Little White Lies is a little snarky, a little mystery, but a lot about warm friendships and complicated family relationships. Sawyer accepts a deal from her grandmother to become a debutante in exchange for college tuition support, with a side of finding out who her biological father is. All she has is a photo of the season her mother debuted, and a food preference to go on. But soon she realizes that discovering the identity may not be as easy as she thought, as this society is determined to keep its secrets.

Sawyer’s personality is all sass and blunt, which rubs some people the wrong way. She is boyish, and has a little ‘not like other girls’ complex but her derision towards the other debutantes also is along the lines of ‘WTF rich people?’. When she saves her cousin from her bully, it forms a little clutch of girls who have some similar motives. Their group slowly grows, in between fittings, and functions, and soon they are digging into their town’s secrets, particularly who got away with what. Sawyer’s search takes her to some unpleasant revelations, as well as some warming ones. She realizes her mother’s family are the pit of snakes she was led to believe and that maybe only relying on her mother’s word led her to be estranged from them, too. She has to continuously reevaluate the complicated mother-daughter relationships in her family with respect to these revelations, and also the way these relationships can play out in different families.

The vibe of the book doesn’t really come across as mystery, actually. It opens on a comical scene where a police officer is preparing for the headache of dealing with four teen girls who seem like debutantes, sitting in his jail cell, and no one knows why they were arrested. And while the main story is playing out on Sawyer’s life from the time her grandmother finds her, to this opening scene, it is cut with that police station scene, and we get glimpses and clues of what happened to have them end up there. That part was played out so well – I didn’t expect THAT to come about from the first half of the book. I would put it more as a comedy-mystery in the theme of something like Gallagher Girls.

Overall, an engaging and entertaining mystery, but not really dark.

. When I first heard about this one, I was a bit iffy. A book about debutantes, mystery, and Southern belles and gentlemen doesn't seem like a "me" thing, so I wasn't exactly chomping on the bit about it. But then I realized it was by Jennifer Lynn Barnes and all those worries went away. It doesn't matter what it is, any mystery by Barnes I'll give a shot.
Just as Sawyer gets off work something she least expects happens.... Her grandmother comes out of nowhere and offers her 6 figures to come and live with her and be a debutante. She expects the big dresses and tradition, but not the family and acceptance that comes with it. She really doesn't expect the friends and scandals they brought with them. Its a whirlwind of debutante balls, Southern belles and gentlemen, and southern charm mixed with some mystery and thrills to make a story to put the reader on the edge of their seat.
This isn't something I thought I would really enjoy, but once I started reading it and fell into Barnes' familiar storytelling, I couldn't stop. Her writing style can always pull me in. The humor and wit and Sawyer's sarcastic nature was my absolute favorite part. Barnes is a master storyteller and this one was no different. She told it alot differently than her other stories that I've read, but for this one it worked. And it worked really well. The story goes back and forth between a couple hours before the debutante ball (time does a countdown to the debutante ball over those chapters) and when Sawyer first got to her grandmother's world. It sounds like it might be confusing, but once you get to reading it, you start to understand the timeline more.
And for a book that had so many characters, it seems as if it's hard to have all of them be so well developed. Not for Barnes. I really enjoyed every character that she introduced and everything they brought to the story. Sadie-Grace had to be my favorite and I can only hope that the next book is gives us a little more back story or detail about her. Lily was interesting to learn about as well, with everything that is revealed in the end of the book, it will be interesting to see how things end up in the next book.
As for the setting, I LOVED the Southern atmosphere in this one. My mom was a debutante and she told me all her stories and we're from the South, so I kind of had a feel for it. I've always felt like they would be in a world all their own and Barnes really portrayed that.
The twists and turns were my absolute favorite part of this book though. No matter what it seemed like I knew, I didn't. It got REALLY messed up in the end. As things started clicking into place and secrets came out, this story got really weird lol It was completely different than what I was expecting and I really enjoyed that. As much as I read, thrillers aren't really a surprise for me anymore, but this one was and it made it 90% more enjoyable than the others.
The only thing I didn't care for was the ending. For something they had been working on for the entire book, it was a little non-existent in the end. It was talked about, but I wish Barnes had given us something from that point of view instead of just skimming over it. It would have been nice to get in on all the secrets.
Although I still haven't given up on campaigning for more of her Fixer series, (see what I did there? lol) I will definitely be wanting more of this series as well. I already have so many questions and I can't wait to get the next book in my hands. I'm not sure I'll be able to wait an entire year! Barnes opens up readers to a new world in this book that will have them wanting to set into the debutante world themselves.

Barnes' new series explores the dark secrets that lie underneath high society polish, as a girl from the wrong side of the tracks finds herself lured into becoming a debutante by the grandmother she's never known. While her time with the other debs should be nothing but parties and gowns, Sawyer quickly discovers the dark undercurrents that keep the rich in power. A great mix of suspense and humor.

I’m sadly going to have to call a DNF on this one. I had a hard time deciding this because there's nothing I can really say about it. I can't pinpoint any reason why I wasn't enjoying it. However, I constantly had to force myself to pick this up and never really got pretty far before I lost interest.

"Letting people in was a risk. I'd forgotten that, right up until the point when my cousin had seen that photograph and snapped."

What an absolutely wonderful, gripping read! Pretty Little Liars, Gilmore Girls, and Gossip Girl collide in this adventure of dark secrets rooted into a high society world.

Sawyer was such a refreshing and easily lovable character who took BS from no one. She had me physically laughing out loud from her remarks to situations and people. While she is borderline forced to partake in the Debutante life, she doesn't allow the drama of it all change or define her. Instead, it's her actions that shake others down, exposing them for who they are and the truth along with it.

Jennifer leaves you guessing until the very end, so be prepared to use your detective skills. When you think you are sure of an answer keep your seat buckled because not all lies that come to light show all their cards at once. The slow parts that came and went didn't bother me too much as Sawyer and her fiery attitude always kept me very well entertained even through those moments.

Don't get comfortable, even for a minute, because when you least expect it the shiny bright faces you come to meet hide little white lies beneath and like all lies, the truth comes out sooner or later.

Title: Little White Lies
Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Genre: YA, fiction
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Sawyer Taft grew up on the wrong side of the tracks with a mom who was unreliable at best and the knowledge that her mother’s family kicked her mom out of the house when she got pregnant in the middle of her debutante season. Now 18-year-old Sawyer is an auto mechanic who’d love to go to college but sees no way to get there.

Until her autocratic grandmother shows up, offering her half a million dollars if she’ll move into the family house and participate in the current debutante season. That’s a whole lot of money to put up with a prim-and-proper crowd with certain expectations and a penchant for the phrase “Bless your heart,” but Sawyer thinks she might be able to solve the mystery of who her father is, so she agrees.

And finds herself in a world of glittering dresses, unending rules, and people with more secrets than she ever imagined. Not to mention the devious minds to keep those secrets and manipulate Sawyer and her new friends. And one of the best-kept secrets is just who Sawyer’s father is—and why he doesn’t want anyone to know.

I read a few of Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ books years ago and enjoyed them, but kind of forgot about her until I saw this one. I’m so glad I picked this up! The glittering world of the debs is far beyond my experience, but it came to life on the pages of Little White Lies. Sawyer is a great character: she does not fit in with this society and she unsettles everyone around her, but she is intent on doing what’s right—and she’s smart. This is an attention-grabbing read, and it was nice that it wasn’t filled with romance like a lot of YA series-openers are.
Jennifer Lynn Barnes was a Fulbright Scholar at Yale, and also holds a Ph.D. from Yale. Her newest novel is Little White Lies.

(Galley provided by Disney Book Group/Freeform in exchange for an honest review.)

This was such a fun read! Full of emotion, mystery, intrigue, and sass, all wrapped up in love. Jennifer Lynn Barnes books are some of my absolute favorites - her stories are smart page-turners.

Not to be extremely dramatic or anything but I’d kill to read the sequel to Little White Lies (and to The Long Game but that’s a whole other story.) This is probably an odd sentence to start a review with but honestly, that’s just how J Lynn Barnes’s books make me FEEL. Barnes has a knack for writing addicting novels that you cannot stop reading even if they are over 400 pages long. Little White Lies is not only addicting but it reads like a puzzle, clues dispersed everywhere that you need to connect to form the bigger picture.

Sawyer Taft’s life changes when her grandmother shows up on her doorstep and offers her a deal she is unable to resist. Soon she is drawn into the world of high society, debutantes and a LOT of well-hidden secrets.

Sawyer is witty, sarcastic, jaded, and just a little bit hopeful. She enters a world completely alien to her but somehow becomes the leader of a ragtag group of debutantes and falls deep into a mystery that will dig up a lot of things that people would rather remain buried.

There are a lot of things to love about this book but I think my favorite is the rag-tag group of girls. They start off as reluctant allies but as they all get to know one another better, and overcome a LOT Of misunderstandings, their reluctant alliance blooms into a strong friendship.

Of course, where there is a ragtag group of girls, there is also a ragtag group of boys and the best news is that these boys are not all secretly in love with how ‘different’ Sawyer is. In fact, Sawyer doesn’t even have a love interest!!!!!! BUT THERE ARE SOME ADORABLE side-romances to root for.

So. The mystery. If you’ve read The Naturals series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, I am assuming you’re gonna come in with some high expectations. While Little White Lies takes a much less gruesome approach to mysteries it is still entertaining. Sawyer agreed to her grandmother’s conditions so that she’d have a chance at college as well as the opportunity to figure out who her father is. And while the mystery of figuring out who one’s father is doesn’t seem interesting, we all know things are never as they seem to be and OF COURSE some skeletons come crawling out of some closets. Also, some teens plot a devious scheme in an attempt to get justice and that is always fun.

I don’t know if everyone who reads Little White Lies is gonna love it but I do know that it is very likely you will be entertained if not fall head-over-heels for this delightful novel. SO, while I eagerly anticipate the sequel, maybe you could play catch-up and join me in this awful wait. YAY.

Little White Lies, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Goodreads ¦ Amazon¦ Barnes & Noble
Series?: Yes
Publisher: Freeform
Release Date: November 6, 2018
Length: 400 pages
Source: ARC
Format: Netgalley
Times Read: Once
Rating: 3.5

"I'm not saying this is Sawyer's fault," the prim and proper one said delicately. "But."

Eighteen-year-old auto mechanic Sawyer Taft did not expect her estranged grandmother to show up at her apartment door and offer her a six-figure contract to participate in debutante season. And she definitely never imagined she would accept. But when she realizes that immersing herself in her grandmother's "society" might mean discovering the answer to the biggest mystery of her life-her father's identity-she signs on the dotted line and braces herself for a year of makeovers, big dresses, bigger egos, and a whole lot of bless your heart. The one thing she doesn't expect to find is friendship, but as she's drawn into a group of debutantes with scandalous, dangerous secrets of their own, Sawyer quickly discovers that her family isn't the only mainstay of high society with skeletons in their closet. There are people in her grandmother's glittering world who are not what they appear, and no one wants Sawyer poking her nose into the past. As she navigates the twisted relationships between her new friends and their powerful parents, Sawyer's search for the truth about her own origins is just the beginning.

Set in the world of debutante balls, grand estates and rolling green hills, Little White Lies combines a charming setting, a classic fish-out-of-water story, and the sort of layered mystery only author Jennifer Lynn Barnes can pull off.

What I Liked: BIG Gilmore Girls vibes in this one, crossed with Gossip Girls of the South with a dash of (tame) Pretty Little Liars.

♥ SO much mystery in this one, and Jennifer Lynn Barnes does mystery SO well. I've enjoyed all of her other books, and I was super excited for this one! There are secrets and scandals happening in Sawyer's new world from the moment she gets there, plus Sawyer brings one of her own--I don't consider this to be a spoiler because it's mentioned from the beginning, but Sawyer doesn't know who her father is, only that her mother got pregnant when she was 17, and Sawyer has a handful of likely suspects. 

Obviously I can't tell you any more about this, but it's a big part of the book, especially since all of the suspects have kids that are Sawyer's age that she's become friends with. Unfortunately, this also takes out most of her dating prospects (unfortunate for me. Sawyer believes that anyone flirting with a teenage girl isn't worth flirting with).   

♥ Secrets on My Skin. A super interesting blog, sort of like of a mashup of Instagram meets Postsecret, run by someone anonymous a'la Gossip Girl. I didn't have pictures in my copy, but I believe in the finished copies there will be!

♥ The friendships. Sawyer doesn't move to town planning to make friends, but by the end she's got a whole group that she loves and can count on.  

What I Didn’t: It could probably be about 25% shorter, and the end felt super rushed, with way too many unresolved storylines for my liking. But when I checked Goodreads after finishing, I saw that it's going to be a series with at least one more book, so I'm okay with the ending now!

⊗ WTF is with all the parents why are they all THE WORST?

Final Thoughts: It's a fun look into the debutante season that most of us never see or hear about because it's weird AF. It could have fallen flat in another writer's hands, but no one does mysteries like JL Barnes!

Favorite Quotes: "She'd never pressured me to be someone else, never once made me feel like she was anything less than delighted with exactly who I was. That was more than most people could say."

All quotes are taken from an uncorrected proof of the book

The character development was not strong enough to keep me interested in the plot. Sawyer had a familiar voice, there were too many characters to keep it straight, Lily was one dimensional.

The plot was not nuanced enough to keep me interested. The plot moved but there were so many characters and so much dialogue.

Little White Lies is full of intrigue, and that’s not just because of Sawyer’s search for her father’s identity. Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ supporting characters are deceptively simple at first glance. Once you dig a little deeper, however, you discover they are multifaceted. Barnes could have easily played to stereotypes but instead chose a more interesting and more satisfying path.

There are a number of twists in Little White Lies that come as complete surprises. There are a few that I picked up on before the “big reveal,” but overall I was swept up in a complex story that the synopsis doesn’t do justice.

I read Little White Lies in less than a 24-hour period. I was hooked from the beginning and enjoyed it to the end.

Sawyer Taft may be a teenager, but she has spent most of her life taking care of her flighty mother. When her mother ups and leaves with her new beau, Sawyer accepts an opportunity to get to know her mother's family - and make a little money - by joining her's grandmother's household and agreeing to participate in the debutante season. How hard can it be? Wear a pretty dress, schmooze with her high society peers and maybe figure out which of the men in her mother's circle contributed to her own DNA. What Sawyer didn't expect was the intrigue she would find among her peers - secret photo blogs, blackmail schemes, and stolen pearls. What's a girl to do but figure out the players and help engineer the downfall of some seriously wealthy socialites?

Readers familiar with Barnes' other works will appreciate the mystery and intrigue in Little White Lies. Sawyer is an engaging heroine. I cannot wait for book two.

Little White Lies was a decent YA mystery, the characters were a little stereotypical and there were a couple of plot points that I think could have been taken out but all in all it was an enjoyable read with a satisfying resolution. I doubt I’ll read the second in the series just because I prefer thrillers and mysteries that aren’t YA. this book took me 3 hours to read. 3 stars.

Sawyer Taft has spent her entire life with a family of two, herself and her mother. She never expected her grandmother to stop by her apartment and offer her $500,000 to complete a debutante season. As a mechanic, she certainly didn’t think of herself as a debutante, but if she takes her grandmother up on her offer, then she might be able to discover who her father is. She knew there would be makeovers, dresses, and parties … she never thought she would be able to build friendships. Will Sawyer discover the identity of her missing father? What other family secrets will be unearthed along the way?

Little White Lies is the first book in the Debutantes series. This is definitely a niche read, but I still recommend everyone give it a try. The drama may be predictable at times, but the multigenerational scandals that are explored in these pages make the read seem to consume itself. Some mysteries are solved in this volume, yet Barnes has created a cast of characters with many secrets which means there will be many books to come. Little White Lies is a good escape read and will be enjoyed by those who liked Pretty Little Liars and Gossip Girls.

Little White Lies by Jennifer Lynn Barnes was everything I hoped it would be when I picked it up. There are so many things that are uncovered throughout this book that I can’t even get into it all but I promise, no spoilers.

Sawyer Taft grew up on the wrong side of town and the only family she has ever known is her mother who isn’t necessarily reliable. When her grandmother Lillian Taft, someone she has never met, shows up at her door with a deal she doesn’t really want to say no to, she finds herself mixed up in something she never expected. In exchange for participating in the current debutante season, Sawyer’s grandmother will give her five hundred thousand dollars. Now you might be thinking…why would someone just agree to live with a stranger for a year for money, but her grandmother throws in the one thing she knows will push Sawyer to agree, the opportunity to figure out who her biological father is.

As Sawyer moves in with her grandmother, she is immediately thrown into a family that she knows nothing about. One thing she does learn very quickly is that everyone has secrets and those secrets can be dangerous. I loved how Barnes set up the story by giving the reader a bit of the current situation and then immediately jumping back to where everything started. It helped me start to connect the dots around what was going on…with that said, there were a few twists and turns I didn’t see coming.

I really liked the characters in this story. I won’t cover them all but there are some key players that you need to know about. First there is Sawyer’s cousin, Lily. She does everything she can to fit into her mother’s image of perfect but remember what I said about secrets? She has a big one and it is that secret that starts some of the trouble Sawyer is pulled into almost immediately. They also come to be good friends and although they don’t agree on everything, they support each other. There is also Lily’s best friend, Sadie-Grace, who

Another key character is Campbell Ames, the daughter of a senator and everyone tends to refer to her as the devil. Which, full disclosure, she is definitely a piece of work. As the story unfolds, we learn a lot more about her story and secrets as well.

As I mentioned earlier, one of Sawyer’s motives for taking the deal with her grandmother was to figure out who her father is and there are 4 potential options. As Sawyer starts to dig, she learns more about everyone in this debutante circle and it isn’t necessarily a good thing. It’s no wonder that her mother left and didn’t have any desire to go back although that isn’t necessarily the full story…but I’m not going to say any more about that.

Ultimately this story is about more than the mysteries though. It’s about family and friendships and as Sawyer learns more about hers, she has to decide if they are who she wants to be around or if she wants to go back to living above a bar and working as a mechanic with only her mother to rely on.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It was fast-paced, had some interesting characters, and enough twists to keep me guessing until the very end. Although this was only my first book by Barnes, it definitely won’t be my last. I enjoyed every bit of this and can’t wait to check out her others. If you’re looking for a story that has all of that, consider checking this out when you can.

This book is a beautiful mix of high society conjecture, a tale of growing up, and an Oceans 11 type of adventure. Sawyer is the perfect narrator to lead us as we first make our way into the setting with one mystery on our minds: who is her father? It's easy to dismiss characters, as we normally do to those who are over-polite and bent on social niceties. However, the introduction to Campbell as she is being held captive in the pool house is where things REALLY kick off.

I'll admit to not really knowing how everything was going to come together until it actually happened and I was impressed by the level of talented storytelling that had happened throughout the book . I don't know if you will really be able to recognize that until you reach the end of the book.

Speaking of the end, I truly thought that something was wrong with the ebook I had received until I went down to my local library and opened their copy of it to see it ended the same way. WHAT A WAY TO END! Not everyone likes a cliffhanger, but I LOVE THEM! I just hope the next book comes out soon so I don't forget everything that has happened in book 1 before reading book 2. I can't find any information about book 2 online yet, so that makes me a bit nervous. I'd love to see us getting to know characters more, perhaps a few new faces, and a healing of Sawyer's familial relationships. I'd like to see Sawyer actually welcomed in this high society and see her go to college. The one thing I hope to NOT see is the whole "He's my brother, but WAIT, now he's not" thing. I feel like that's becoming a trope all its own now in YA Lit and I gotta say, I'm not here for it. I rather like Walker and Sawyer's brother/sister relationship and I think that should be used to the fullest extent. I don't think they'd make a good romantic match.

Back to "Little White Lies":
I absolutely adored it and already have recommended it to several people as a smart, entertaining, and interesting read. It's one of my favorite books I've read this year!

As a southern reader, I am always incredibly wary of the whole “Southern Debutante” theme in books, but I loved the author’s previous series and was excited to see her whole take on southern society.
Sawyer Taft is not a girly woman. She’s a mechanic who only relies on herself. She’s sassy and takes no crap. Then her grandmother comes in with promises of funding her college tuition and bankrolling her life. With a catch. She has to spend nearly a year with her and become a debutante. She still resists, until the grandmother lays the hook. She can also find out who her father is.
Since her mom was a teenager when she got pregnant and won’t talk about him, Sawyer can’t turn down the offer. She needs to know. But once things really start to get moving, her father isn’t the only mystery that needs solving.
There are a lot of characters, and I got a bit mixed up between all of them, but it didn’t stop me from continuing to read because I had to know how this thing was going to end.
The ending left A LOT to be desired, but I have heard rumors of a sequel, so that is probably why.

This was the kind of book I would've put down before reaching the 50% mark but I wanted to finish reading the story so I kept reading anyway. My feelings toward the end didn't change, unfortunately. I was left feeling bored, unimpressed, and/or indifferent. However, I did like the main character, Sawyer.


Little White Lies was like a mash of Gilmore Girls and maybe Gossip Girl but the result had been non descript characters, a mundane story line, and flat plot twists. The worst part is that it's obvious that there was a build-up (supposed to excite and keep readers at the edge of their seats) BUT the build-up leading to the plot twists (with an -s) were pretty lame and the threat of the scandals were weak. The stakes weren't as high compared to Gossip Girl so it wasn't as gripping. The threat behind these secrets and scandals weren't as compelling. I know it's not like Gossip Girl but this is the book I'm comparing it to when it comes to scandals and secrets. In short, this book was seriously underwhelming.

What I didn't expect was the mystery. Besides finding out who was Sawyer's father, the reader finds out a group of debutantes were in jail and the whole mystery is finding out why and how it happened. The entrance of the wealthy grandma was cringey. This is the present time in the storyline but it abruptly ends to make way for the past storyline. I didn't like the pacing and/or the timeline the way it was written. I thought it disrupted the narrative, switching from the confused police's POV to the MC's POV. I think it was supposed to be humorous but it just wasn't enough to keep me entertained. Eventually by the end of the book, the story returns to the present storyline.

Overall, I was kind of annoyed. I might view this book differently if it had been in sequential order. And since this book contained nondescript characters, I found it difficult to tell them apart especially through the police's POV. Now, I know that the police doesn't know the main characters but the descriptions were bland (or kind of creepy). Like a grown adult thinking a 15 year old is gorgeous. I can't help but stop to think why I was still reading this book.

Even if I wasn't fond of the story, I liked the main character's humor. I think Sawyer made this book bearable for me to read despite the long and dragged out family mystery drama. Also, I thought it was completely unnecessary for Sawyer to describe old women like a breed of dog because of their hair. I thought that if a man had written this book, it might look problematic.

The conclusion may leave readers wanting more from the story. However, if a sequel is in the future, I don't think I'd be interested in reading that book. Some readers who liked the author's previous novels may find the other characters (especially Sawyer) endearing. Their little flaws make them even more likable. I would recommend this book to fans of the author's previous works.


My full review is now posted in my book blog: https://bookscoffeeandrepeat.wordpress.com/2018/09/27/review-little-white-lies-by-jennifer-lynn-barnes/

current goodreads review:

Major thanks to Disneybooks for sending me this e-arc on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
3.75 / 5 stars
I really had fun reading Little White Lies by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. I love the idea of southern belle debutantes sleuthing to uncover the truth about some mysterious events and situations. This book truly gives me Gilmore Girls meets Gossip Girl vibes. I love how while Sawyer does gradually become a part of the community and family that is new to her, she never loses her values or the key aspects that make her who she is.
I think Jennifer Lynn Barnes does an excellence job with pacing. I found the pacing to be well-done through the brief forwards of time that reveal the current situation that the girls are in. I think that this addition makes the book more interesting to the reader since they will want to find what occurred and how the girls are currently in the present situation at the police station. I’m interested to see how the blog additions will be displayed in the print copy. I liked the idea of this inclusion, and while I was a bit confused at first, it did not take too long for more explanation.
Barnes includes some excellent characters in this book. I liked the dynamics between the girls, struggles and all. While there are some portrayals of blackmail and girls not supporting each other, this does change throughout the book. I think that by the end our characters have grown more in themselves through all that they face together. I liked Sawyer a lot in this book and I really appreciated the portrayal of feministic inclusions within the text. I think that girls will be able to connect with Sawyer the most, and that she does display some good role model traits. I will say that some parts in the book may be a bit mature for some readers, but overall I would say this book could be suggested to readers ages 16+. I think teen readers will enjoy this one a bit more than myself due to them being the more intended age group. I did definitely enjoy this one though and I am excited for the next book!
If you enjoy books about teenage girls getting into mischief and making wrongdoings by others right, then this book is for you! There are some amazing twists and turns in this book. Little White Lies contains mystery intrigue that will continuously keep you wondering about who is truthful and who is not. Sawyer learns that not everything is what it seems to be. While Sawyer learns to be a part of this new society she soon learns that many hidden secrets lie within some of the prime members. This book is now available so definitely check it out!

What do you get if you combine Mamma Mia with The Princess Diaries and Pretty Little Liars?

Answer: a really great time.

LITTLE WHITE LIES was a laugh-out-loud Southern twist on a thriller premise. I went in expecting something a bit more like Barnes' THE NATURALS series (which is fantastic, by the way) but this wasn't as scary or cult-like as that series. Don't take that as a lack of suspenseful writing and high stakes, however. Nothing makes me more scared than a proper lady in pristine white gloves stealing millions of dollars from the person of authority she was shaking hands with.

LITTLE WHITE LIES follows a girl on a quest to fulfill her grandmother's wishes of being a debutante for nine months, while sleuthing to discover who her baby daddy is and also the source of her cousin's blackmailing. This book dives into the rich vs poor, family vs reputation discussions that crop up often in YA, but adds in Southern charm and passive aggression like no other.

A patchwork of mysteries, questionable decisions, and several cute boys later, you find yourself wrapped in up in the mystery, gripping the book so hard you get marks on your palms from the corners. That suspense you felt the first time you watched Mamma Mia and wanted to know which of the eligible men was Sophie's father? Or the iconic ugly duckling transformation Anne Hathaway undertakes to become the princess she truly is? The nail-biting suspense of having juicy secrets and knowing that the biggest gossip in the neighborhood knows them too? It's all in these pages.

While LITTLE WHITE LIES does have some interesting characters with believable motives and the sharpest dialogue I've read in a while, when I wasn't in stitches from our narrator's wit and love for medieval forms of torture I was wishing there was a family tree. This book contains quite a large cast of characters, with most being extended family. Besides the ones who aren't. But then how do you keep them straight when it's time to decide who you ship together? I hope the finished copy has an easier way to track these characters better.

I also felt like this book didn't contain the unique qualities THE NATURALS does, making it a little less memorable in my mind. It's a solid four stars, and I'm excited to read more of these characters because you haven't read a morally grey character until you've read this book (or any of VE Schwab's). I also loved the alternating timelines. There are short, out of context scenes from the present time scattered throughout, and the other chapters slowly and chronologically leading up to the present.

I could see it as a standalone, but I want a more fleshed-out arc for these characters, plus there was a small plotline left dangling there at the end. Not a cliffhanger, but a nudge into a sequel. Count me in.