Starred review from July 27, 2020
When high school junior Avery Grambs learns that the violent, domineering boyfriend of Libby, her half-sister and legal guardian, will be sharing their apartment, she moves into her car. Then Avery is summoned to attend the will reading of billionaire and complete stranger Tobias Hawthorne. Avery and Libby travel from Connecticut to Texas, where they are stunned to learn that Tobias left the bulk of his estate to Avery. To inherit, she must spend a year living in Tobias’s labyrinthine mansion with his two furious daughters, who think she is a con-woman, and his four brilliant, hypercompetitive grandsons—Nash, 25; Grayson, 19; Jameson, 18; and Xander, 16—who believe she is their puzzle-obsessed grandfather’s final riddle. As Avery gets swept up in the boys’ quest for answers, she starts to feel like she belongs—until someone on the grounds tries to kill her. Tony trappings and a boldly drawn, predominantly white cast complement the delightfully soapy plot of this strong, Knives Out–esque series opener from Barnes (Little White Lies). The denouement underwhelms, but an abundance of cryptic clues and tempestuous love triangles provides ample enjoyment. Ages 12–up. Agent: Elizabeth Harding, Curtis Brown.

July 1, 2020

Gr 7 Up-Barnes's meticulously crafted novel is like the film Knives Out for the YA world, perfect for any reader seeking suspense, romance, and glamour. This Cinderella story gets its twist when Avery Grambs, a teen living out of her car and dreaming of a financially stable future, inherits billionaire Tobias Hawthorne's fortune. Avery is sure she's never met a Hawthorne in her life, but she's just become the star player in Tobias's final puzzle. Forced to move into the rambling Hawthorne House to retain the inheritance, Avery discovers that hidden passageways aren't the only secrets on this estate. She strives to learn all about the enigmatic Tobias Hawthorne-and discovers this inheritance game was decades in the making. Armed only with the letters Tobias left his four grandsons, Avery becomes determined to solve their riddles if only to answer the question: Why her? The secondary cast of characters offers diversity in both race and sexual orientation, within the Hawthorne family and the private high school where Avery enrolls. Barnes crafts high-stakes tension, a swoony love triangle, and a large but memorable cast of characters. The novel manages to tie up the mystery and set up its sequel with a killer cliffhanger. VERDICT Fun and fast-paced, fans of Karen M. McManus's One of Us Is Lying and Maureen Johnson's Truly Devious will find a new home at Hawthorne House. Even reluctant readers will devour this book.-Emmy Neal, Lake Forest Lib., IL

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Starred review from August 15, 2020
A teen must solve a multilayered puzzle to find out why she's the recipient of a billionaire's inheritance. One day Avery--with her mother dead, her father missing for years, and her guardian half sister on the rebound with her abusive boyfriend--is living out of her car. The very next day she is on a plane to Hawthorne House, a mansion in Texas, where she discovers she's the beneficiary of billionaire Tobias Hawthorne's fortune. She must, however, abide by one condition: living for a full year with the snubbed Hawthorne family--a family that includes the billionaire's four grandsons, young adult brothers who share a mother but have different fathers. This whirlwind story gains even more intensity when Avery learns that Hawthorne was a master of games and manipulation. To understand her role in the billionaire's final game and why she's the recipient of his inheritance, she must piece together clues left in his massive estate filled with hidden chambers. Short, snappy chapters supply nonstop momentum with red herrings, more family secrets, and even attempts on her life. To help her solve the riddles, Avery must turn to the Hawthorne brothers even if there's some romantic interest at play--and even if they're the ones who want her dead. The main characters are White; one brown-skinned Hawthorne brother describes himself as multiracial. Part The Westing Game, part We Were Liars, completely entertaining. (Mystery. 14-18)

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October 15, 2020
Grades 9-12 Avery Grambs is used to maximizing her options. Her mom's dead and her dad's out of the picture, but she and her optimistic-despite-everything half sister scrape by. When Avery is summoned to the reading of Texas billionaire Tobias Hawthorne's will, she's utterly perplexed; she never even met the man. She's even more bewildered to learn that he left almost his entire estate not to his daughters or grandsons but to her, with one condition: Avery must move into Hawthorne House, a giant mansion filled with puzzles, secret passages, and Tobias' deeply irked actual family, for a year. As she delves into the mysteries of the house, Avery also becomes caught up with the four Hawthorne brothers, all raised on secrets, each with his own deeply held motivation. The seemingly indefatigable Barnes (Deadly Little Scandals, 2019) digs into the teen psyche in this well-characterized mystery that's packed to the brim with twists and tricks. Hand immediately to teen fans of Knives Out or readers who love Maureen Johnson's Truly Devious series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)