Big Little Lies in Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge

Jul 24, 2014 Melissa rated it it was amazing

http://www.chicklitcentral.com/2014/1... ...more

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Nov 02, 2014 Nadine in NY Jones rated it it was amazing

Shelves: womens-day, fiction, 100-best-of-21st-c, chick-lit, lotsa-buzz

This keeps showing up in Best of lists for 2014, so ... I read it. And, can I just say? ***I REALLY REALLY LOVED THIS BOOK!!*** I haven't been this pleasantly surprised, this in love, with a book since ... well since I read Station Eleven a few months ago. They are very different books, but I had the same reaction. <3 But that's not the point.

As soon as I started it, I found it's not at all what I expected! I figured it would either be deep and difficult, or light chick lit (neither of which wou ...more

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Jul 21, 2014 Lydia Presley rated it really liked it

Shelves: contemporary, social_issues, fiction, 2014

Liane Moriarty snagged me with her smash hit, THE HUSBAND'S SECRET. I read it last year and my jaw dropped at how hard of a punch it packed. So when I saw that BIG LITTLE LIES was coming out, I knew this would be one I couldn't pass up. I was a bit worried, I'll admit, that it wouldn't live up to what its predecessor did for me, but almost immediately that worry was put to rest as I started in, immediately fascinated by the names floating on the page and the gossip they were revealing.

Read the r ...more

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Feb 03, 2016 Lauren rated it really liked it

MUCH better than The Husband's Secret. Action pact, great twists. Really enjoyed this read. ...more

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Feb 15, 2016 Stacy rated it it was ok

Shelves: lady-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Wow, I am honestly puzzled and torn about this book. I'm puzzled by everyone's 4- and 5-star reviews. It's hard to even find one with less than four stars that has more than a few likes. Is this book really SO perfect? But I am torn because I was entertained throughout the book and did want to find out how everything turned out, although the book was far too long. I also enjoyed the inner dialogues we saw from the characters, who showed an incredible amount of self-awareness of their issues and Wow, I am honestly puzzled and torn about this book. I'm puzzled by everyone's 4- and 5-star reviews. It's hard to even find one with less than four stars that has more than a few likes. Is this book really SO perfect? But I am torn because I was entertained throughout the book and did want to find out how everything turned out, although the book was far too long. I also enjoyed the inner dialogues we saw from the characters, who showed an incredible amount of self-awareness of their issues and flaws. The thoughts from Celeste were interesting, especially when she questioned whether she could be a victim of abuse if she herself provoked it or hit back.

The one plot line that I thought was really honest and real was that of Abigail, Madeline's 14-year-old daughter who chooses to live with her father and super-chill, younger stepmom, and then tries to auction off her virginity online to raise money for Amnesty International without thinking through the consequences. Her stubbornness, impressionability, and passionate, black-and-white views really resonated with me and reminded me of the simplicity of my own views in high school before I learned to see nuance and complexity in the world around me.

However, the book itself was disappointing when I sat back and started to think about it. It was predictable, cliched in places, and played a klunky hide-the-ball game with the reader. Someone was murdered at the trivia night. Who is it? Why did they do it? Um, it's lady fluff fiction, so the victim is probably not someone you care about... And the characters you do care about are probably going to all be mostly happy and content in the end, so it's hard to feel too much tension on the way there.

Not many of the hidden balls, secrets, shockers, whatever you want to call them, were that surprising. Of course none of the three main characters would be murdered, or be the murderer (can't alienate your readers). Of course the violence in Celeste's marriage would escalate (sad, but true, because you cannot write about domestic violence unless it comes to a head and a resolution during the story). Of course Perry had to be murdered (there could be no truly happy ending for Celeste otherwise). Of course Ziggy's father was in Pirriwee (or we would know who we was at the beginning of the book, and Jane wouldn't have been inexplicably drawn to to move there). Of course Saxon Banks was really Perry (Jane obsessed about him but never Googled him? Please.) Of course sweet Ziggy was not the bully (there were no clues that he was secretly mean whatsoever, so billing him as "inscrutable" was a bit overkill on the book jacket's description). If the bully wasn't Ziggy, of course the bully had to be one of the twins who had secretly witnessed violence against their mother - cue the violins - although I did think for a while that Amabella hurt herself for attention). Of course Tom was not gay and was going to hook up with Jane (why would we hear about how hot he was and how good he smelled, otherwise?) Of course the sad and frumpy mom Jane would get her groove back (why start with a severe ponytail if not to later flip the switch with a makeover later?).

So, I was entertained while reading, but disappointed afterwards (much like when I read "What Alice Forgot"). I will need to remember that the next time I'm tempted to pick up a Moriarty book. I will save it for the beach and not when I have the time and energy to think much about it later. ...more

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