63 pages • 2-hour read
Little Liar
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Part 1, Chapters 1-6Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 1, Chapter 1 Summary: “Malachi, Aged 4”
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death, rape, sexual violence, physical abuse, child abuse, bullying, mental illness, death by suicide, animal death, addiction, substance use, and sexual content.
The narrative begins in a past timeline, with four-year-old Malachi at the playground with his father. Malachi plays happily with his father, excited at the prospect of making cookies with his parents tonight. However, the roar of a passing truck forces Malachi to cover his ears. Loud noises hurt Malachi’s ears and cause a tightness in his chest. To distract Malachi, his father takes him to the merry-go-round, where they spot a spider. Malachi lets the spider crawl onto his hand but inadvertently crushes it when a crack of thunder startles him. He asks his father to save the spider. Though his father tells him that the creature is just sleeping, Malachi knows the spider is dead because of him.
Days pass. Malachi hasn’t seen his father in a while. His mother says that it is Malachi’s fault that his father has left. Malachi’s mother often leaves him alone at home, and he entertains himself by playing with the large cardboard boxes strewn around. Sometimes, he hides in a box until his mother returns and pulls him out.
The worst part is that his mother has removed the night light from his room to punish him for not going to bed on time. Malachi hates the dark. He also wishes that his mother would change his diaper since it itches. She does not allow him to use the bathroom by himself, even though he knows how to. Malachi’s mother scolds him for his messy handwriting, even though his teacher at school says he is good with words.
One day, Malachi’s mother hands him a note from his father, accompanied by a gift. The note, addressed to Malachi, says that his father is leaving forever, as he cannot burden his family with the “poison in [his] brain” (6). Though Malachi doesn’t understand this at the time, the note indicates that his father died by suicide. The accompanying gift is a tarantula.
Over the next few weeks, Malachi’s life improves, and he stays busy tending to his spider, whom he names Rex. However, his mother starts having men over constantly, and some of them try to enter his bedroom. Malachi’s mother now keeps him locked in so that the men cannot get to him.
One night, Malachi hears sounds of violence downstairs and hides under his bed. Two men break down the door and pull Malachi out. They have a phone with his picture on it, and their conversation suggests that Malachi’s mother sent them his picture and planned to traffic him for money.
The men take Malachi downstairs to his unconscious mother. They tell him that they will only save her if he asks them to call the paramedics. Malachi tries to speak but is so traumatized that he can’t form the words. The men inject Malachi with a drug, and he passes out. When he awakens, his mother has died. The men bring out Rex and tell Malachi to count as they break off its legs one by one. Malachi wants to tell them to stop but cannot speak.
Later, Malachi is rescued by Child Protective Services and is taken to a hospital, where they note that he is severely emaciated and has a bad rash from the soiled diaper. When they ask him his name, Malachi can’t answer—he is unable to talk.
Part 1, Chapter 2 Summary: “Malachi—Aged 8”
Malachi is sent to a children’s home to await adoption. He is adopted a few times but is returned to the home, as the families don’t understand his inability to speak and his solitary nature. When he turns eight, there is no birthday celebration for him. Malachi hides under his bed with a drawing of Rex and wishes that he will finally find a home.
Soon, he learns that another family wants to adopt him. A social worker flies with him to another city, where the Vizes—Jennifer, Jamieson, and their adopted daughter, Olivia—meet him at the airport. Malachi wonders how long they will keep him.
He is greeted by Olivia, who asks if he thinks she looks like a princess in her sparkly dress. Malachi likes her immediately and signs that she shouldn’t be afraid of him. He takes Olivia’s hand so that they can pass through the revolving door, but they are intercepted by Jamieson. Malachi is sure that the man will send him back, but he tells Malachi to follow the rules, as he is a Vize now.
Jennifer understands Malachi when he signs that he is sorry, making his heart soar with happiness. As they drive up to the Vize house, Malachi cannot stop staring at Olivia. He promises to keep her safe so that she never suffers the fate of his mother and Rex. He thinks of Olivia as “[his]” (22).
Part 1, Chapter 3 Summary: “Malachi—Aged 12”
By the time Malachi is 12, he is the tallest boy in his class. He is called “a freak” at school and keeps to himself. On the other hand, Olivia is one of the most popular girls in school. Malachi always keeps an eye on Olivia, even though his father has told him that he is too protective of her.
One Tuesday morning, as Malachi watches from a corner, Olivia and her best friend, Abigail Hempill, are chatting in the schoolyard when a group of boys approaches Olivia. A boy pushes Olivia off the swing and tries to grab her. Olivia and Abigail run away from the boys. Malachi waits for the girls to be out of sight and beats up the boys until a teacher pulls him away.
Later, Jamieson confronts him about the violence. Malachi signs that he was protecting Olivia, but his father scolds him. Malachi feels that he is being unfair but fears that his father will return him. He begs to stay, and Jamieson reassures Malachi that he will not send him away; he only wants Malachi to avoid fights.
Malachi promises to stay out of trouble and returns to the bedroom he shares with Olivia. Olivia asks him if their father hurt him physically. Malachi signs no. He and Olivia fall asleep hugging each other, as they have done most nights since Malachi joined the Vize family.
Part 1, Chapter 4 Summary: “Malachi—Aged 17”
Although Malachi has always loved Olivia, he now finds himself noticing her beauty and realizes that he is in love with her. He knows that finding his sister physically attractive is considered wrong, but he cannot help himself. Staying away from her might help, but she is the only one who makes his dark mood lift.
Lately, he and Olivia have gotten into a routine of jogging together in the mornings. One morning, they stop at a nearby lake. Malachi lights a cigarette, but Olivia snatches it away and tosses it in the lake. They roughhouse, and Malachi grabs her to toss her in the water. Suddenly, he realizes that he wants to kiss her. He releases Olivia, feeling angry that he can never have her.
Olivia approaches Malachi a while later, and they hug. Malachi smells her hair, which comforts him. He knows that this behavior is not considered normal between siblings. He and Olivia often cross such boundaries, though they don’t discuss what it means.
Olivia tells him that their mother has been arranging dates for her. Jennifer believes in arranged marriages and wants Olivia to marry a scion from an influential family. Malachi is shocked since Olivia is only 16 years old. Filled with jealousy, he imagines ripping Olivia’s prospective boyfriend apart. Olivia tells Malachi that she is not supposed to have sex until her wedding night and asks if he has ever had sex. Though he is as inexperienced as she is, he doesn’t respond to the question. Instead, he tells her that she should not get married against her will.
Malachi has an idea—if Olivia must get married, he is the best candidate. That evening, he broaches the subject with his parents in their father’s office. Malachi says that Olivia is too young to get married, but his mother tells him that Olivia’s marriage is not his business. She wants to fix Olivia up with 21-year-old Parker Melrose.
Malachi continues to sign that Olivia is too young and suggests that he marry her to keep her safe. His father grabs his shirt and tells him to drop his unhealthy fascination with Olivia. Malachi lies and says that he only wants to marry Olivia to protect her from a forced marriage. His father says that they will wait until Olivia is at least 18 years old. He tells Malachi to concentrate on studying, dating, and building a life apart from Olivia. Malachi leaves the office feeling invalidated and dismissed.
He passes Olivia’s room, where she is searching for a lip gloss that Malachi had secretly stolen. He quietly returns the lip gloss to her room. Later that night, Olivia texts Malachi that her stomach is hurting. He goes to her room via the balcony to cuddle her. Later, he visits the kitchen to get her an ice pack. He overhears Jamieson telling Jennifer that she went against his wishes by sending Olivia on a date with Parker that day (it is later revealed that Parker raped Olivia on the date). Malachi goes back upstairs and tends to Olivia. Olivia tells Malachi that he is her best friend.
Part 1, Chapter 5 Summary: “Malachi—Aged 19”
Olivia turns 18 and begins partying with Abigail. She often drinks excessively at parties, texting Malachi to fetch her. Meanwhile, Malachi’s preoccupation with Olivia has become obsessive; he installs five secret cameras in her bedroom so that he can watch her. He often watches Olivia undress and masturbate.
One night, Olivia calls Malachi from a party in an inebriated state. The line goes dead, throwing Malachi into a panic. He goes looking for Olivia on his bike. When he cannot find her, he considers waking up Jamieson so that they can call the police but soon discovers Olivia back at home, sleeping in his bed.
Relieved, he checks Olivia’s body for bruises and undresses her so that he can change her into pajamas. In the process, Malachi gets aroused. He stares at Olivia, torn between the desire to have sex with her and the realization that she is unable to give consent. He briefly contemplates raping her so that he can get her pregnant and bind her to him forever.
In the end, he touches and kisses her breasts but refrains from going any further. He goes to sleep next to her. The next morning, Olivia touches Malachi, thinking he is asleep. He keeps his eyes closed as she strokes his penis. After a while, she leaves his room through the balcony.
Part 1, Chapter 6 Summary: “Malachi”
As it becomes clear to Malachi that Olivia desires him, too, he grows desperate for a chance to be intimate with her. The opportunity arises when their parents take them on a camping trip in the mountains. Olivia and Malachi are to share a tent.
When Jamieson and Jennifer go for a walk after setting up camp, Olivia and Malachi stay behind. Malachi pushes Olivia inside their tent, and she complains about his rough handling. Malachi signs to Olivia that he wants to see her nude. She agrees, but on the condition that they turn it into a game: She will take off an item of clothing if he answers her question. If he refuses to answer her question, he will take clothing off.
Olivia asks Malachi if he used substances the night before; he replies in the affirmative. Malachi has taken to using substances with his best friend, Mason, Abigail’s boyfriend. Malachi’s other answers reveal that he has installed cameras in Olivia’s room, that he can still form words but finds it very difficult, and that he thinks of Olivia as both his sister and his lover. He refuses to tell her if he has any piercings.
Things escalate when Malachi asks Olivia to touch herself intimately in his presence. To his surprise, she agrees, as long as he keeps the sexual part of their relationship a secret. Malachi is overwhelmed that his fantasies seem to be coming true. He kisses Olivia and asks her if he can touch her, but she says no.
Malachi watches Olivia masturbate and tries to grab her again. She stops and tells him that they should go to bed. She turns off the flashlight lighting the tent, and Malachi is overcome with rage. He squeezes Olivia’s throat in anger, but after realizing that he might kill her, he stops. He tells her that he was angry because when she turned off the light, she silenced him; his sign language could not be seen. Malachi thinks to himself that he is not normal. He wishes that Jennifer and Jamieson had never adopted him and starts to shake. Olivia gets into a sleeping bag with him, telling him that getting intimate was a mistake. Malachi fears that he has lost Olivia forever.
Later that night, he gets out of the tent and goes for a run in the woods. Winded by a panic attack, he collapses on the forest floor. Jamieson finds Malachi in the forest and asks him to breathe. Malachi passes out briefly. When he awakens, Jamieson sits with him in the woods for hours.
Part 1, Chapters 1-6 Analysis
The opening chapters of the novel illustrate the key theme of The Impact of Past Trauma on Present Behaviors through the shift in Malachi’s voice as he transitions from small child to adult in the opening chapters. When the novel begins, Malachi’s childlike voice is suffused with a sense of joy and excitement, emotions missing in the later chapters of the section. Though four-year-old Malachi is shown to deal with possible sensory-processing issues—such as experiencing discomfort at loud noises—he is excited about baking cookies with his parents and going to the swings with his father. However, by Chapter 6, Malachi is convinced that he has no relationship with his adoptive father and that Jamieson thinks of him as “unstable. Unreliable…broken” (45). The shift in attitude indicates that Malachi’s trust and sense of security in the world have been fundamentally altered because of the traumatic events of his childhood. Another shift that occurs in Malachi is from a natural aversion to violence to a propensity for it: In Chapter 1, he is too scared to look as the men dismember his pet tarantula, but as he grows up, violence becomes part of his worldview and vocabulary. When Olivia mentions dating Parker to Malachi, his narration states that he fantasizes about putting Parker in a body bag, “bloodied […] diced and minced and pulverized” (35). Experiencing violence has not only desensitized Malachi to bloodshed but has also made him think of violence as a way to deal with his problems.
The first part of the book is narrated almost entirely from Malachi’s first-person point of view, which gives the reader a close look into his psyche. Although Rivers traces a link between trauma and Malachi’s morally ambiguous actions, she does not justify or dilute his problematic behavior. Malachi’s extreme portrayal reflects the dark romance genre’s fascination with antiheroes and villainous protagonists. In the romance genre, the brooding and extreme antihero is a variation of the beast archetype of the Beauty and Beast fairytale, whom the heroine must conquer and reform with her love. The heroine’s love for the beast presents the possibility of redemption for even the darkest of souls: If the beast can be saved, so can the reader. Little Liar plays on this archetypal relationship, with Malachi noting that he feels light and happy only in Olivia’s presence.
Malachi’s problematic behavior also illustrates the theme of The Dynamics of Power and Control in Relationships, highlighting how love without healthy limits can promote abusive dynamics. In imagining that Olivia belongs only to him and is the panacea for all his troubles, Malachi also takes away her individuality and agency. This is indicated by his growing tendency to cross boundaries with Olivia: He installs secret cameras in her room and fantasizes about raping her while she is asleep. Every successive action encroaches on a more intimate boundary; Malachi is able to justify these actions because he sees Olivia as an extension of himself. At the same time, Malachi’s flagrant behavior also shows how obsessive love in the dark romance genre serves as a fantasy of an attraction so strong that it defies all limits and societal control. Not meant to be emulated in a real-world context, such fictional love explores the fantasy of untrammeled desire and submission.
Apart from Olivia and Malachi, this section features several parental figures, almost all of them facing their own challenges. Malachi’s biological father leaves his family because of his mental health condition and dies by suicide. His mother has a substance use disorder, is emotionally and physically abusive to Malachi, and dies an untimely death. While the Vizes—with their manor and their generosity—seemingly represent a stable parental unit, the reality is that they are also far from perfect. Malachi notes that Jamieson seems to dislike him, refusing to have a conversation with him or treat him like an equal. Jennifer’s actions further push the boundaries of toxic family relationships as she grooms Olivia for a forced, arranged marriage, even pushing Olivia, who is a minor, to have sex with Parker. The novel’s portrayal of these flawed parental figures shows that Malachi and Olivia cannot trust the adults around them, reinforcing another bond between them. The symbolic rejection by parental figures drives Olivia and Malachi to believe that they are an embattled unit fighting against the world.
As the opening chapters show, Rivers uses direct, punchy language and sexually explicit scenes to bring the intense themes of the novel to life. At the same time, she infuses the narrative with psychological depth through the self-aware and astute narratorial styles of Malachi and Olivia. For instance, Malachi knows that he has been affected by the violence in his past. He notes that he always expects to be pulled by the leg when someone enters a room because this is how the men got him out from under his bed; he calls this a “trauma response.” The novel juxtaposes the emotional development of the characters with graphic depictions of sex and violence to enrich its universe.
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