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Reluctant debutante Sawyer Taft joined Southern high society for one reason
and one reason alone: to identify and locate her biological father. But the
answers Sawyer found during her debutante year only left her with more
questions and one potentially life-ruining secret. When her cousin Lily ropes
her into pledging a mysterious, elite, and all-female secret society called the
White Gloves, Sawyer soon discovers that someone in the group's ranks may have
the answers she's looking for. Things are looking up... until Sawyer and the
White Gloves make a disturbing discover near the family's summer home--and
uncover a twisted secret, decades in the making.
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.
Jennifer Lynn Barnes (who
mostly goes by Jen) is the author of more than a dozen critically acclaimed
young adult novels. She has advanced degrees in psychology, psychiatry, and
cognitive science, including graduate degrees from Cambridge University, where
she was a Fulbright Scholar, and Yale University, where she received her Ph.D.
in 2012. Jen wrote her first published novel when she was nineteen-years-old
and sold her first five books while still in college. In additional to writing
YA novels, Jen has also written original pilot scripts for television networks
like USA and MTV, and she is one of the world's leading experts on the
psychology of fandom and the cognitive science of fiction and the imagination
more broadly. Jen is an Associate Professor at the University of Oklahoma,
where she holds a dual appointment in Psychology and Professional Writing.
11/18/2019
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Review
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11/19/2019
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Review
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11/20/2019
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Excerpt
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11/21/2019
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Review
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11/22/2019
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Review
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Kira's childhood nightmares come back full force when she and her new family are asked to help look for a child in the woods. Kira was once found by the search and rescue dogs. She knows what it's like to be out in the forest alone - doing whatever it takes to survive.My Thoughts: I love Jennifer Lynn Barnes' books. I couldn't put this one down. I loved the combination of the mystery of the missing girl combined with the search and rescue team. I loved the dog characters and learning more about search and rescue training. I loved Kira and how she had trouble dealing with people. I loved her relationships with Free and Jude. They supported each other and understood each other. I loved the moments between Cady and Kira. Lots of great moments between them. I loved the action and the danger, but most of all, I loved Kira. I'd like to give her a hug - but I know she'd hate that.
Now, Kira wants to find the child. She's do whatever it takes. When her mother side lines her, she becomes irritated. She starts digging into the past, searching for something that will help. But what she uncovers will change everything.
She hails
from the Washington, D.C. suburbs on the Maryland side, but now lives in New
York City. She was an extremely fussy and particular child with an undying love
for Cheerios (honey nut only), pink lemonade, and frosted animal cookies. A
self-proclaimed school nerd, she loved covering her books with brown paper and
filled her locker with Lisa Frank stickers. She loved putting headings on her
homework, odd-looking pens and freshly sharpened pencils, and numerous notebooks
to fill with her research. On most Saturdays you could find her with her
equally nerdy Dad at Crown Books and then the comic bookstore where she stocked
up on her weekly reading material. Plus, she was so spoiled that her
grandfather took her to the library after school almost daily.
Never in a million years did Sawyer Taft imagine that her estranged grandmother would show up on her doorstep. Her imagination also never included a contact where Sawyer would earn money (a lot of money) to complete the debutante season. But she also never imagined uncovering secrets from her past.My Thoughts: I love Jennifer Lynn Barnes. I always read her book and they're always fabulous. I started this one and was sucked in. I couldn't put it down. I really liked the dual timelines - and learning why the foursome was in jail in the first place. I loved the banter between the debutantes. I loved Sawyer's sass. I love how she and her cousin became friends - I mean after that incident, how could you not? The family history stunned me. There were so many twists that I never saw coming that made me turn the pages faster and faster because I needed to know what happened. And now I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next.
So she said yes.
Now she's stuck in high society where secrets are more deadly than she ever imagined. When one girl threatens her family, how far will Sawyer go to stay in control and complete the contract?
