Big Little Lies in 2017 Reading Challenge

Jul 30, 2015 Jenn rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, cozy-mysteries, angst-drama

You know how sometimes you read something & you think this is MADE for a movie/TV? That's this totally. And then I read that Nicole Kidman & Reese Witherspoon are indeed making an HBO miniseries.

Anyways, I digress.

This was a lot of layers and a lot of themes, and a lot of characters, but they all worked together in this novel about bullying, lies, abuse, friends and families. It sounds dark, and it was at times, but it was also laugh out loud funny. This could have easily been a book where I h You know how sometimes you read something & you think this is MADE for a movie/TV? That's this totally. And then I read that Nicole Kidman & Reese Witherspoon are indeed making an HBO miniseries.

Anyways, I digress.

This was a lot of layers and a lot of themes, and a lot of characters, but they all worked together in this novel about bullying, lies, abuse, friends and families. It sounds dark, and it was at times, but it was also laugh out loud funny. This could have easily been a book where I hated every single character and didn't care what happened to any of them -- see The Girl on the Train, but for the most part, these are all really good people. They have their flaws, they are all going through their personal battles, but they are good people. They learn from their mistakes, or at least admit to them. In the midst of all that is a murder mystery that starts on the night it happens, Trivia Night at the school, and progressively leads up to that night starting back 6 months ago.

Yes, this is Mommy Wars with kindergarten children, but it really is so much more than that. It's the ridiculousness of those battles, but it takes a look at what the teachers and faculty go through, how other parents feel, how other children are affected, and what goes on behind peoples' backs and doors.

What most impressed me was the look at (view spoiler)

And actually, I related on different levels to all three main females - Celeste, Jane and Madeline. I loved them all for different reasons. You understood their emotions. Celeste with the adorable, rambunctious boys and gorgeous, rich husband who you thought you should envy, but had significant personal problems. Jane, the single mother, starting over and her son, Ziggy, right at the center of the controversy. And Madeline, the ferociously protective mother and wife, having her oldest daughter growing closer to her stepmother, having her divorced husband's daughter attend kindergarten with her daughter, and getting in the mix of everything.

Also, I really about lost it with some of the children situations and having little kids being outcast. It just broke my heart.

The best part for me is that it had me guessing. I thought this person might have died, or this person, that this person was the killer or maybe this person, and towards the end I started to figure things out, but it wasn't until I was 'in' the final moments that I realized what was going to happen.

It was a long book, but it read very quickly. It was cozy, but it wasn't. It's flawed in a few ways, but I loved every minute of it. ...more

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Apr 02, 2017 Rachel Polacek rated it it was amazing

Shelves: adult-reads

It's been a while since I've stayed up until 2 a.m. so I could keep reading, but I couldn't stop with this one. This book was funny, clever, even though it also deals with domestic violence and murder. The characters were so full and strong and I enjoyed getting to know them. (Adult novel) ...more

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Mar 11, 2015 Elizabeth rated it really liked it

This book was hysterically funny but included a story of trauma and and undercurrent of sadness. This book dealt with some difficult issues, but the descriptions in the books of the adults whose kids all go to the same school is a riot. I was laughing out loud at the comments and statements the characters made.

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