal high school angst all thrown together. There is bound to be some comic relief. It wasn’t my normal type of story, but I had to keep reading because I had to know what happened. I look forward to more writings from Chelsea. I give this a four out of five.

Wow, this book was so bad. I mean, it was written well hence the .5 star instead of just one star but the story itself was awful. This story is about Hawthorn Creely, who becomes obsessed with finding out the mystery behind local woman Lizzie Lovett's disappearance. Armed with strange theories, Hawthorn steps into Lizzie's life and takes her job and her boyfriend to figure out what happened.

The first thing you need to know about this book is that Hawthorn Creely's just a terrible person. She's rude, snide, uncaring, unforgiving and basically blames the entire world for being happy and content when she's not. She has hardly any friends and it's no surprise as who would want to be friends with someone who never cares about anyone except herself and can't be happy for you when things are going well. There were certainly people in the school that were awful and bullies, but Hawthorn was a fairly toxic person to be around on account of her negativity. She wasn't nice to the one friend she had and she wasn't nice to her family. The author kept playing Hawthorn off as being quirky and cute because she always had insane ideas but no, I couldn't accept that.

Hawthorn's obsession with Lizzie Lovett was weird to begin with because she didn't even like her. And not because Lizzie ever did anything to Hawthorn, no Hawthorn hated her because Lizzie was pretty and popular and was basically everything Hawthorn wanted to be but couldn't admit to herself that she wanted. So naturally, she had a deep hatred for Lizzie? But then Hawthorn decided that Lizzie went missing because she was a werewolf. Like I;m sorry but WHAT? This made no sense whatsoever, and what was worse is that people just went along with it like Enzo. And let's get started on him...what.a.creep.

I understand Enzo feeling a bit alone and horrible after Lizzie's disappearance but the way he was okay with being so friendly with a 17-year-old girl and he was 25 was weird and creepy to me. I am 25 now and I would hate to have to be around 17 year olds. Also, where were his friends and family? Did he have no friends except Lizzie because that's what it seemed like but it was never explained.

I also felt the sex scene here was extremely problematic because it seemed like Hawthorn didn't really give proper consent and she obviously didn't know what she was doing or how she was feeling. And it made me feel icky. I'm not saying the author had to write a first time with bows and sparkles cause it's not real life, but younger readers shouldn't read this sex scene and think it's a proper first time with someone much older than you, and someone who doesn't seem to care that much. Also Enzo showed how much of a creep he was at the end when he seemed to get with the Mycelle girl who was also 17 and that was never even explained. Why did he end up being with her when he had heard how horrible she was from Hawthorn and why did he spill all of of Hawthorn's secrets. I guess we will never know

I also thought there was a problem in this book with mental health. You can't throw what was done in this book into a story and not have appropriate conversations around it ESPECIALLY when a book is aimed at a YA audience. I mean, one could argue that Lizzie's suicide showed that what you see on the outside isn't always what you get on the inside and people can be suffering internally and you wouldn't know but this was glossed over. It was like, hey she killed herself and that's sad but whatever. No deeper look into why or how she was suffering. Nothing. I just hope the finished copy of this book comes with some sort of page about hotlines to call if someone is suffering because I feel all books that touch on this subject should have this.

**Live on 1/6/17**

It’s books like The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett that make me feel like I need to work harder to try new authors. First, the reviews on this one are all over the place. There are a lot of people who liked it, and for every one there’s someone who didn’t. I fall in the camp of people who really liked it, which makes me feel even better about it. A new author I liked; one that where I get to offer a good review. Yay!

Would it be presumptuous of me to say that I think The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett is a book some people just don’t understand? I read a reviewer say that they felt like the author couldn’t decide what kind of book it was, that the story flopped between contemporary and paranormal. I couldn’t disagree more. There was nothing paranormal in The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett at all. I’m pretty positive that Chelsea Sedoti knew exactly what kind of story she was telling.

It was Hawthorn’s story. It was about how lonely life is when you feel like you don’t fit in, and even more, when the kids around you go out of their way to make sure you are an outsider. It’s about this world that Hawthorn creates in her head to keep her going. Hawthorn’s theory was one based in a need for her world to be bigger than what she experienced in High School. I liked her right away.

All of the characters felt fleshed out. For instance, Enzo. Enzo was that guy… the one that represents the relationship that are unhealthy but you can grudgingly understand why Hawthorn is drawn to him. He’s hurtful without purpose, and then oddly sweet at times. I felt like it was obvious that he was not the turn Hawthorn’s path was supposed to take. Yet, I also appreciated that he wasn’t villainized beyond necessity.

Another relationship that showed growth in the story was the one between Hawthorn and her brother Rush. To start, Hawthorn felt distanced from her brother, as though he had no interest in her once he became popular and ‘adult’. Yet, we the reader watched him prove, as the story progressed, how much he actually did love his little sister. I think familial relationships will almost always be a highlight for me. I liked Rush, but I particularly liked reading about Rush and Hawthorn.

And then there was Connor. The surprise. I loved him from the beginning. I love the unassuming characters. I love when they sneak up on me and make me adore them.

Now, it’s worth noting that despite what I’ve said about Enzo and Connor, this is NOT a romantic book. This book is about Hawthorn, and it’s about Lizzie. And even more importantly it’s about how Hawthorn sees herself and what that means about how she sees Lizzie. It’s a self-reflection book.

I was so excited to get this book, I was very intrigued after reading the blurb. I was not too far into the book when I started to feel disappointed. Hawthorn Creely is our main character for this ride and it was not fun being in her head... at first. I was pretty sure she was a sociopath for the first few chapters. She is searching into the disappearance of one of the popular mean girls who use to go to school with her. She becomes very obsessed with Lizzie to the point of taking over aspects of her life. According to Hawthorne someone as popular and charmed as Lizzie could never ever have any thing bad happen to her.

As the story continued I found myself more and more immersed in it. I wanted to understand, yell, tell her to stop, go with her on the adventures and all kinds of other things. As she tries to uncover the mystery of Lizzie we get to see her relationship with change with all the people in her life from her crazy hippie mom, more logical father, and former joke brother as well. We also see her fall out with a best friend and fall in with some boys.

The true story begins in the end really. This was a great read. It means so much more than you realize in the beginning. Everyone needs to head to the bookstore and grab this today! Its a true coming of age showing brilliantly that awkward transition from teenager to young adult. How growing up happens in ways you may not see coming. I am so glad I kept reading this is an easy four stars!

I have really mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I found it intriguing and read it quickly. I genuinely wanted to find out what happened to Lizzie Lovett. My mixed feelings mainly revolve around Hawthorn's character. She's kind of all of the place. For one, she seems much younger than how most 17 year olds are portrayed in YA. In a way this is refreshing because I often think the teenagers in books are a little too experienced and self-aware compared to real teenagers. However, she mainly hangs out with people in their 20s so her youthful attitude makes those relationships kind of weird - and disturbing from a romantic angle. She's sort of Peter Pan-esque in that she sees the world from an imaginative child's perspective and never seems to have grown up. She desperately wants to believe in the supernatural, jumping to the conclusion of zombies, ghosts, and werewolves instead of realistic reasons. While this is cute and sort of makes me want to hug her, it's also pretty delusional. Also, her obsession with Lizzie Lovett's life and disappearance crosses the line into creepy at points. I understand that she's always seen this older girl from school as an symbol of perfection and I can even understand her interest in finding out what happened. But she goes way too far. She's essentially trying to become Lizzie Lovett and even when the mystery is solved and you think that finally she will let it go and move on with her own life, she keeps at it. Overall, an interesting but uncomfortable read.

Hawthorn sees the world differently, which is something that I always appreciate in a character. She is kind of an outcast, and she has a wild imagination. Hawthorn isn't sure if she necessarily believes everything that she imagines, but she likes to believe that something strange or magical could exist, which I can relate to.

Hawthorn puts herself into some interesting situations, and its sometimes tough to wonder how she thinks that the things she is doing are okay. But that's part of growing up, finding your way and making mistakes along the way. After all, it's not as though Hawthorn has the best relationship with her parents and her brother. They don't really understand her, and let her run wild because they figure that some socialization is better than being an outcast, which Hawthorn is for the most part.

Throughout the book Hawthorn learns who she is and what that means to her. She realizes that not everything is as it seems on the surface, and that people often have dark and difficult things going on in their lives that they don't let on about. This book really shows that you can't always assume that people are as happy as they seem to be, and that everyone is a different person in someone else's eyes.

I give this book 5/5 stars. It was a great, interesting read and I flew through the pages. I'm definitely looking forward to reading more from debut author Chelsea Sedoti.

Thank you to NetGalley for my copy of this novel.

How I Read: Kindle

Stars: I give a solid 4.5

Before I Read: A YA with a twist of mystery? Sounds right up my alley. The idea that a misfit like Hawthorn basically inserts herself completely into the life of Lizzie, a missing girl, including taking her job & boyfriend intrigued me.

After I Read: Well, I suspected the ending but there were twists & turns that made it interesting and a fun ride. I had thought it might be Single White Female-esque, but it wasn't, it was its own magic.

What I Liked: I originally thought of it as just YA but it was truly coming of age. Being an adult myself, I liked that there were slightly more adult themes like sex. I also loved the characters and how it reminded me of people I knew IRL.

What I Didn't Like: Some of the characters angered me with their choices.. but well... boys. Lol.

Recommended for: Fans of YA that is a little more "adult"

When a young woman goes missing (Lizzie), a teen girl (Hawthorn) immerses herself in the woman's life in order to uncover what happened to her.

***SPOILER ALERT*** Let me start by saying that I expected so much MORE from this book. The premise was so intriguing, and I couldn't wait to discover what all Lizzie had lied about and why she was missing. Instead, the plot moved very slowly and focused on Hawthorn, the young (ah so very young, immature, and cliche outcast at school, an outcast who doesn't even try to fit in or make friends and seems to create problems out of everything) main character who spent her free time delving into Lizzie's personal life. First, she filled her empty spot at the dive where Lizzie waitressed and then she became involved with Lizzie's (adult) boyfriend. She made so many bad choices. And then, as if that weren't enough, after pondering Lizzie's disappearance, she decided that the most plausible explanation was that Lizzie had ... wait for it ... maybe turned into a werewolf?!? Ummmm, what?!? That is not at all where I expected this book to go, and I was so disappointed. Big SIGH and an eye roll thrown in too, for good measure :/ There were so many other "angsty," young adult issues that Lizzie could have been dealing with, so really? Let's go with the supernatural.

With all that being said, I do have to add that I could see this book having a much bigger effect on a teenager than it did on me, a 40-something mother of 2. I did appreciate how Hawthorn's character progressed throughout the book and how she gained maturity and insight to her own personality while trying to figure out what happened to Lizzie. Her imagination was a wonderful thing, but she needed to put it to better use.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for a free ARC of this book in exchange for my (very) honest review!

Have you ever met someone who left a lasting impression on you - good or bad? You're always wondering about them in the back of your mind, almost creating this fictional persona for them as they take up permanent residence in your subconscious. They become some sort of measuring stick that you hold yourself up against. This is how Hawthorn has operated for the last few years since she first met upperclassman, Lizzie Lovett as a freshman, and has continued even after Lizzie has graduated.

Hawthorn has always felt like an oddity. She lives inside her head most of the time conjuring up theories and scenarios for entertainment and to escape her reality. This makes her seem rather immature and self-absorbed. A lot of that stems from her sense of alienation at school, although i do think that the wall she built around herself has only served to insulate her. When she hears that Lizzie has gone missing, she becomes obsessed with the case. She comes up with wild fantasies about where Lizzie has gone or what she's become, even going so far as to infiltrate aspects of Lizzie's life. She's so consumed with Lizzie that it disrupts her relationships with everyone else and borders on worrisome.

The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett is altogether strange and absorbing, where Hawthorn's behaviour at times becomes so confounding that you wonder what exactly she's attempting to pull off. Even with all that weirdness, it was hard not to become engrossed in this fantasy she had created. In the end, not only does she learn the truth but she figures out something about herself. A definite read if you're up for a mystery and something a bit offbeat.

I was unable to finish this book because of the triggers I felt while reading it - I'm sure the writing wasn't terrible but it was a little bit too much for me and that is MY fault, not the book's!

(I received this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review).

I’ve been hearing quite a few things about this upcoming novel and most of those things are good. So, naturally, I was eager to try to get my hands on this copy. I was granted an e-copy a few months before its release date, so I waited to read it until the release date was closer.

Clearly, on January 2, I’m close enough.

Anyway, this story is meant to revolve around Hawthorn, a teenage outcast who simply wants excitement in her life. She doesn’t have many friends besides Emily. She gets teased constantly because of her hippie mother and her hippie friends, who show up later to add some weirdness to the plot. Hawthorn is really the type of girl that believes the impossible so her life can have some excitement.

This excitement comes in the form of the disappearance of Lizzie Lovett, a girl who seemed to have everything even after she graduated high school. She disappeared while camping with her boyfriend, Enzo. Hawthorn is deadset on believing that Lizzie is a werewolf (for real) that she teams up with Enzo to try and solve the mystery.

Here is where the story really takes a turn.

So, Hawthorn is seventeen and Enzo is twenty-five. They start to “hang out” while trying to solve the mystery of Lizzie’s disappearance and this really goes on for a few months. Of course, like any contemporary novel with a boy and a girl paired together, feelings start to develop.

One thing that bothered me about that was exactly THAT. I’m not surprised “feelings” developed, but I think it went a bit too far. I’m not giving anything away, but it made me uncomfortable because of the age difference. Not to mention, Hawthorn is still a minor.

Also, Hawthorn’s brother’s friend, Conner, plays a small part in the novel, but a big part in Hawthorn’s life and future(?), too. I think Conner should have played a bigger role, though. He just seemed random.

Bottom line, when it comes to the men, I think, if they were meant to be a semi-permanent part of Hawthorn’s life, the reader should get to know more about them than some dialogue here and there.

Don’t go thinking that I am giving this novel a bad rating. I am actually giving it 4 out of 5 stars because it’s a beautiful independent piece of work about growth and learning to come out of your shell and to stick up for yourself. Hawthorn starts out as this girl who keeps to herself and refuses to take many risks. This mystery causes her to just burst out. She goes into a “haunted house”, she stands up to bullies, and she actually learns how to talk to a boy face to face (even if he is way older than her). Hell, she even gets drunk at a high school party! The point is, she grows and you can connect with her.

I connected with Hawthorn more than I thought I would. I liked to stay in my shell when I was in high school. I was scared to talk to boys face to face and I didn’t have many friends. I liked to venture into my head, whether it’s with my own imagination or with books. It’s not easy trying to come out of your shell, but Hawthorn shows what it takes to be brave and to learn that things will be okay in the end.

Four stars: A coming of age book that quietly grows on you.

It's Monday morning and Hawthorn is dreading going to school. She doesn't want to listen to her classmates chattering about the fun they had at the dance this past weekend. Hawthorn is certain she is one of the only seniors who wasn't invited. Then something happens, Hawthorn learns that Lizzie Lovett, one of her school's former most popular girls, disappeared over the weekend while camping with her boyfriend. As the days wear on with no sign of Lizzie, Hawthorn finds herself obsessed with what happened to her. How could a girl who seemed to have the perfect life go missing? The more she digs, the more Hawthorn learns about life and love and the illusion of high school.

What I Liked:
*The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett is a quiet, powerful coming of age story that takes its time to build and build. It was a read that once I finished, I had to sit and think on, and the more I pondered it over, the more I got it and liked it. This is a book about discovery and life's misconceptions. This is one you should try if you want a challenge.
*Hawthorn is an interesting character to follow. She is socially awkward, and she struggles with fitting in. Once Lizzie turns up missing, Hawthorn becomes obsessed with what happened to her. She ends up taking Lizzie's former job at a diner, and befriends her boyfriend, trying to better understand Lizzie. Hawthorn comes up with an outlandish theory for Lizzie's disappearance, and she doggedly tries to prove her theory. Along the way, Hawthorn grows and changes as she learns some harsh truths about the world and herself. She also makes some friends, and she discovers that no one has the perfect life, and even the most popular girl in school who seemed to have it all, has her own struggles. I liked that the author exposed the fallacy about high school being wonderful and the best time in your life because in reality, everyone at that age is fighting their own battles as they try to figure out a place in the world and an identity.
*I was invested in the mystery surrounding Lizzie's disappearance. I never bought into Hawthorn's wild theory, though. I kept wondering what happened to Lizzie, and then when the truth was finally revealed, I was shocked.
*Surprisingly, one of the most interesting characters in the story turned out to be an old hippie, Sun Dog, who camps out in Lizzie's backyard. I thought he was an interesting addition to the story, and I liked the insight he provided to Lizzie.
*I liked the strong focus on friendship in this book. In the beginning, Hawthorn has only one friend, Emily, but then the two have a falling out. Hawthorn soon finds herself making new unexpected friends. I loved seeing her stretch her wings and find new friends, and then I loved how she and Emily worked out their differences. I liked how Hawthorn finds friends in unexpected places.
*There is some romance in the book, and I liked that it was realistic. It wasn't the butterflies in your tummy type romance, instead it is one born when two people come together to work toward a common goal. It is complicated and painful at times. I even liked the way it all turned out, and that there was a promise of something better at the end. For all you who want the swoon and feel good, this one won't do it for you, but I liked that it felt real.
*This is a quiet book that requires you to dig deep and look for the hidden messages in the story. I won't go into the details and spoil it, you have to discover them for yourself. I will say, I enjoyed the author's message and her writing was lovely.
*The ending was just right. I liked that the main mystery was done up, and I liked that things ended on a more hopeful note for Hawthorn.
And The Not So Much:
*I was immediately drawn into the whole mystery surrounding Lizzie Lovett's disappearance. I was disappointed though once the truth was revealed that there wasn't more details on the why. It was a bit unsettling.
*At first, Hawthorn's far fetched theory on what happened to Lizzie was funny, but after awhile, I got tired of it and it became ridiculous.
*There is a secondary subtle romance going on throughout the book that the reader can sense, but Hawthorn doesn't clue into. Then at the end, this romance seems to finally take root. I wished that there was more development with this romance, I thought it was sweet.
*I thought the middle portion of the book dragged a bit, there just wasn't much going on, and I was tired of Hawthorn chasing after her wild theory.

The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett was one of those books that didn't initially overly impress me after completing it, but then the more I thought about it, the more it sunk in, and I got it. This is a quiet, contemplative read that explores a young girl's coming of age journey as she learns some life lessons about friendship, love and the misconceptions of a perfect life. This is a book that you have to take your time with, otherwise you will miss the hidden messages. This isn't a read for everyone, but for those of you who want a challenge, and who are patient, you should give this book a try.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for this review.
Posted@Rainy Day Ramblings.

In the beginning, I didn't really like Hawthorn. I thought she was really annoying, self-centered, and behaved really immaturely for someone who is a senior in high school. As the story progressed, my opinion changed. Hawthorn continued to make silly comments and acted in an immature way but it was tempered with growing self-awareness of the way others perceive her. She stopped victimizing herself and became so much stronger. This whole story isn't really about Lizzie so if you are looking for some kind of thriller, you will be grossly disappointed. This novel is a coming-of-age story about a misfit who finally learns to love herself and appreciate her uniqueness. And for that reason, I loved the story. I could empathize with Hawthorn; I know what it's like to never fit in and deal with bullying on an everyday basis. I know what it's like to want to be loved and to have someone "get" you when no one else does. The author did a fantastic job showing how her desperation for these things leads to questionable decisions, and how she bounces back when things go south. The writing style also made this story an enjoyable read. With every word, I felt compelled to keep going, keep reading about Hawthorn and her family, and all the ways in which people are affected by tragedy. Overall, this is a great teen fiction story, and I can't wait to read more by this author!

Hawthorne Creely doesn't fit in. She doesn't have many friends and her classmates make fun of her. She just wants to leave her small town. Then one day Lizzie Lovett disappears. Lizzie who was perfect and had everything. Hawthorne sets out to solve the mystery of Lizzie's disappearance.

This book has a very distinct narrative voice which is great unless you really dislike that voice. I found Hawthorne to be annoying and completely unlikable. At no point did I really care about her. Also, I'm not exactly clear on what were Lizzie Lovett's hundred lies because we really don't learn that much about Lizzie. This book tries to sell itself as a mystery/coming of age story but Hawthorne never really grows up and the mystery just falls kind of flat.

For starters, that's a beautiful cover. The cover alone was what drew me in to this book. So, I clicked on it and I read the summary.

"Hawthorn wasn’t trying to insert herself into a missing person’s investigation. Or maybe she was. But that’s only because Lizzie Lovett’s disappearance is the one fascinating mystery their sleepy town has ever had. Bad things don’t happen to popular girls like Lizzie Lovett, and Hawthorn is convinced she’ll turn up at any moment—which means the time for speculation is now. So Hawthorn comes up with her own theory for Lizzie’s disappearance. A theory way too absurd to take seriously…at first. The more Hawthorn talks, the more she believes. And what better way to collect evidence than to immerse herself in Lizzie’s life? Like getting a job at the diner where Lizzie worked and hanging out with Lizzie’s boyfriend. After all, it’s not as if he killed her—or did he?Told with a unique voice that is both hilarious and heart-wrenching, Hawthorn’s quest for proof may uncover the greatest truth is within herself."

Instantly, I thought to myself, now that's a book I want to read. So I requested it and here we are.

From the very first paragraph, I was drawn into a world of a girl who seems kind of critical about life and uses the disappearance of a classmate to be someone else. I mean we have all wanted to be someone else before right?

I found that I could relate to this poor girl and the many things that seemed to be wrong in her high school life because I was awkward in high school too. Because of that, I kept turning page after page eager for more.

As I turned each page, I fell more and more in love with this story, the characters, and even the author. (I'll definitely be checking out her other books.)

Hawthorne- the MC, has this humor throughout, it's kind of sarcastic humor but also a bit dark. I laughed so hard with her many witty remarks. I even found myself waiting with bated breath for the next little bit of humor.

As she goes on this journey to find her missing classmate, you begin to realize that this journey isn't about finding the classmate, it's about her finding herself. Which is beautiful in itself.

All the way to the end, this was a great read and something I definitely recommend for teens and young adults alike. It's heartwarming and fun, and it will rip your heart out and then mend it back together again.

This is a must read.

Find it on Amazon here: The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett https://www.amazon.com/dp/1492636088/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_l9QAybGQVAZX6

Find more information about the author here: http://www.chelseasedoti.com/

*I received an Advance Reader Digital Copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.