By Liane Moriarty

Now she was crying all the tears she hadn’t yet let herself shed, and there were a lot of them, and Bonnie was trying to hug her, and Jane was trying to do the same, and everyone in the car except Celeste was weeping with voluptuous abandon, and Celeste was pulling tissues from the packet and tossing them about like confetti. “Find something to cry about, Celeste,” said Jane as she noisily blew her nose. Celeste pretended to dab under her eyes with a tissue. “I never got to speak to the nice man in the blue T-shirt at the library!” “Oh, and he was so cute!” said Renata. “Now he’s gone forever,” Celeste fake-cried. Then she stopped and said, “You know what? I’m actually genuinely sad about that.” Their tears tipped right over into teen-girl hysterical laughter.

4 ½ stars
I can’t quite give it 5 stars, but mostly because that’s what I gave Big Little Lies. It was a worthy sequel. Set 10 years after the events of the first book, it was good to become re-acquainted with the three good friends, plus Bonnie, plus Renata, plus Celeste’s mother in law, Mary Louise. Mary Louise was not in the first book at all, but Liane writes in her introduction that she had such an intriguing role in the mini-series (thanks to Meryl Streep’s portrayal,) that she pushed her way into this book. She does have a great character arc. Renata’s role (played in the series by Laura Dern) was thus expanded as well. But this sequel to BLL has nothing else to do with the TV series. Although there are marriages and even lives on the line in this one, the stakes didn’t seem as high as in the first book. The happiness and security of vulnerable innocent children were not in peril in this one. Jane is not a struggling young single mother and fragile outsider. She is happily married (to Tom of the first book), although there is one big problem to resolve, and Ziggy, her bullied child, has grown to be a great kid. In fact, all of the kids are pretty great (Renata’s Amabella, Madeline’s Chloe, Celeste’s twin boys, and Bonnie’s Skye.) There was one there that I was really worried about for quite awhile, but I think he will be OK. Although there are repercussions for the parents and their children stemming from the killing of Celeste’s abusive husband 10 years ago, the group is now dealing with another unrelated shocking event.

The format is Liane’s signature one where the book begins with something deeply upsetting and mysterious occurring. We look back on that event through the perspective of the teens, who clearly know more than they are telling through their school counseling session with “Brenda.” Meanwhile, we also alternate between their parents and other main adult characters and the happenings in their lives leading up to what the kids call “D-day.” At last, all roads lead to the big explosion culminating in shock, awe, and huge reveals. In this one, even more than in her others, we have a fully fleshed out aftermath following the climax that was incredibly satisfying and hopeful. At every stage, we have twists, turns, and reveals that both dismay and gratify. Adding to the picture is that along with the parents, we have the stories of their teenagers with agency and personalities of their own. There were a lot of tales to tell: both funny and worrisome alike.

My love for Big Little Lies stemmed largely from the suspense. There is a violent death that begins the story. As we meet the players and get to know them, we fear for the characters we have grown to love and be invested in. Not only that they may be guilty of murder but also that one of them may be the dead victim, the identity of whom is part of the mystery. In this, the sequel, I always felt like the big reveal was going to be shocking in a juicy way, not a devastating one. So again, the stakes were not as high as they were when the vulnerable and powerless are involved. I was not tempted to skip ahead to save my sanity but enjoyed the ride as we made our way to the climax. Now that I think about it, that is not necessarily a bad thing.

Although this book ended with hope and enough closure to satisfy me, there were some loose ends that I could definitely see might be tied up in a third book. But one centered on the teens navigating their lives as adults. We saw the beginnings of what their characters might prove to be. I would like to see more of them.