Little White Lies is the first book in Jennifer Lynn Barnes' new Debutantes series. The story is told from the main character, Sawyer Taft's, point of view. It opens with Sawyer and three other Debutantes in a jail cell, seeming to argue and stress out the rookie officer who is trying to figure out why they're in the jail cell and what's going on. The story flips back and forth between the girls in the jail cell and the moments leading up to it, starting with 10 months prior.

Sawyer has grown up on the wrong side of town, without a lot of money, and a mom who is all she has, but isn't very good at being a mother. Sawyer has never known her father, or her mom's family as she is estranged from them. One day while Sawyer's mother is off on a trip with her newest boyfriend, Sawyer's grandmother shows up, and makes Sawyer an offer she can't refuse. The next thing you know, Sawyer is thrust in the life of a Southern Debutante, meeting her relatives, and trying to figure out who her father is. And then there is the issue of the Senator's daughter - she is up to something and Sawyer and her new friends all end up involved in the intrigue.

Little White Lies is a young adult mystery novel, with a lot of humor thrown in. I really like books about formidable southern women and their strength and manners. Jennifer Lynn Barnes is the author of one of my other favorite series, The Fixer. She does an excellent job of character development and building a story line. There was definitely a twist that I didn't see coming. I'm really glad that this is going to be a series, because I love these characters. Boone, the Senator's nephew is one of my favorites. He makes me laugh, a lot, and I hope to see more of him in the next book.

I liked this book a lot, and I give it 5 Stars for good writing, a great mystery with plot twists I couldn't predict, Southern setting and strong women. I also love how different and somewhat goofy supporting character, Sadie Grace is. Jennifer Lynn Barnes does not disappoint with her new series.

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I also reviewed on Amazon, but it's awaiting approval.

Little White Lies by Jennifer Lynn Barnes is the story of Sawyer and how she went from living in a low-income neighborhood working as a mechanic to living with her wealthy grandmother and becoming a debutante.

Sawyer IS NOT someone you would peg to become a debutante. She works at a garage fixing cars while her mother is off with whatever her guy flavor of the week is. But, if you offer someone money, six-figures worth of money, anyone can become a debutante.

With her new lifestyle comes a lot of new people/'friends'. Sawyer becomes sort of friends with her cousin and sort of friends with the other girls in the debutante world and she even meets a few guys who kind of catch her eye. But this is all trivial stuff, Sawyer's true reason for accepting her grandmother's offer doesn't involve the money or the fancy lifestyle. It involves finding out who her father really is. But Sawyer gets herself in too deep with blackmailing and kidnapping and she starts to wonder if it was all even worth it.

In the end, while the beauty queen stuff isn't for me I do occasionally like reading about the drama that comes with that lifestyle and boy did this book provide a lot of drama and mystery. Sawyer was looking for her father and each time she got close to finding him I thought it was this man but it turned out to be someone I didn't start suspecting until the end and I was happy about that. I love when a book can keep me guessing. Oh! And there will be another book so I can't wait to see where that goes.

Overall, I gave the book 4/5 stars.

I love all of Jennifer Lynn Barnes novels. They are witty, fun and always a surprise. Little White Lies was a rollercoaster of fun-you never quite knew what would happen next. I enjoyed this book so much that I can't wait for the next one! Thank you Jennifer Lynn Barnes for creating characters that are clever, snarky, and an absolute trip

Switching back and forth between present and past was completely unnecessary. I skimmed through the "present" scenes because they were boring and only there as a way to introduce characters before actually introducing them in the backstory. Aside from that, the story was fun and an easy read. Would recommend to kids who like twisty mysteries but aren't big on murder or dark stories.

This book was pretty fun. I enjoyed it. I wasn't quite as gripping and suspenseful as I had hoped, but overall it was a solid read. Thank you for the opportunity to review this book.

Loved this book. It was fun and mysterious with serious heart and soul. I loved the independence and ferocity of the main characters. Can’t wait for the next one!

This was such a ride! I really enjoyed being in Sawyer’s head—her voice just shines. Little White Lies sweeps you up in the world of debutantes and family secrets, and it’s full of hijinks and heart. I can’t wait for the sequel!

I really liked this title. It seemed like a typical Cinderella story at first but then became interesting and unexpected as it’s characters developed.

Unforgettable and absolutely hysterical. You may have read other books with a similar premise, but Barnes does it better. She consistently delivers unputdownable reads and Little White Lies is no exception. Hilarious, heart-wrenching, intriguing and so, so much fun, you can't help but laugh out loud. The first half of the book was nicely paced and plotted, although the latter half felt a bit slower. That said, it's refreshing to delve into the world Barnes has created when so many of the YA books coming out are falling flat. Can't wait to read the rest of the series.

Gilmore Girls meets Pretty Little Liars in this scandal-filled mystery.

Sawyer and her (single) mom live "on the other side of the tracks" and have ever since Sawyer's mom was pregnant 18 years ago. Sawyer's world does a complete 180, though, when her grandmother shows up and offers Sawyer $500,000 in exchange for coming to live with her for nine months... and participate in the debutante season. Sawyer only agrees to the deal when Lillian promises to tell Sawyer who her father is, a secret that Sawyer's mom refuses to discuss. So, Sawyer packs her bag and heads to the Taft mansion. There, she meets her cousin Lily; Lily's best friend Sadie Grace; their archenemy Campbell; an ex-boyfriend; a charming possible-half-brother, a down-on-his-luck, country club valet; and other Southern schemers. Through some blackmail, the girls get involved in a heist, a kidnapping, an alibi-creation, and other trouble, all in the name of framing a Bad Guy and learning who Sawyer's dad is.

This mystery might be considered a bit dark, but the Southern belle comedic timing definitely puts it more in the CW tone: campy, just-enough of a threat, and cute boys.

I started this book for my "Monthly Try A Chapter Challenge". I got through the prequel and thought the book sounded really fun but once I got into the first chapter, I quickly realized that I was expecting a thriller and this was completely not what we were getting. The characters seemed fake and the first chapter felt rushed to get on with the rest of the story. Their wasn't really a background building before we just jumped right in.

Please do not only take my word for it, there are many others that adored this book! Be sure to visit their reviews too.

Not as good as her other work. While I finished the book because I wanted to solve the mystery, I wasn't really engaged with anything else.

Jennifer Lynn Barnes is an autobuy for my library. Her books fly off the shelves, and get passed from hand to hand by my students, male and female.

Sawyer Taft's life is turned upside down when her estranged grandmother appears seemingly out of nowhere-- with an offer that Sawyer can't refuse.

The 17-year-old is then thrust into a world of white gloves, malicious scandals, ballroom dancing-- the debutantes. As Sawyer tries to figure out the identity of her father, she is also forced to deal with her cousin's kidnapping scandal, and providing an alibi for someone that seems far too dangerous and suspicious.

This book is entertaining. I would say that the writing and characters are for the younger reader, but the content (sex, lies, alcohol) is for the YA reader. Sawyer is a strong female, but her obsession with her strong assets really bothered me. This is like one of those boarding school books where everything is a little too unbelievable. However, I did want to know where everything was going. And it wasn't predictable. Also, Sadie-Grace's character just made me smile. All in all, I recommend this book! A little vapid, but entertaining :)

4.5 stars. Excellent! This was everything I wanted it to be. Sawyer is my favorite sort of protagonist - smart, strong, sassy. The story was twisty in tons of different ways - there was a time jump, there were questions about Sawyer's search for the identity of her father, and then questions about the activities of some of the Debs. Book 2 can't come out fast enough for me! Books like this are why Jennifer Lynn Barnes is my favorite author for teens. Highly recommend!

Little White Lies falls into the category of "new adult" in my opinion, as the main character is 18 and has her GED. Fans of Pretty Little Liars and Riverdale will appreciate the mystery and dark humor in this book.

Sawyer Taft is 18 years old and lives with her mother over a bar. That is, when her mother isn't off living it up with yet another guy she just met. Her life is a million miles away from the way her mother grew up, a wealthy debutante from a well-to-do Southern family. When her estranged grandmother shows up to offer her a chance to participate in Debutante Season, Sawyer isn't interested... until she is offered both a six-figure bonus (that's a whole college education!) and a chance to solve the mystery of who her father is once and for all.

Of course, immersing herself in this wealthy world comes with both pluses (getting to know her cousin and make some friends) and minuses (dresses, makeovers, big egos). There's also more than a smattering of scandal, and not just her own origins. Every closet has its skeletons, and glitter, as it turns out, is only skin deep.

*My Notes* I got absolutely pulled into Sawyer's world, and was thrilled to find that she was a strong, independent, likable character who didn't want to take any BS from anyone... but did, when it was for the greater good. She was a true friend with a moral code -- even when that code didn't necessarily align with everyone else's. I look forward to book 2!

Subject-matter-wise, I wasn’t so sure about Little White Lies, but Jennifer Lynn Barnes is on my auto-try list (it’s the auto-buy’s much less expensive cousin). Debutante stuff isn’t my favorite as a general rule, though obviously there are exceptions; I love the setting in theory, but the amount of girl hate that often comes part and parcel with it doesn’t really work for me. Then there’s a fact that it’s a mystery to contend with. Little White Lies is a fast-paced, entertaining blend of Gossip Girl, Gilmore Girls, and Barnes’ The Fixer.


I read Little White Lies in one sitting basically, interrupted by prior plans to go to the movies. That’s not something I get to do very frequently anymore, and it’s always great when it happens. Because of my frustration about the lack of series completion, I’d forgotten how good Barnes’ writing was, but that immediately struck me when I started Little White Lies. The narration’s acerbic, clever, and funny.

Seriously, I can’t help wondering if maybe some of these elements were going to be in a third Fixer book, because the vibe’s pretty similar, though Little White Lies is much more comedic. Sawyer, though, reminds me a lot of Tess. They’re not the same girl by any means, but they’re both scary smart and indefatigable in the face of mysteries. Like Tess, Sawyer’s not particularly cuddly but she also goes to bat for anyone being ill-treated just because she can’t stand watching bullies win.

Sawyer’s “been raised” by her single mom all of her life, though truthfully it’s more like Sawyer took care of them both. Her mother struggles to hold down her job in a bar and has a tendency to run off temporarily with men. This basic family set up happens a lot in YA, but what’s interesting here is that Sawyer accepts this and loves her mother anyway. Admittedly, there’s a reason for that; a basic level of stability has been maintained consistently through her childhood. I’m always a sucker for atypical dynamics, and their relationship was complex and loving, albeit complicated.

At the opening of the novel, Sawyer’s working as a mechanic, having gotten her GED. Her mom’s just gone on a trip with a new guy she met at the bar when a woman appears at her apartment with an offer she can’t refuse. That woman is her grandmother, Lillian Taft, society matron and unshakable badass, who Sawyer has never met. Her offer: half a million dollars in a trust to pay for college and anything else in exchange for nine months living with the Tafts and doing the debutante thing.

Despite her skepticism about her mother’s family, about whom she’s never heard good things, and her disinterest in high society, Sawyer’s a practical girl and she signs up. There’s something generally pretty implacable and realistic about Sawyer, even when she fully commits to bad idea plans, like abetting an accidental kidnapping or investigating to figure out who knocked up her mom. The plot goes to some pretty ridiculous places, and I love the way that it didn’t go where I thought it was going to at all, because that does not happen to me frequently.

Given how unputdownable I found this book, it actually moves at a fairly leisurely pace until closer to the end. Sawyer’s narrative voice and the technique of flashing (very briefly) to the prison scene and then back keep things entertaining even when the mystery plot hasn’t activated (which actually doesn’t happen until maybe halfway?). That’s a tough thing to pull off, but it really worked here.

In fact, I’m impressed how much I enjoyed this book, considering that it truly is a high society mystery. There’s shockingly little romance in this book, though maybe it shouldn’t be shocking given Barnes has done that before. The character arcs are pretty great, though, especially among some of the secondary characters, which is impressive. Everyone’s more complex than they seem at first glance.

The existence of Little White Lies doesn’t totally fix my need for more Fixer books, but it does make dealing with the dark truth that I won’t be getting one slightly more tolerable.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

When I first read the description of this book I thought it would just be about pageants, beauty queens, teenage drama, romance, etc. What I didn't expect was murder cover-ups, framing people, kidnapping, and the list goes on. But did I love the change that the book had? Yes! This book was awesome! I was wondering the way the book was ending how they would have a sequel when boom, another twist. Great novel! I can't wait for the next book.

Little White Lies, the first book in the new Debutante series, introduces eighteen-year-old mechanic Sawyer Taft, who struggles to make ends meet and feels more like a parent than a daughter to her absentee mother. She is astounded when her estranged Southern belle grandmother shows up, offering her half a million dollars if she participates in debutante season. Although she is conflicted, Sawyer ultimately accepts. Not only will the money pay for college, it will also give Sawyer an opportunity to find out who her biological father is. But she gets a lot more than she bargained for when her newfound friends involve her in kidnappings, theft, and high society scandal. This layered mystery is a fun romp through makeovers, gorgeous clothing, twisted relationships and romantic liaisons.