The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett by Chelsea Sedoti is a Young Adult romance/ mystery novel. The book released at the beginning of this year. This book follows the journey of Hawthorn Creely as she searches for the missing Lizzie Lovett and in the process she finds herself. Hawthorn is an eccentric character who faces the typical woes of a high school student who stands out. She tends to create elaborate stories and theories regarding people. Hawthorn once thought a teacher was a terrorist and turned him when she saw a student getting out of his car. Instead of calling the police, she called the girls mother and turned out the student, and the teacher had an inappropriate relationship. Her best friend Emily seems to go along with her schemes the entire story until she starts fixating on Lizzie Lovett. Hawthorn wants to be Lizzie that she takes her job at the diner, begins searching for her with Lizzie’s ex-boyfriend Lorenzo, and even dates Lorenzo. The entire novel you wonder if Lizzie is even alive or if she was attacked in the woods and died. The search seems to stop; people move on until something happens. All the while, Hawthorn continues to remain fixated on the life of Lizzie Lovett. As you read, you watch Hawthorn’s life unravel, and she discovers who she is and where she fits in.

I thought this story was a bit weird. There were a few times I felt uncomfortable and wanted to stop reading. I get that way with books that involve high school bullying and missing people. The whole story was a mystery that was unraveling from the beginning. I liked that it had a bit of romance and I loved that Hawthorn was an outcast trying to find her way in. She worked so hard to ignore everyone when she just wanted to fit in and be invited to things. The author did a great job telling this story. I felt real emotions while reading this book. I felt sad for Hawthorn and her lack of popularity but also proud of her for being honest with everyone. Ironically, she was never truly honest with herself, and she was entirely selfish. Hawthorn put Lizzie Lovett on a pedestal the entire story, and in the end, it was her brother who made her realize that not everything is at it seems on the outside.

I give this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars. There were a few areas that could be improved. I wanted to know what happened to Lorenzo after he discovered the news of what happened to Lizzie. I also wanted to know more about why Hawthorn’s arch nemesis existed. These are all personal preferences. This book was definitely out of my realm of books that I read. I try to steer clear of mystery’s, but I found this one to be fascinating.