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Product Description
Quill & Quire
Tish Cohen’s poor-girl-goes-to-posh-private-school story has the first-person narrator, present-tense mode, and flashback-to-traumatic-event technique that is de rigueur in such works these days. It also has a familiar plot: Sara Black, daughter of her school’s new janitor, finds herself stealing, lying, and cheating to fit in with the ruling girls after she moves to Boston and enters “North America’s Most Elite and Most Bizarre” high school. While Sara’s moral quandaries, her initially weak decisions, and her ultimate triumph (moral and romantic) might be predictable, Cohen’s creative intelligence and sure-footed prose style ensure the novel is both lively and humourous. Her pacing is sharp, and her language has the capacity to surprise. A father with “hair that rises toward the ceiling like angry black flames”; an offhand comment that “supernumerary nipples are not a joke”– unpredictable elements such as these make this an engaging read. Cohen also treats the subsidiary theme of Sara’s father’s obsessive-compulsive disorder with understanding and compassion, and her characterization of Sara as a serious math whiz is refreshing. All of which makes for a mature and more substantial alternative to some of the other high school novels out there.
Review
Narrator Sara's wry humor and spot-on observations of teen mannerisms keep the story from becoming melodramatic, and realistic details of parties and lunch hours will have readers glued to the page and cringing in recognition of teen-girl nastiness. Complex characterization elevates this quick read, and the socioeconomic diversity of Sara and her classmates provides food for thought. --Booklist
At 16, Sara Black should know that telling one lie leads to another, but when she transfers from the boondocks to Boston's exclusive Anton High School, she finds herself spinning more lies than she would ever have imagined to conceal her true identity. At the heart of Sarah's lies is her father's job as Anton's newest janitor, which to Anton's elite-Ants-is unthinkable, especially Carling, the school's popular but evil beauty, who has more than her fair share of secrets. Determined to protect herself, Sarah predictably fabricates a glamorous life that eventually comes unraveled. The text escapes tedium, however, as Cohen expertly interweaves Sarah's father's battle with OCD and its interconnected ties with her mother's infidelity and heartbreaking desertion of her family. Thoughtful and intense, this text is truly about families and the havoc that illness can wreak. --Kirkus Reviews
At 16, Sara Black should know that telling one lie leads to another, but when she transfers from the boondocks to Boston's exclusive Anton High School, she finds herself spinning more lies than she would ever have imagined to conceal her true identity. At the heart of Sarah's lies is her father's job as Anton's newest janitor, which to Anton's elite-Ants-is unthinkable, especially Carling, the school's popular but evil beauty, who has more than her fair share of secrets. Determined to protect herself, Sarah predictably fabricates a glamorous life that eventually comes unraveled. The text escapes tedium, however, as Cohen expertly interweaves Sarah's father's battle with OCD and its interconnected ties with her mother's infidelity and heartbreaking desertion of her family. Thoughtful and intense, this text is truly about families and the havoc that illness can wreak. --Kirkus Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Courtesy of Teens Read Too,
By TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Little Black Lies (Hardcover)
Sara is going to a new school. The school she'll be attending is also the school that is hiring her father as the new janitor.Her mother has run away with one of Sara's former high school teachers to France. Sara is very embarrassed about her father, especially since he suffers from OCD. He also drives old VW buses. Her new school is one full of gifted students and snobs. Sara is tired of having a life that is ruined by her parents. She decides that she will invent a new persona. She gets entangled in a web of lies that threatens to destroy not only herself but her father, as well. LITTLE BLACK LIES is a good read. Sara is a believable character, and by the end of the book you know that she would make a good friend. She learns important lessons about the value of a good parent, the love of a friend, and the importance of honesty. This is the second book by Tish Cohen that I have read and I really like her writing. She likes to write about issues that are in the news but are those that we really don't know much about. This book focuses on OCD. I enjoyed that it wasn't by the sufferer but by a family member who has to live with the person with the condition. This is a very good book, well-written and also entertaining. Reviewed by: Marta Morrison
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.2 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews) 3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very good,
By Tina "Tina" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Little Black Lies (Hardcover)
I am such a fan of YA and I was thrilled to be able to add this author to my list of must read authors.Indeed, with Sara, our main character, author Cohen introduces us to a complex, basically good intetioned girl who has lived a difficult home life with the result that she now feels she must do anything and everything in order to protect herself and more importantly, be accepted by her new bunch of snobby school friends from her elite school. If this means lying - than so be it. At first, I had a hard time understanding the motivation behind much of Sara's actions, but as we find out more and more about her, I found myself understanding more - if not agreeing with her actions. She is dealing with OCD - which he father suffers from and this alone would be hard enough, but she also has to contend with alot more personal stuff that is slowly revealed to us throughout the book. I like that the author did not make Sara this perfect little girl - or this rich little girl or this total horrible person - which has kind of been done to death in novels lately. Sara is somewhere in the middle - trying to find her own way. The writing is good and kept up at a good pace, although I must admit that the first chapter was a little slow - but soon moved on quickly. I also liked that the author made sure to add a little dose of romance for good measure. Overall, a very good read. 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
If you haven't read a book by this author, do it!,
By 365andMe - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Little Black Lies (Hardcover)
LITTLE BLACK LIES begins with Sara Black, sixteen years old, beginning her first day at Anton High School. It's said that getting into Anton is tougher than getting into Harvard, but Sara gets in mainly because her father is the new janitor. Her father also suffers from OCD, which is why he lost his previous job.Anton is way different than Sara's last school. There's more pressure and the students come from money. During first period when students were discussing their summer vacation, the class misunderstood when Sara said she moved here from Lundon, like in Massachusetts. They thought she meant London, like in Europe. When she didn't correct the mistake, this lie began a web of deceit. As Sara tiptoes across Anton's social minefield, it's hard to juggle her two personas without getting caught. And that's where she's heading, but not until she hurts the two people who mean more to her in the world - her father and her best friend, Mandy. Although the plot leans towards the predicable side, the author's way of telling a story is unique and must be experienced to appreciate. Each of the characters are captured so vividly on paper. Also, readers will feel the story's emotions, especially those of Sara, her guilt and pain. It's not a terribly sad story, but one I felt all the way through. 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A wonderful book.,
By Tower of Books "Krista" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Little Black Lies (Hardcover)
When Sara Black's OCD father lands a job as a janitor at the elite Anton High, Sara, a junior, is given the opportunity to enroll in the school. Most students have to enroll freshman year. Anton High School is a change from the public high school life she was accustomed to. Most of Anton's students come from privileged lifestyles, so when Sara's classmates mistakenly believe she comes from London, England, instead of Lundon, Massachusetts, she goes along with it. She also does not tell her classmates that the janitor is her father or that her mother ran off with her old science teacher. Soon, however, some of Sara's classmates feel their popularity is threathened by Sara, and her black lies soon catch up to her...The best thing about Little Black Lies was Cohen's ability to slowly reveal details about Sara's family life, which added up to the bigger picture. These details were scattered around the book, but each time they perfectly flowed with whatever was happening at the moment. I loved reading about how Sara's mother's affair affected her father. Cohen's portrayal of her father's OCD was realistic. I also enjoyed reading about Sara's relationship with her mother. Sara's classmates were reminiscent of Mean Girls, with Carling being the Queen Bee. Nothing too original, but entertaining nonetheless. I also really liked Leo, Carling's boyfriend, who eventually became the love interest of Sara. Leo's past with Sara's lies were an interesting combination. I only had one major dislike about Little Black Lies. From the beginning, Sara realized her lies were wrong, yet she continued to consciously dig herself into a deeper hole, which completely frustrated me. Despite this, however, I still enjoyed the novel and wanted a sequel. This says a lot considering I am horrible when it comes to finishing series. Fans of Mean Girls should be sure to look into Little Black Lies. |
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