Little Lies

When I first started Big Little Lies, I had no idea what the book was even about. It was recommended to me by my sister and I'd just finished reading The Book Thief when I picked it up. It actually took me longer to get through it than it normally would a book this size but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it. Within the first couple of chapters we are introduced to our main characters - Jane, Madeline and Celeste.

Jane, a young single mother to a 5 year old boy, Ziggy. Madeline, a re-married mother of 3, who has just turned 40. And Celeste, Madeline's best friend - mother to 5 year old, twin boys.

All three mothers are just starting their 5 year olds at school and with it comes drama, drama, drama.
Madeline is normally involved in the drama as she doesn't really know when to hold her tongue - but in the end, this is why I loved her.

I didn't really have a favourite scen or part of the book to be honest, but the ending was shocking and I didn't expect it at all. We don't know who has died in the story until it happens - this kept the suspense going throughout the whole thing. I thought I had guessed who died and who the killer was, but I was waayyyy off.

Big Little Lies, delves into serious issues of every day life. Domestic violence, kids being bullied at school, rape and infidelity. Some parts of the book were hard to read as the violence described wasn't expected but it seemed real. By the end, these characters were real to me. I wanted to yell at Celeste and tell her to leave her abusive husband. I wanted to hug Jane and tell her it was okay and she was doing a great job of raising Ziggy. And I wanted to be best friends with Madeline. I haven't actually felt this about characters in a book for a long time. It was refreshing. (Now I have to watch the TV show).

Liane Moriarty did a fabulous job of developing her characters throughout the novel, and who they changed and adapted to their current situations. Jane grew so much as a young mother, Madeline learned to get over her hatred for her ex-husband, and Celeste learned to be brave and stand up for herself.

Overall, I enjoyed Big Little Lies, with it twists and turns. I'll have to see if the TV Show is any good and hope that the characters are as well portrayed on screen as they were written in the book.