SPOILER ALERT: This article contains spoilers for “Big Little Truths,” the follow-up novel to “Big Little Lies.”
It all starts with a mysterious finger sent to the school principal.
Liane Moriarty is back with “Big Little Truths,” a book set 10 years after the events of her novel “Big Little Lies,” which was adapted into an Emmy-winning HBO series back in 2017, with a second season in 2019.
While Moriarty has confirmed this book will lay the groundwork for “Big Little Lies” Season 3 (which has yet to be ordered officially by HBO, go into production or set a release date), there are key differences between the world in the books and the show’s universe: the main one being the HBO adaptation is set in Monterey, California and Moriarty’s books are set in the fictional Pirriwee Peninsula in Australia.
Additionally, Moriarty incorporates elements of “Big Little Lies” Season 2, like the introduction of Meryl Streep’s show-only character, Mary-Louise, into “Big Little Truths.”
In the sequel book, which hit shelves on Aug. 25, Moriarty picks up with Madeline (played by Reese Witherspoon on the HBO series), Jane (Shailene Woodley), Celeste (Nicole Kidman), Renata (Laura Dern) and Bonnie’s (Zoë Kravitz) lives as they experience a whirlwind of life changes following a 10-year time jump.
As their 15-year-old kids navigate the complicated emotions that come with being high-school students, the past also comes up like a current, leading the moms to reckon with what they haven’t told their kids about the circumstances under which Celeste’s husband, Perry (Alexander Skarsgård), was killed by Bonnie all those years ago.
Throughout “Big Little Truths,” Moriarty cuts back and forth between the moms’ perspectives and the months leading up to one big event: “D-Day,” which is revealed to be the infamous day on which Jane’s son Ziggy and his classmates give a presentation that reveals the true intentions of their new red-haired history teacher, Melody.
The presentation serves as a wake-up call for the moms as they find out that their new friend Melody has actually been preying on young kids, setting up her brightest students with a job prospect that lands them squarely in the lap of her predator husband, Seth Montclair. And she’s been doing it for years at different schools.
While the book starts off teasing a potential death with the implication of somebody’s finger getting cut off, it turns out that Clara Long, a former student of Melody’s, was the one who sent the finger. In order to get the attention of the school and the community turned toward Melody, the cremation consultant cut off the finger of town local Ewan Drew, who was already dead. In a conversation with Detective Adrian, Clara even goes on to call Melody “the best teacher” she’s ever had. But that’s precisely why she is able to have so much influence over her students.
Ahead of the highly anticipated eventual release of “Big Little Lies” Season 3, read below for Variety’s character-by-character breakdown of the main plot in “Big Little Truths.”
Madeline
Madeline, now working part-time in a local hotel’s events department, is just trying to get through her 50th birthday intact with all the emotions that come with hitting 50. Her party is a huge hit (not that it was a competition to anyone but Madeline), and it becomes a successful effort to get her daughter Chloe back talking with Jane’s son Ziggy and the rest of the kids after they found separate friend groups over the years. Madeline, however, is quickly riddled with guilt after her mom (who was supposed to show at the party) faints at home and was waiting all day for somebody to call and realize.
On top of that, Madeline finds out that her eldest child, Abigail, who is now 25, is getting married to “Picture Perfect Boyfriend,” as Madeline calls Luka. Madeline is also privately struggling with a lump on her chest that she fears could turn out to be breast cancer. However, after she gets tested and finds out she is cancer-free, it turns out Ed is the one that actually has cancer, which completely throws Madeline’s life into disarray as she takes on all responsibility in caring for both Ed and her mom (as only Madeline could).
Behind closed doors, Chloe gets hired by Melody under the pretense that Chloe is helping her teacher’s illiterate husband learn how to read. Abigail ends up canceling her wedding, which she spent so much time preparing only because she thought that’s what would make Madeline happy. Madeline learns that “Picture Perfect Boyfriend” has flaws too, and accepts him into the family. Ed starts having memory issues and ends up in a psychiatric ward. By the end, Ed’s chemo is a success and he is on the road to being cancer-free. After Chloe opens up about her sexual encounter with Seth, Madeline has to reckon with the fact that she let Melody into her child’s life — Melody will forever be a chapter in their family’s history.
Jane
While Jane is now married to Tom, owner of the beloved Blue Blues coffee shop, the two face new unspoken tensions about Jane’s declaration she no longer wants to have biological kids together. After Madeline’s birthday, Jane is forced to have a difficult conversation with Ziggy after Amabella, Renata’s daughter, tells her that Perry raped Jane. She opens up in the conversation, but falls short of labeling it rape, trying to maintain some sense of innocence within Ziggy. As Melody worms her way into Jane’s close-knitted friend group, she takes Jane out clubbing (just the two of them!) and they almost kiss, which leads Jane to wonder whether there’s any attraction there when Tom asks about it later. Tom, however, is open to Jane having sexual attraction to women, although Jane falls short of ever labeling herself or exploring what happened there.
Ziggy is the one who ends up giving the big presentation that takes down Melody; Jane knows that he was right to not clue her in as Melody was getting close to the moms. Jane opens up to Tom about her traumatic childbirth experience with Ziggy. Although Tom doesn’t pretend to be happy about not getting a kid of his own, especially after his mother suggests to Jane that they break up, he accepts this life with her. He tells Jane to take a trip and finally get a break from her chaotic life.
Celeste
Celeste is now raising two teenage sons, Max and Josh, on her own, but of course Mary-Louise is still in the picture. After moving to town to live closer to the boys, Mary-Louise begins questioning why her grandsons aren’t closer to their half brother, Ziggy. Celeste begins worrying about her mother-in-law after her credit cards are declined and her outfits are increasingly out of place, but things begin to click when Mary-Louise gives Max, Josh and Ziggy expensive cars. Max and Josh’s emotional reactions after Celeste demands they give the keys back serve as a sad reminder that Perry’s violent outbursts aren’t just a distant memory.
Celeste realizes that Mary-Louise needs to be evaluated for dementia after she begins forgetting things, although this is later revealed to be due to her allergy medication’s side effects. While Celeste describes her wild sex years after Perry’s death, she has her first real relationship in 10 years with Marco, who is new to town. She gets suspicious of Marco after she learns that he is the man who has been driving around town and talking to underage girls (even being nicknamed “Pedo Pete” for it), but she later learns that he arrived in town because his daughter, Betty, had gotten close to Melody years prior — and suffered the consequences for it. By the end, Celeste ends up staying with Marco, realizing he’s the one for her.
Renata
Relishing the single life after her ex-husband went to prison, Renata hits a low point when her estranged mother dies. The other moms all then learn about Renata’s troubled family history; when she was 12, an uncle inappropriately touched her, but no one in her life believed her, leading them to shun her forever. That explains why all those years ago she was so protective of Amabella during the kindergarten incident. On the way home from the funeral, Renata seems to be holding it together until she pulls over and screams into a steering wheel. It’s a sight the other moms have never quite seen from her.
Renata starts dating fitness instructor Brody, who teaches all the moms at a beach bootcamp, and takes motorcycle lessons in the spirit of her teenage rebellion years. Out of all the moms, Renata is the most suspicious of Melody, especially after they all go away for a weekend together. When speaking to Jane later on, Ziggy explains that Amabella likes girls, although it’s unclear if she’s out as queer to Renata.
Bonnie
For the first time in Bonnie’s life, she begins feeling a divide between her and and her daughter Skye after Skye learns more about Bonnie’s role in Perry’s death. Bonnie connects with Madeline over their shared distrust of Abigail’s “Picture Perfect Boyfriend,” but silently struggles with the weight of Perry’s death all these years later, realizing that she’s never quite gotten over it. During the retreat with Melody, she opens up to the other moms.
While Mary-Louise makes snarky quips at Bonnie’s expense at a few different public gatherings, she starts to take a liking to Syke by the end. Bonnie formally apologizes for Perry’s death and gives Mary-Louise some closure. Bonnie ends up admitting herself to rehab and seeking help after developing a drinking problem.