Little Black Lies by Tish Cohen

Title: Little Black Lies
Author: Tish Cohen
Age Group: Teens
# of Pages: 320
My Rating: 4/5

Going into Anton High is like going to Harvard, except it is a public high school that does not accept you if you do not get in the first year. Unless you are Sara Black, who's father received a janitor position within this prestigious school.

When she first arrives, she has no plan on lying about where she is from. She is from Lundon, but of Massachusetts, not England. At that point on, little white lies start slipping out and she has a hard time stopping herself. Especially when she is in the presence of Carling, one of the popular girls around. Before she knows it, almost everything everyone within Anton knows of her is not true.

It's not that bad, right? As long as no one finds out?

I found Little Black Lies to be quite a refreshing read. The protagonist's home life is not at all grand and dandy. Her father has OCD and her mother left them for Sara's science teacher. She unfortunately is the product of her parents' quick fun time in high school. So with a semi-messed up life like that, she couldn't help but fib... and fib some more.

In the beginning of the novel, I wasn't into it yet since it was not that eventful. Once I was about midway into the story, it started to pique my interest. Sara understood what she was doing was wrong but the web of lies spun out of control because they built upon each other. There were times where I pitied her and other times where I looked down upon what she did. I personally would never befriend her because of her past actions, making me doubt if I could trust her. Though I would not hate her for what she did because as a person, there is always a second chance to fix past mistakes and move on.

I was surprised that the romantic content was not as focused on as much as I thought it would be. Most of the time in realistic novels, there would be quite a bit about the main girl and her crush or whatnot. I found it fresh how the author wanted to focus upon Sara and how she learns more about herself with every action she executes.

I recommend Little Black Lies to those who like the concept of the protagonist trying to adapt by lying her way into a crowd and with interesting ending results.

Review copy provided by EgmontUSA.