Little White Lies by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Release date:Nov 6, 2018

There will be spoilers in this review.

Buckle up y'all because this book is nothing but southern goodness.

A quick summary:

"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.

From GoodReads.

The Set Up:

I tend to focus on how an author opens a story because really, that's what make you want to keep reading. Barnes starts us off in jail and from the POV of the police officer, who is totally clueless as to why three debutantes in white gowns are in his jail cell in the first place.

We meet our MC, Sawyer, through "And the fourth girl? She was picking the lock," before we are pushed back to nine months earlier when Sawyer meets her grandmother and is offered the contract. I was laughing from the beginning and immediately wanted to know how this cop got himself into his predicament.

She'll continue to occasionally switch back to the jail scene and officer POV until we are caught up in the timeline of the story.

We're introduced to Sawyer through the many hobbies she has had over the years and this is how Barnes lets us know more about Sawyer's childhood.

With lines such as, "I'd developed sequential interests in lock picking, the Westminster Dog Show, and fixing the perfect martini," and “For the record,” I told my cousin, “any lock-picking ability I may or may not have acquired growing up has less to do with where I lived and more to do with the fact that I was a very weird, very obsessive little kid," we learn why Sawyer is good at certain things, but they are also relatable reasons.

We've all had that late night obsession with conspiracy theories on the internet or wanted to learn how to be a spy.

What stood out:

Barnes has either been to my hometown, or has some sort of magical powers because she writes this world so well. Not only does she create the world but she describes the details of her characters in such a way that readers can immediately see them with lines such as, "She had a Southern accent—less twang and more drawl than my own. Com-pluh-mehnt or an in-suhlt?" and “Money isn’t something we talk about, Sawyer. It’s something we have," as she's describing Lillian Taft.

One of the scenes that stood out to me most was when Sawyer has agreed to her grandmother's contract and is going to the Taft home for the first time. She's greeted at the door by her Aunt Olivia and the following conversation happens:

“John David Easterling,” she called, raising her voice so it carried. “Who’s the best shot in this family?”

There was no reply. William Faulkner butted his head against my thigh and huffed. I bent slightly—very slightly—to pet him and noticed the red dot that had appeared on my tank top.

“I will skin you alive if you pull that trigger,” my aunt called, her voice disturbingly cheerful.

What trigger? I thought. The red dot on my torso wavered slightly.

“Now, young man, I believe I asked you a question. Who’s the best shot in this family?”

We later hear John David glumly reply that the best shot in the family is his momma, who tells her child target practice on our family is not appropriate nor polite. These genuine conversations are what is so grabbing about this story. You care what's happening because they are relatable, or were for me as a girl who grew up with a sporting clay world champion for a grandfather and a very bragging mother. I even wrote the note, "this entire scene is phenomenal." TRUTH.

Discussion Topics:

Drama

This story is nothing but dramatic. From debutantes under contract to a blog with secrets written on a girl's body then published, I can easily see this on Freeform taking the spot Pretty Little Liars left open.

Throughout the story the one goal is for Sawyer to find out who her father is. There are three options and Barnes leaves us breadcrumbs throughout so when we learn the truth, it all makes sense.

While we're on the hunt for Sawyer's dad, we also learn our villain Campbell Ames has gotten herself into a pickle and wants to out someone for a drunk driving incident that ended in a hit and run and a boy in long term care. With these two stories woven together, the book was hard to put down.

As a teacher, this would be a great book for those that aren't interested in reading but like to Netflix binge.

Vocabulary

Barnes uses vocabulary that is absolutely refreshing. She challenges the mind of her audience but also makes these words and this story completely accessible. Some words I highlighted were:

Rapscallion

Adroit

Coquette

Salacious

Dishabille

Teen Pregnancy

There is so much to unpack here and discussion topics would be great. However, we don't see much of a discussion of teen pregnancy and the ramifications until the very end. I would have loved to see a bit more once Sawyer arrives on the scene and starts asking questions, however, there's another side of me that says it makes sense it's avoided because of the nature of these characters and their lifestyle. Teen pregnancy and scandal is not to be discussed. This is a perfect way to discuss the importance of these topics and having open and honest conversations.

I won't spoil anymore but I will say I rate this book 4.5. I loved it! It was fun, dramatic, relatable, and I want more. SO good news! I tweeted the author and learned a sequel is in the works!