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Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty - Review Summary

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Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty - Review Summary

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty will have you reading non-stop! Unfold the secrets that lies within each character’s unique lifestyle. Solve the mystery behind Jane’s past and how it connects to her newly found circle of friends.

Enhance your experience, expand your imagination with the use of this powerful study guide. It’s the perfect guide that keeps you glued and acquainted to the story, chapter after chapter.

Big Little Lies is a story of three women with unique backgrounds, each coping up with the lives they have chosen. Read how three women’s lives linked together in one event that will change their lives forever.

When you get hold of the study guide Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty - Review Summary, you will come to understand each character and get a better hold of the plot, the theme and the representation of each character, a type of symbolism that represents the realm of our society.

You will get chapter by chapter summary, analysis and essential quotes. Plus, get a sneak peak of critical reviews from various well known publications, editors and world acclaimed critics. Use this study guide to help you cope with your literature class, book club or just to help you better grasp the book itself.

A WORD OF WARNING FOR READERS – This book is not the original copy of Big Little Lies Liane Moriarty’s book. However, this is a detailed summary and study guide that is designed to help you read the original work. Buy the original work along with this study guide!

130 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 3, 2014

31 people are currently reading
982 people want to read

About the author

J.T. Rothing

17 books16 followers

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5 stars
1,886 (60%)
4 stars
982 (31%)
3 stars
194 (6%)
2 stars
30 (<1%)
1 star
15 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 101 reviews
Profile Image for Ann.
258 reviews1 follower
June 19, 2015
Just discovered this author and I am completely captivated by her imagination and in this case her manner of opening up the conversation pertaining to two important topics being discussed and acted upon. Although serious and disturbing, the author cleverly and humorously introduces gossip, as secondary conversation as well as a serious last scene that is funny, chaotic and shocking. Well done Liane Moriarty. Looking forward to more.
Profile Image for Jo.
356 reviews3 followers
August 27, 2015
I only discovered Liane Moriarty earlier this year when I first read 'What Alice Forgot' - and loved it! Since then I have gradually worked my way through her writings so far and 'Big Little Lies' DID NOT disappoint! What an easy top rating of five stars this was to give!

Liane tackles some meaty subjects; domestic violence, bullying, lies, alcohol and even murder - and uses the everyday world of the school playground's cliquey parents at the centre of her plot. Her use of the playground cliques creates some very interesting parallels between the world of children and that of the adults, their parents, leading to some reflective questioning. As we grow up do we ever really move away from the issues that dominate the childhood world, or do they just mature into something bigger? Is ALL our children's behaviour learned from their parents (the age old debate on the influences of nature or nurture)?

'Big Little Lies' is an addictive read, the author cleverly adding to the tension with section headings gradually leading to the main event, the Trivia Night. For example, 'Six months before the trivia night,' Five months before the trivia night,' until finally, 'The trivia night' near the end.

The author's observations of human nature and her understanding of peoples' strengths and weaknesses are real, sensitive, empathetic and unfailingly sharp, and her writing is full of affection for the characters she has created. Little tableau 'interviews' provide snapshots of different perspectives which adds a nice little touch of intimacy between reader and story.

I really truly loved this book and cannot recommend it enough.
148 reviews2 followers
April 12, 2015
So very sad I have finished reading this book ! Every so often a book comes along that totally envelopes me. I found that when I was working in the garden I was thinking about this story and trying to puzzle it out. I stayed up late reading it and then went to bed and couldnt sleep as I mulled over the plot twists and possible outcomes, it just ticked all the boxes...original, full of aha and ohh moments, compelling, beautiful writing style and a darn good tale.
I empathized with the kindy teacher as she tried to handle situations driven and fed by over zealous parents.
The plot revolves around 3 mums thrown together who forge a friendship of sorts against the odds.
Sure there was a lot of stereotyping but her characters rung true, hell I am a Secondary teacher and I could write many books about inappropriate parent behaviours.
Laughed myself silly at the people who were put in charge of making the cocktails.
There were some very heavy social issues tackled along the way such as domestic violence, bullying and the dangers of the internet. All were handled in a realistic manner.
I found the style of writing and retelling of the events so easy to read.
It was a little slow to start but then it hit the ground running.
Thoroughly recommend this book
Profile Image for Holly Schulten-phillips.
4 reviews
March 27, 2020
Good read, captivating with short chapters.....my favorite! I like to read for a bit and walk away. This book is perfectly set up for this, although it is difficult to “walk away” at times.
21 reviews
January 21, 2025
This was a fun and entertaining book, told from the perspective of 3 friends who each have some significant problems in their life. I was always anticipating what the next move would be, which kept me anxiously wanting to keep reading! Just when you would think the book was ready to wrap up, another twist is thrown in! I really enjoyed the sense of impending doom that was constantly lurking over the scenes of the police interviews placed at the end of each chapter.
Profile Image for Denise.
233 reviews
July 21, 2025
This book hooks you from the start and has so much going on from ex-husbands, second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the little lies that can turn lethal. Lots of suspense and drama, gossip and secrets. I enjoyed the different POV's and characters.
Profile Image for Aleksandra Skoric.
47 reviews
February 25, 2024
Liane Moriarty has an interesting way of writing, intriguing me into the story from the very beginning, and holds me till the end, the very last page. I have enjoyed the story of a small community where there are many secrets. Tackling hard life events and sharing intimate experiences.
Profile Image for Kelly.
83 reviews
September 15, 2016
I think this book would make an entertaining musical. The colorfulness of the characters, themes, and drama suggest something fun and theatrical.
Profile Image for Erin David.
5 reviews1 follower
January 18, 2016
Really enjoyed this. Thought it was going to be kind of lightweight and frivolous until it surprised me with a pretty devastating assessment of elementary school politics and modern mothers. I liked the characters, and Moriarty's emotional insights. In the end, I thought the plot twist was surprisingly emotional and touching.
Profile Image for Ros Lawson.
120 reviews3 followers
October 19, 2015
This could have been a really good book because the story line was great. I just didn't enjoy the style of writing (which surprised me because I absolutely loved My Husband's Secret). I think it will be a better film than book. Sorry!
Profile Image for Hamna Qurima.
5 reviews
October 31, 2021
I chose that book randomly in a book store, never heard about the author.
I started it and finished it in matters of every available time pace ...yes it's a book that glued you with the journey of that one year passed by the characters of the novel.
Morarirty's characters are true portrayal of us, ordinary people with ordinary lives.
Bully and domestic abuse were foregrounded yet the novel explicit both ( domestic abuse and bully) cut from the same cloth but guise in divergent frames.
When it comes up in public known as bully people tends to downgrade it hastenly without being concerns about the reliability of allegations and how a person can be cloistered from community sphare by such accusations.... then domestic abuse comes as private embodiment of bully... people who put up with abuse mostly concel that humiliation from society to be remain "normal" and "decent" part of it. It's so side splitting in abuse that victim has fear not to be taken by society as victim....
The character Celeste is the character we all know or we are...
Women has to face such ill-treat because of children, because of being a good wife or because of having enough of livelihood from a husband who sometimes hits his wife but no one raise aspersions his bona fides because of whatsoever reasons ( we know the reasons by the way)
Medline was, if ask me, my favourite one. she has her flaws, don't we all have?
But speaks out loudly is definitely a merit we are missing out.
Jane and Ziggy bond is the dessert of novel.
The way Moriarty kept the flow of novel going on in but in grips of her keep- the-secret-till-last manner was one of the key component why to go for a read.
If the ending is justified or not? It's the question which sets the rank for novels so often.
I must say in this novel ,it couldn't not be more justified...though at times I felt the last meet up scene would be more detailed in terms of communication but No it's perfect..
The dialogues,scenarios character sketch every thing is up to the mark.
Profile Image for Alicia Sessa.
36 reviews
August 7, 2019
First things first.... The first couple chapters of this book seemed a bit superficial to me and I almost stopped reading it, but so glad I didn’t as I absolutely loved it and turned out to be more multifaceted than I anticipated.

I thought the writing style was clever, and the plot sequencing was very interesting, as the reader receives ticker tape, gossip like news segments at the end of each chapter, which pose both as gossip, and clues as to the details surrounding the climactic event at the beginning of the novel, fostering a “who done it” type read. It also fostered the backdrop for a pretty typical suburban community’s interactions and social dynamics. I’d like to say that the gossip depicted throughout this novel is overstated, but I’m not sure that it is, depending on your own social circles. This book was about the relationships women have with each other, their marriages, parenting, community relationships, and certainly a commentary on how caddy women can be... but ultimately I thought it was a directive to encourage women to support each other despite differences and loss, against a world that has often abused women.

“And then there was this sort of evil which Madeline had no experience: cruelty in hotel rooms and violence in suburban homes and little girls being sold like merchandise, shattering innocent hearts”

I loved reading this book and found the author to be insightful and imaginative with well developed characters and interesting plot twists. I also did not predict the ending which was an added bonus!

Will read more by this author as this book was my first by her.

Highly recommend this book!
3 reviews
August 20, 2021
I watched the show before I read the book (not good I know!) but wanted to read the book for a long time - a friend at work lent it to me. I was not aware the book was set in Australia as the show is set in California. Doesn’t affect the story much and to be honest, the show helped me place the characters when I was reading, so I was grateful for that.

I didn’t like the short chapters - I like to break down books in chapters and prefer them to be fuller so this didn’t help me in terms of speed of reading (I guess that’s just my preference). I also didn’t care for the snippets of dialogue from the parents being interviewed by the police during the course of the book, I don’t feel like they helped move the plot along.

The character of Bonnie I felt was not explored in more depth - the little that was mentioned made her come across as kind and harmless, so I didn’t find it easy to believe that she would be responsible for pushing Perry. I also feel that the character of Perry could have been explored more - the simple explanation for Saxon Banks in his childhood seemed thin.

Other than that I really enjoyed the book, and now having both seen the show and read the book, I like that the show didn’t deviate much from the source material. I would definitely read this again (not anytime soon though!).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
236 reviews
May 21, 2020
Liane Moriarty's (think "Big Little Lies") "9 Perfect Strangers" is not a perfect read, but it's captivating and entertaining.
It's all about 9 strangers who hole up at a luxury health resort to erase the "unhappiness" in their lives.
Whether it's fat shame or emotional shame, or simply fear of a truth, these individuals have committed to betterment, under intense scrutiny of a mad woman who will do ANYTHING to get a 5 star rating review from them.
I can see the actors in the TV series already, many chosen from the fab cast of "Big Little Lies."
Although the story is confined within the walls of the resort, it's a microcosm of the world.
A good read; my only criticism is that the author didn't know when to END her story (too long).
58 reviews3 followers
September 12, 2022
I loved it! I really didn’t see the end coming. The unlikely moms are friends. Celeste who is beautiful and rich, but hiding the fact that her husband who seems like the perfect man abuses her. Each time she minimizes it…until close to the end when he says he will kill her if she ever embarrasses him again. Jane who is a young timid mom with a young son named Ziggy who has been accused of bullying. And Madeline who loves big and fights even bigger! She would do anything for her friends and to fight back against the real school bullies… the kindy moms. We find out at the beginning of the book some one died…maybe was murdered at school trivia night. But you’ll never guess who or who did it!
Profile Image for Nancy.
309 reviews
June 27, 2017
It appears that Liane Moriarty has a writing formula, which, now that I am aware of, is somewhat distracting from the enjoyment of reading her books. The reader is sent back and forth in time, while Moriarty carefully dispenses clues to a cleverly hidden and climatic twist at the end of the book. Her books are easy to read, and as a reader I totally enjoyed the journey back-and-forth while learning about and appreciating the characters. This book probably has her most likable characters to date.
1,454 reviews2 followers
December 17, 2022
Liane Moriarty was recommended to me but after listening to this second book on audio.I find that I don't like these stories much. Here is a twist on a murder mystery that does not involve the question of who done it so much as the question of who died. Of course everybody knows except the reader. Some of the characters are fun and there are a few laughs, but again I'm put off by the amazing tolerance for horrid teens and the current practice of seriously respecting the most despicable behavior so youthful ignorance never experiences the shame it has earned.
15 reviews
October 15, 2020
I read the persian translation of the book and watched the series. but there were some details that are not in the book. I don't know whether they deleted in this translation( because of islamic issues) or they added in to the movie for more attraction! any way some situation are chaneged in the movie that I didn't like. and about the book, it starts and goes slowly and then at 1/5 of the end it speeds up!
19 reviews
May 24, 2020
Never saw the tv show Good keeping you in suspense As a Teacher, cant understand how the teacher did not observe this behavior. Lots of little lies, Good escape from other regular neighborhoods.

Hollywood style fun read. Looked on the utube of the show. Where did season 2 come from ??

It was not in book. Glad I read the book not the tv show

195 reviews2 followers
June 14, 2023
First time i was wishing to guess (not so much figure out) not whodunnit but who was "off with". I sooo wished for it to be who it finally was - i bet this is the worst spoiler ever. So - don't know if i go for "great literature", because i really loved this one. For me 5 stars is canon literature that's "also" enjoyable, and this one was highly enjoyable, thanks, Ms Moriarty!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Elli.
125 reviews2 followers
December 18, 2021
Totally addictive & gossipy holiday read. Surprisingly well written, with great perspectives on all sides giving characters a lot of depth in not too many words. Fantastic tension and a freaking excellent twist that I don't think I'd ever have seen coming.
5 reviews
September 29, 2022
Pretty good read. Read it really quickly in about a week. The short chapters made it easy to want to keep reading. I had to know who died and how! Pretty crazy ending. I figured I knew who died but another aspect really surprised me! I wouldn't have guessed it!
6 reviews
January 15, 2023
A lot of gossip. A lot of small town drama. Decent character building! The storyline kept me entertained but I kind of got a little bit bored in the middle. I was definitely surprised at the end! It was a good read!
Profile Image for Janet.
13 reviews
August 31, 2025
Loved it. Had me interested to know what would happen next. Couldn’t put it down😀😀. The ladies had you wanting to know what would happen next. Hear there’s a movie so I will definitely be watching it
Profile Image for Patricia.
36 reviews
August 20, 2017
I read this book a couple of years ago. Liked it then. Liked it even more the second time. Good characters, interesting story lines.
121 reviews
November 20, 2017
A good read - would make a good vacation book
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
136 reviews1 follower
March 3, 2018
An amazing story of domestic abuse and community bullying.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 101 reviews

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