Title: Little Black Lies
Author: Tish Cohen
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Egmont USA
Source: Review Copy Provided by Publicist
Parental Warning: sexual content, mental illness

Summary:
Anton High School is the picture of preppy upper class positioning.  Filled with students of a certain caliber both academically and socially all were pre-determined to become New England’s finest.  All but Sara Black that is, recently transplanted with her janitor father she is everything that the student body is not.  Taken away from her home and the only friends she knows she’s quickly thrust into an awkward, socially inept, and lonely existence.

As she navigates the bustling halls of Anton a series of mishaps thrusts her into the popular crowd as they mistakenly believe she is a wealthy socialite from London, England as compared to a poor schlub from London, MA. Attempting to make the best of that bad situation Sara allows the in-crowd to continue to believe in her made-up status hoping it will alleviate the discontent and discomfort that she is feeling as a result of her move.

Unfortunately, as part of the ruse she must avoid her father in the halls and lie about her past. Increasingly difficult as his OCD begins to escalate and make itself apparent both at home and at work Sara finds herself navigating the choppy waters between her two lives with much effort and little reward.

Opinion:
At the outset it appeared that Little Black Lies was the typical “awkward new student outcast lies to fit in with the popular crowd” story.  However, after a few chapters the reader is quick to realize that there is a bit more to the story than just this young girl adjusting to a new school and new friends.  The addition of her father’s struggle brings with it the most promise.

I think I’ve mentioned before that books that focus on the father/daughter relationship are important to me.  My brother is a single father to a teenage girl so when I read a story that has any focus on an that type of relationship I am always comparing it to my real life.  It may not be fair but I can’t help but let my experiences shape how I read and reflect on the story.  In this case I felt Sara and her father’s story was extremely realistic.  I enjoyed watching them struggle with the loss of her mother, the re-appearance of his OCD and her self-loathing at lying so completely about who she is.  Despite his own issues her father continued to be a mostly positive influence and wholly supportive parent.

Another element of this book that was slightly near and dear to me was the setting of Anton High.  Growing up I too was a townie in a quaint New England burg that was home to one of the Nation’s foremost private prep schools.  Though I wasn’t a student I interacted with many who were and the portrayal that Cohen has depicted of these teens is spot on.  None of the girls were over the top and the boys were appropriately aloof and self-absorbed. A breeding ground for competitiveness and self-entitlement Anton High was exactly what one would expect from such an institution.

The sub-stories of Sara’s friends were an interesting addition to the overall plot.  In particular one such story involving the most popular girl in school went to further showcase Sara’s own struggle with keeping who she really was a secret.  It humanized the rich bitch while still allowing the readers to loathe her just enough for still being both who she was at school and the girl Sara’s crush was dating. Speaking of the crush, Leo wasn’t the picture perfect hunky sport playing guy.  He was as normal and flawed as Sara was thus making the potential for a relationship quite rootable.  There wasn’t any “Pretty Woman” syndrome here.

If I had to find one fault with this book it would be that a few things seemed much too coincidental for my liking.  For example the role that Leo’s father plays in resolving some of the problems Sara and her father faced was more than timely.    Having said that, the few coincidences and predictable weren’t so out of the ordinary or tremendously blatant  that it ruined the entire story for me.

In the end, I found Little Black Lies to be quite enjoyable. Definitely worth adding to your TBR pile if you’re looking for a quick but thoughtful YA read.