Big Little Lies (Movie Tie-In)

From the very beginning, this book had twists and turns with every page; I couldn’t put the book down! The book starts off with an old lady watching tv in her home near the local school. It was a trivia night at Pewee Elementary, so the streets were very noisy, but soon it gets out of hand so she goes outside to see what is going on when she notices ambulances and police cars. She soons learns that someone at the fundraiser got murdered. From this point on the book becomes a mystery. The author does not tell us who got murdered or who the murderer was. Each page has you changing your guess on who could have done such a thing, and who the victim was. The book focus on three different people; Madylin a mother of two who struggles with her ex living in the same neighborhood. Also that ex has a child in the same grade as her youngest. Celeste: a women who on the outside seems perfect, but what really happens in her house? Then there's Jane a single mom who just moved to the neighborhood, and to make her life even worse on orientation day apparently her son strangled a child. All of these women have children going into kindergarten at Pewee Elementary School; starting this school brings a lot of drama to the kids, teachers, and parents as they go about their daily lives. Madylin is the angry one who isn't afraid to stand up for herself, and her friends. Celeste is the perfect one who struggles with big problems of her own, and then there’s. Jane she is shy, nice, and just looking for a normal life for her and her son. When these three all come together as friends it makes a force to be reckoned with. Their journey through this book is nail biting, and very exciting. As the book goes on it switches between each of these three and their time building up to orientation day. Their lives are not as simple as they appear. Each face problems of their own that the others don’t know about. As friends they stick together and sort through the problems of their lives. On trivia night a lot happens that leaves you guessing till the very end. I highly recommend reading this book every page is a different twist that is shocking. Liane Moriarty did an excellent job writing this book. Her word choice really brings the characters to life, and makes it seem like this book is real. It seems as if this book was written from someone in the town. It tells the characters emotions as well, this is what makes the reader think that this is non fiction instead of fiction. It describes to us a neighborhood like the ones we live in; from having parades, to having that one special coffee shop everything about this books seems realistic. She wrote this book for young adults, and middle aged women. It really portrays that in the way the characters talk. The plot was very well thought out with each situation/conflict described, and resolved. This book can be relatable to some people because of the variety of characters it contains, no two people have the same personality, or thoughts in the book; even some of the kids are relatable! This book was written in shifting first person narration so each chapter switches the character of focus. At first I thought that this would make it confusing, but it doesn’t it helps the plot a lot and lets you see what the everyone is going through not just the main characters. This book is a mystery that keeps you on your toes, you'll never want to put your book down, and you'll never guess what will happen next!

Judge a book by its cover? Guilty. I was immediately drawn to the splintering lollypop on the cover of Liane Moriarty's Big Little Lies. This was my first novel by Moriarty, but the catchy cover coupled with the acclaim that her novel has been receiving, pushed this book to the front of my must-read pile. PLOT - Set in a posh beach community in Australia, Big Little Lies centers around a murder that happens during an elementary school fundraiser. Tensions ran high at the adult-only trivia fundraiser and although there were many witnesses, nobody can seem to agree on what occurred. The story is told in flashbacks to the months leading up to the event, focusing on several moms whose children are in the same kindergarten class. There is the gorgeous and wealthy, Celeste, who hides the marks of spousal abuse. Madeline, who has a child from a new marriage in the same class as her ex-husband's child from his second marriage. Jane is new to town and a single mom who is much younger than the other moms. The story kicks off during the kindergarten orientation, when Jane's son is accused of physically abusing another child during playtime. Even though there is no proof of the crime and the kids refuse to talk, it creates a divide between the parents who believe in the innocence of Jane's son and those who want him expelled. LIKE - Immediately, the tone of the story drew me in. It was reminiscent of one of my favorite television comedies, Desperate Housewives. In addition to having a similar wit, it also compares to Desperate Housewives with its dark and heavy content. It initially caught me by making me laugh, but very quickly the story turns serious. I liked that I never quite sussed where Moriarty was heading. Although you know a murder will occur at the very start of the story, I never guessed who died or how. It was a satisfying twist at the end. I liked all of the main characters and found the story to be a page turner. The fact that a murder is coming is always looming, but it takes a back seat to the individual issues that each of the women face. DISLIKE - There really isn't a lot to criticize. I kept reading and thinking that this is the type of story that I someday hope to write, especially with regard to the humor and tone. There were a few times towards the end of the story where the pacing slowed a bit. I'm also not sure about the last chapter, which seemed a little like a Lifetime for Women movie. It didn't need the "smack me over the head" poignant summary at the end. I got the message loud and clear early on and it would have been more impactful without that last chapter. RECOMMEND - Absolutely! I'm looking forward to the movie adaptation and I'm definitely going to read more novels by Moriarty. I'd recommend this book to anyone, although it probably has a wider appeal for women. In particular, the school politics and cattiness among the moms would probably make this a fun read for parents with young children. Also, this is an empowering story for people who have been victims of abuse. Like my review? Check out my blog!

The first time I read this book was in October of 2014. It was my second book by Liane Moriarty after The Husband’s Secret but Big Little Lies was sooooo much BETTER!!! It was funny, and poignant. And so on point regarding school politics and crazy parents. I’ve seen it all and honestly it’s not that far fetched or much exaggerated. But it also had a darker more serious side. When I found out that Reese Witherspoon bought the filming rights and that it was being filmed in my neighborhood (ok, an hour away), I knew that I had to watch the show and would be rereading the book just to refresh my memories. The trailer looked mighty fine and a lot more raunchy than the book really was, but that’s HBO. To reread it a second time I bought the audible version, because all my libraries where out of the book and the waiting list would have literally killed me. And I have to say, Big Little Lies was as good the second time around as it was the first time – even though I knew who got killed.:D What I loved the most about Big Little Lies was that it had the perfect mix of funny, snarky dialogs, and a hilarious bunch of over-the-top moms. The story started out ominously. Someone was KILLED!!!!!! But the reader wouldn’t find out about who got killed until the very END!! So let’s rewind….. …someone died at a parents trivia night. The thought alone was hilarious. Parents killing one of their own peers while playing trivia. Let’s bring out the knife or gun during “What’s the easiest way to kill a parent?” The book started at the beginning of the school year, which in Australia starts in late January/early February – very different to Europe and the US. The parents were introduced, mostly MOMS and ONE dad. But those ladies had me laughing my head off. From the very start there were two groups. And of course enemy lines were drawn immodestly. Either you were in one or the other group – no fraternization allowed. I preferred Madeline’s group – she was HILARIOUS!! Madeline was one of the best characters in this book. She didn’t take herself too serious and always had a snarky comment or two. And her marriage was pretty awesome – all thanks to an amazing and funny husband. Now, Celeste was a different story all together. She was complex and fascinating in a – what’s going on in your head is pretty screwed up but also quite riveting – kind of way. I felt for her, cheered for her, but also thought women you need your head screwed on right. Jane was as normal as a person could be – yeah NOT!!! Non of those moms were normal. They all had something going on. Insecurities, bad marriages, unhappy lives, tragic pasts, workaholics, kids-are-genius-complexes – you name it they had it!! Throughout the book ‘big little lies‘ were uncovered, skeletons in closets were revealed, and the bitter truth was dragged out into the light if it wanted or not!!! It was quite spellbinding to see everything enfold. And there was not ONE minute I was bored or thought the book was predictable. I loved the interview take outs throughout the book. Before or after each chapter were snippets of police interviews – all the parents gave their opinion of what happened. It was funny how those opinions differed and contradicted themselves. I think the hardest and most heart wrenching part for me was reading about Ziggy. That little boy held up remarkable well under the circumstances, and all I wanted was to give him a big, tight hug. For me Big Little Lies was a gem! It was such a great book that totally surprised me in the best of ways. I was raving about it to friends and family. Listening to it made my commute so much more enjoyable. But please remember – it’s FICTION!!! Over the top, maybe. But just fiction. I would highly recommend it just for the entertaining factor. And I need to mention that the narrator did a fantastic job and made my listening experience OUTSTANDING!!!

I read Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty years ago. I just re-read it, and it still sticks with me. That shows how deeply Moriarty can connect with her readers. On the surface, it's a murder mystery set during a school trivia night in an Australian coastal town. At a deeper level, it explores the elaborate performances we call "having it together" and why those performances eventually break down. If you loved The Guest List by Lucy Foley or craved Gone Girl energy without the graphic darkness, this is your book. Moriarty writes about suburban motherhood, female friendship, and domestic violence with perfect balance—sharp observation meets deep compassion. It's funny until it's not, then devastating, yet somehow hopeful. Moriarty captures the truth about who we show to the world versus who we really are. "Perfect" families often hide severe dysfunction. The casual cruelty of mom cliques at school pickup. Women judge each other while desperately needing each other. She writes without smugness or condescension, which is rare. The domestic violence storyline is handled with such care it made my chest tight. Moriarty doesn't sensationalize it. It's woven into the fabric because that's how it exists in real life: hidden in plain sight, normalized, rationalized. The mystery structure keeps you turning pages, but the real tension is emotional. You stay up late because you're invested in these messy, complicated women whose struggles feel uncomfortably relatable. This isn't traditional thriller territory—it's literary fiction with a mystery core. Violence happens but isn't graphic. The real discomfort comes from emotional truths about marriage, motherhood, and the masks we wear. I'd rate this an 8 out of 10 on the cozy thriller scale. This book is made for book clubs and for anyone who feels like they're the only ones without life figured out. If you loved the HBO adaptation but haven't read the book, the book is better.Some books deserve a second look. Big Little Lies changed how I view suburban life and female friendship. I pair every book I can't put down with food that matches its soul. This one calls for ocean flavors—Moriarty sets this on the New South Wales coast. Australian wine, your preference: I went with a crisp Riesling. Oysters if you're fancy. I was in the mood for fish and chips. Pour generously—I did because these characters would.

Brief summary and review, no spoilers. This novel takes place in a small, suburban coastal town named Pirriwee in Australia and our main cast of characters are the parents of kids in the same kindergarten class at the local elementary school. There is Jane, the youngest of the mothers who is a plain-Jane and very docile and and recently moved to the town with her young son Ziggy. We know that Jane is a single-parent and that she had a bad experience with Ziggy's father. We don't find out the details of that until later on. At the start of the book Jane helps out my favorite character - a woman named Madeline - who has turned her ankle when exiting her car while yelling at another driver texting. Madeline and Jane then become buddies and Madeline becomes Jane's champion at the school and is everything Jane is not - she is popular and outgoing and happily married to her second husband, Ed. Madeline and Ed have a daughter in that same kindergarten class as well as a little boy. Madeline also has a 14 year old daughter named Abigail with her ex-husband Nathan. Nathan has remarried a woman named Bonnie and they have a daughter named Skye in that same kindergarten class. Madeline's best friend, and soon Jane's as well, is a woman named Celeste. Celeste is a natural beauty and is married to her handsome and very-wealthy husband, Perry. They have twin sons who attend the same class. As beautiful and wealthy as Celeste is, we also know she is very unhappy and we soon find out why. There are assorted other people we meet along the way, including a gaggle of gossipy mothers, as well as teachers, administrators and a good-hearted and good-looking coffee shop owner named Tom. From early on we find out that Ziggy is accused of bullying and that this may or may not be true. We see sides taken and open warfare as the mothers from Pirriwee Public battle their way through this first year. We also know from the start - because there are various short "interviews" that we read interspersed in and between chapters - that there was a possible murder that has taken place, and we know that it happens at or about an event called Trivia Night which a yearly event at the school. What we don't know is who ended up dead or why. I really, really enjoyed this book. Summarizing the book in many ways does not do it justice because the book is much more than just a "chick" book about these mothers and their various fights. There are some very serious issues covered here, like domestic abuse and jealousy and the difficulty of being a single-parent which are handled in such a sensitive and smart way. This book is also laugh-out-loud funny and this author has such a great ear for both dialogue and description. I think everyone is going to enjoy the characters in this book and see either ourselves or people we know. Personally, I loved Madeline the best and loved every scene with her. Add to the humor and mystery element a very clever twist, that I did not see coming. Really well-done. I have never read this author before but I will definitely pick up more of her books now. This was really such a kick. Recommended.

I once heard that motherhood means throwing yourself across train tracks or crawling across hot coals to save your child. I knew then I’d never have kids. My sense of self-preservation is too strong to voluntarily give up my life for anyone else. I mean, maybe I’d take a bullet for my wife. Maybe … ? More likely, I’d give her a kiss and wish her luck as I ran, but really don’t worry about her, she’d be fine. She’s much faster than me. Oh calamity! All joking aside, the ins and outs of motherhood and the pecking order in the PTAs with these mean girl mothers fascinates me. It seems like this freakish suburban hell where you have to repeat junior high over and over again. So I was absolutely voyeuristically delighted to read Big Little Lies. I was expecting an eviscerating of Queen Bee moms, but I wasn’t expecting such well-rounded characters with an intriguing and complex storyline. Oh sure, there were plenty of stereotypes to go around including Blonde Bobs and stay at home moms pitted against career moms and the judgie bitchiness that seems to be ingrained in female characters, but the warmth and caring and downright protectiveness some of the women felt for each other really warmed my cold black heart. Oh calamity! The main protagonists in the novel, Madeline, Celeste, and Jane all have secrets and damaging events in their lives but they care about one another in a way that is a shining example of what female friendships ought to be. Following their stories was a window into three very different women and their families. Despite their outward differences, don’t they all want the same basic things from their lives? For their loved ones to be safe and happy and protected? I grew to love these women and their personalities and their quirks, and yes, even *gasp* their kids. I want to taste Jane’s muffins (that is not a euphemism), to go shopping with Madeline and stand beside her while she takes up a cause, and I want to see the real Celeste and to give her a hug. I want to watch their kids grow and blossom and to be kind. What did I take away from this book? Never, ever judge a book by its cover, women are always stronger than you think they are, big little lies are all around us, and most simply, be kind. It’s an interesting concept and one we should all remember. No matter how grand someone’s life looks like on the outside, no matter how good they are “facebooking” you that their life is perfect, no matter how in control they seem … you really have no idea what is going on in someone’s private home life. I highly recommend this book. It will make you think about life and the people you know and the stories they share and even more, the ones they don’t. If you want an intensely fascinating ride with wonderful characters, 1-click this book!

Some of Moriarty's other novels are MUCH better than this one. But there are many good things about this book. It does take on very important topics (domestic abuse and bullying) and tells the story of a single mother (Jane) who along with her son Ziggy moves to a seaside town supposedly on a whim (though you will learn later that there is more to why she chose that town...a clever plot turn on the author's part). She is very young (24) and has difficulties when she registers her son for kindergarten. The other mothers assume she is a nanny because she is so young. For years, Jane has refused to identify Ziggy's father or the circumstances around her son's conception. She eventually reveals the ugly and life-altering story to some of her new friends. But about half way through the book I guessed what the outcome would be concerning the father. I found all the drama at the school and with the very high maintenance mothers of the other children to be a bit tedious. The "camps" seemed to be divided between Jane's friends (who were for the most part rational) and the other mothers (who were mostly caricatures of the over-involved mom....too involved, too quick to judge, too critical. A little more "grey" and not so much black and white would have helped. I'd much more quickly recommend Moriarty's The Hypnotist's Love Story and The Husband's Secret. Both of those books seem to be more tightly written and were novels I lost myself in right away. I'd also like to send out a request that publishers do a much better job of proofing their work. I've noticed recently that I find lots of typos in books. This one had several....the word "remembered" misspelled, "had" written as ha'd, etc. Really needs to be improved.

The book is smooth, flows well, is humourous, a fun read, but deals with serious subjects. It deals with sociology, psychology,psychiatry. This is the first book I have read by Liane Moriarty. But again, it is a joy to read. The story takes place in Australia, on the Pirriwee Peninsula. The main characters are the three best friends, all completely opposite. Madeline, outgoing, out spoken, loves clothes and dressing up. Jane, a young single mother, dresses plainly. The third of the trio is Celeste, a beautiful woman with a handsome, wealthy husband and twin boys. Perry spoils her and the boys. But things are not always the way they seem. The ladies are enrolling their children in kindergarten. Madeline is the mother of a boy, two years older than his sister, Chloe, a noisy, bossy, outspoken little girl just like her mother. Jane and Madeline meet the first day of school, she twists her ankle on her very high heels. Jane stops to help. Their friendship is sealed along with Celeste. Madeline has just turned forty and is married to Ed. She was once married to Nathan and has a fourteen year old daughter, Abigail, who is being an obnoxious teenager,driving Mom crazy. The four younger kids are being introducted to the Perriwee School. Jane is twenty-four, a single parent. The book begins on the night of school trivia. An elderly widow, Mrs. Ponder, lives near the school and enjoys watching the children bur the adults act silly and much worse then babies. The book goes back six months and ends again on school trivia night and somewhat later. Little Ziggy is accused of bullying one of the little girls. The mother is outraged. A petition is started to have him removed from the school. He is being ostracized, kids are not allowed to play with him, Mom's friends take up for the boy, he's a cute, sweet child. Jane is making friends, she and Ziggy love livng on the Peninsula, love small town life, but may have to move because of what Ziggy is being accused of. I enjoy the Greek Chorus of school parents characters commenting on what is going on in their world. Madeline's first husband, Nathan, is married now to Bonnie who are parents of Skye, three months younger than Chloe. Madeline is not happy that the couple has moved back to the Peninsula and their daughter is going to school with Choloe. Nathan is a devoted father now, but had no interest in Abigail when she was a baby. Madeline can relate to Jane. She was a single mother. Abigail wants to live with Bonnie and Nathan which makes Madeline angry. The characters stay true to each other and strive to do the right thing. Good book. Recommended. Serious parts, enjoyable, not sad, but that is what life is about. I thought about reading this book slowly in order to savor the words, but I couldn't wait to find out what happened next and how it all ended. Most of the characters are loveable.