Book Report: Big Little Lies

Things are never as they seem in Pirriwee Beach. Not in the supernatural sense, but in the superficial one. In Big Little Lies, Liane Moriarty weaves a wonderfully suspenseful tale on how people can hide surprising, and sometimes dangerous, secrets right under our noses. All it takes is a little lie (or two).

The story begins with a murder. A parent has died at the school trivia night and with the particularly opinionated mothers at Pirriwee Public, someone is bound to know who's to blame. Each chapter focuses on our three main characters, giving a little background of the events leading up to "the incident." At the start of each chapter we get statements from fellow trivia night attendees that divulge a little more on what the dynamic between Kindy (Kindergarten) moms is like.

"Mothers took their mothering so seriously now. Their frantic little faces. Their busy little bottoms strutting into the school in their tight gym gear. Ponytails swinging. Eyes fixed on the mobile phones held in the palms of their hands like compasses." 

"Helicopter parents. Before I started at Pirriwee Public, I thought it was an exaggeration, this thing about parents being overly involved with their kids. I mean, my mum and dad loved me, they were, like interested in me when I was growing up in the nineties, but they weren't, like, obsessed with me."

It sets us up for our introductions to Madeline, Jane and Celeste who are, themselves, kindy moms from different backgrounds, each with a unique personality.

Madeline is the feisty leader who has an opinion about everything and is never afraid to speak her mind.

They say it's good to let your grudges of, but I don't know, I'm quite fond of my grudge. I tend it like a little pet.

Jane is the quiet newcomer who seems to have a secret past that she's trying to get away from.

Maybe moving here was going to be the beginning of something, or the end, which would be even better.

Celeste is the beautiful, wealthy woman who seems to have everything the world has to offer, but has something more lying under the facade.

Recently, she'd noticed something strange happening when she talked to people in groups. She couldn't quite remember how to be. She'd find herself thinking: Did I just laugh too loudly? Did I forget to laugh? Did I just repeat myself?

As we come to discover the lies each person is telling, we get closer and closer to solving our mystery. And we realize that sometimes the biggest little lies we tell are the ones we tell ourselves.

If you love a good story that will keep you on your toes, with a lot a little sarcasm in between, this one is for you!