Big Little Lies in Around the World in 80 Books

Oct 02, 2017 Rachel N. rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2017, family, humor, friendship, australia, domestic-violence, school, parenting

Madeline is divorced with a teenager and two younger kids from her second marriage. She's friend with Celeste, a beauty with twins and a seemingly perfect life. They both befriend Jane, a single mom. All three have kids starting kindergarten. From the beginning you know someone dies at the schools trivia night but it takes most of the book to find out who. I liked all three women and their stories. I think the events of the trivia night were a bit of a let down considering all the suspense leadi ...more

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Apr 06, 2017 Kent Winward rated it liked it

Ok, I hope my wife doesn't read this review, because I read this book because I suffer from the need to know how a story will turn out. We started watching the HBO series and I couldn't resist. Don't worry I won't spoil any plot lines. And the HBO show diverges at some points, so there is that too.

The novel suffers from what I dislike about a lot of contemporary fiction -- there is an inner didactic-ism that makes you feel emotionally manipulated in a way that is not pleasant. Interestingly the ...more

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May 16, 2017 Daisy rated it really liked it

Shelves: australia, aroundtheworld2017

Skilled and entertaining. Read it in exactly 24 hours.

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Nov 04, 2017 Daina rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Picked up this book because I heard such great things about the HBO Limited Series, and I wanted to read the source material first.

I thought it hilarious that all of the drama centers around an elementary school, and the kindergarten parents are the main characters. I thought to myself, "These women are crazy."

Then I realized that these women have lives of their own outside of the Pirriwee school- these women have lives, hobbies, passions, etc. and are just introduced as helicopter parents. Th ...more

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Jun 14, 2015 Diane rated it really liked it

My book club chose this book, and I was glad to read another Liane Moriarty novel. Both my husband and I had enjoyed The Husband's Secret.

While I liked her style of writing, I was a bit skeptical whether this one would hold up. Boy did it! While I can't get into some of the mom drama, I found the book at times entertaining, at times, funny, and suddenly all too real and frightening. I read not just to be entertained but to walk a mile in someone else's shoes. This book gave me the chance to unde ...more

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