Little White Lies by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
A funny, adventurous drama focused on the tomboy mechanic forced into a debutante ball rife with secrets—delivered with JLB's signature wit and pacing.
Published July 5, 2019



Novel: Little White Lies by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Release Date: November 6, 2018
Publisher: Freeform
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher




“As I gradually restore Words Like Silver to its archive of reviews written between 2011 and 2024, I'll aim to first and foremost make my reading history explorable by publishing the blurbs and short reflections as books cross my mind, with the goal of eventually transferring and fleshing out the original WLS content. For now, please enjoy this brief spotlight.”
"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.
I wrote this review approximately two years ago, and it’s been sitting in my blog drafts for about that long. Sometimes, books I love don’t get reviewed because I’m basking in the afterglow for too long — and then I’m unable to capture the nuance, as my favorite books to write about probably have specific talking points.
So, a little late: Little White Lies is a highly enjoyable adventure that’s hilarious, slightly decadent, and everything you need from a beach read or escapist hook. I’m not surprised; Jennifer Lynn Barnes is a fantastic writer. (Note: she also has the wildest drafting process of anyone you’ve ever heard of — she wrote one of her books in about three weeks.) I also think she’s a badass, as she’s a psych professor, writing professor, and all around cool person.
Jennifer Lynn Barnes has a knack for writing tomboyish characters with eccentric backgrounds and a flair for the dramatic. Her lock-picking, medievally-fascinated, portrait-drawing mechanic heroine Sawyer is perfect for the whitewashed world of debutante ball Old South politeness. The tension between the two lifestyles is sarcastic and unyieldingly attractive—classic without being cliché
I love books just a tad too absurd to feel realistic—almost satirical. Life kicked up a notch, characters settled into roles just a tad too archetypal. Like these girls honoring a captive's juice cleanse, feeding her kale smoothies while she's tied up in a garage (iconic.) The exact humor slant had me dying laughing, and I rarely laugh at books.
I didn't want to put Little White Lies down. For context, I was a debutante too (and Jennifer Lynn Barnes signed the book to me that way at ALA: "from one deb to another.") There’s something to be said for stereotypes done well, the outline of a character fleshed out and complicated over the course of the book.
Sadie Grace was naïve but not dumb — a kind klutz with a habit of doing ballet routines when she was nervous. Lily was a stickler for the rules but wasn't mean, only calculated. Campbell was...quite the character. Vindictive but oddly likable. I would have loved to have had more of Boone scattered throughout the book.
Although Sawyer was mostly on her own as a person, her connections to and loyalty to her family were admirable and not resentful at all. She was tender towards them; she did care about her mom although they had a complicated and unbalanced relationship.
I know the balance between doing something to please the family, acknowledging that it's a bit antiquated and ridiculous, and also still having a bit of fun in the process. In Tampa, we don't have a whole season in the same way that the Little White Lies setting did, but a lot of it felt familiar.I wish there were more books about Southern culture (and its rich nuances) in YA. There are some phenomenal ones out there: Shine by Lauren Myracle, Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. But the balance done right is few and far between.
The best part of Jennifer Lynn Barnes's books is their cleverness. Not only the singeing one liners but also the overall plot. She knows how to scheme.
Despite the brilliance of plotting, there were definitely some unanswered questions at the end. I hadn't realized that the book was actually going to have a sequel, so I'd just resolved myself to not knowing. I do think I'll read the sequel. My sister read the book and enjoyed it, but was irritated as hell that the ending wasn't wrapped up neatly -- so keep that in mind if you're easily annoyed by lingering plot threads.
Update after reading: I did read the sequel. It’s not quite as full as the first book — more of an afterthought — but I appreciated it regardless, and it had the humor and charm that I loved.

