big little lies follows the lives of three kindergarten mothers: madeline, jane and celeste. a horrifying event has rocked the school and the parents all find themselves involved, really putting their friendships and relationships in the spotlight. what on earth happened? 
 i honestly can't give this book enough praise. i borrowed it from my library without too much hope, since reading truly madly guilty and not being too impressed with it, i was nervous to try another moriarty book. thankfully, this one was much, much better and i really couldn't stop reading. 
 my favourite part of this book was the fact that the big event they were all hush-hush about really didn't control the story. yes, it was referenced by every character and yes, there were snip bits at the end of each chapter from the journalist reporting the event but i really feel like that part could've been omitted from the story and it would've still been wonderful. 
 the relationships between the mothers are just lovely. the way madeline and celeste take little jane under their wing just warmed my heart and made me wish i had a big sister. i am very impressed with the inclusion of jane's back story and her single parent status, since this is a reality for so many people these days, it's nice to see something other than your standard cookie cutter "mum, dad, brother, sister" type of family. the book also tackles some tough issues such as child exclusion and domestic abuse which was at times hard to read, but also enlightening. it's incredible what can go on behind closed doors, especially with people you expect to have a perfect life. we all have secrets! 
 the ending and the big reveal, for me, was spot on. i had a little feeling how it would end but nothing conclusive. it wraps the story up nicely without being too shocking, which i'm happy with. so many books try so desperately to shock you at the end that the whole thing just becomes ridiculously improbable. big little lies was a fabulous read and i recommend to all (if you struggle to read scenes of domestic abuse, i still recommend it, just be cautious).