Publishers Weekly
10/01/2018
Eighteen-year-old Sawyer—a car mechanic and daughter of a single mom in the South—is offered a deal she cannot refuse: her estranged maternal grandmother, Lillian, a wealthy socialite, will give Sawyer half a million dollars if she agrees to live with her for one year and become a debutante. Sawyer accepts in the hope of discovering her father’s identity within her grandmother’s social strata, and she is soon wooing attractive young men at society events and befriending her cousin, Lily. Lily has plenty of secrets of her own—secrets that help unspool the mystery at this novel’s center, having to do with a missing girl and a scandalous blogger. Time jumps between chapters and blog post interstitials may create confusion at the story’s start, but after the structure smooths out, the momentum picks up, as do the secrets. Though Barnes (The Fixer) paints Sawyer as an outsider, and the young woman constantly protests the moneyed world into which she is dropped, the ease of her assimilation saps tension—she seems born for this life. Full of gossiping, conniving, and back-stabbing, this breezy read is light on mystery and heavy on made-for-film debutante antics. Ages 12–up. Agent: Elizabeth Harding, Curtis Brown. (Nov.)
From the Publisher
"With page-turning tension, witty humor, and a mystery that will keep you guessing, Little White Lies is Barnes at her best."— Jennifer L. Armentrout, #1 New York Times best-selling author
"Leave it to Jennifer Lynn Barnes to write a book that features two of my favorite things: Big Dresses, and even Bigger Secrets. Funny, twisty, and sharp, Little White Lies is a ball from start to finish."— Rachel Hawkins, New York Times best-selling author of Royals
"Full of gossiping, conniving, and back-stabbing, this breezy read is... heavy on made-for-film debutante antics."— Publishers Weekly
"Barnes'... immersive world of Southern debs hides a darkness beneath the white-gloved veneer of civility. Sawyer's smart narrative, along with plenty of biting social commentary, will keep readers turning the pages."— Kirkus Reviews
"Fans of the nonstop intrigue of the Pretty Little Liars series will devour this glamorous, family-focused mystery that's led by a whip-smart, tough-as-nails heroine."— Booklist
" Little White Lies is a comedy of manners and a blackmail thriller tied together in a perfect silk bow. A plot twist every twenty pages and characters as devious as they are southern-belle glamorous—Barnes is at her page-turning best."— E. Lockhart, author of We Were Liars and Genuine Fraud
"A delightfully twisty blend of scheming debutantes, clever dialogue, and high-society secrets that will keep you guessing until the very last page."— Katie McGee, New York Times best-selling author of The Thousandth Floor
"A witty romp of a mystery with a heroine to root for. Little White Lies brings the intrigue and fun of Gossip Girl to the world of debutante balls (bless their hearts!)."— Brittany Cavallaro, author of A Study in Charlotte
Accolades
Brightly: 16 Must-Read YA Books of Fall 2018 (selection)
Hypable: Fall 2018 movies, TV, and book release dates that need to be on your calendar (selection)
BookRiot: 125+ Upcoming YA Books You'll Want on Your October to December Radar, selection (2018)
JANUARY 2019 - AudioFile
Narrator Katherine Littrell brings Southern sass to this over-the-top drama. When Sawyer Taft’s estranged grandmother offers her half-a-million dollars to join Magnolia County’s high society as a debutante, Sawyer quickly finds herself involved in kidnapping, blackmail, and theft. Listeners will appreciate Littrell’s range of Southern inflections. Sawyer’s accent is a quick and faster-paced twang while those in her new wealthy and secretive community—which includes a handful of powerful men who could be her biological father—have softer, more elongated drawls. Littrell manages to embody the self-indulgence, extravagance, and secrets of the not-so-polite society that features in this mystery. J.E.C. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2018-08-20
Eighteen-year-old small-town mechanic Sawyer Taft gets much more than she bargains for when she's made an offer she can't possibly refuse.
Sawyer, who is white (as are all major characters), has never known her father's identity, and her mother, Ellie, hasn't exactly been the most reliable caretaker: In fact, sometimes Sawyer feels more like the mother in their relationship. Evidently Sawyer's maternal grandmother, "aging Southern belle" Lillian Taft, tossed Ellie out when she became pregnant at 17 and has never kept in touch—or so Ellie claimed. When Lillian offers Sawyer a contract promising half a million bucks and a chance to find out who her biological father really is, Sawyer signs, but she must participate in all the season's debutante events. Sawyer's relatives don't quite match the picture that her mother painted: Lillian is chock-full of Southern charm but with an edge that the wryly funny, no-nonsense Sawyer admires, and she grows close to her cousin, Lily. When Sawyer stumbles onto the dark secrets of a senator's daughter out for revenge, finding her father takes a back seat to events that could signal disaster for the Tafts. One thing is certain: Nothing, and no one, is what it seems. Barnes' (Bad Blood, 2017, etc.) immersive world of Southern debs hides a darkness beneath the white-gloved veneer of civility.
Sawyer's smart narrative, along with plenty of biting social commentary, will keep readers turning the pages. (Fiction. 14-18)
