Pretty Little Liars | Flawless | Perfect | Unbelievable | Wicked | Killer | Heartless | Wanted
author: Sara Shepard | publication: 2006 – 2010 | publisher: HarperTeen | cover love: ♥♥
In the exclusive Philadelphia suburb of Rosewood, Alison is the Queen Bee of her elite seventh grade hive. BFs Aria, Hanna, Spencer, and Emily vie for her attention, even as each of them hides a hideous secret only Alison knows. So when Alison goes missing after a slumber party, never to be seen again, each girl is heartbroken, but also a little relieved. Now it is three years later, and though the four girls have grown apart, they are each still hiding something. Artsy Aria is carrying on an affair with one of her teachers, fashionista Hanna shoplifts to accessorize her trendy outfits, blue-blood Spencer is sleeping with her older sister’s boyfriend, while straight-A Emily is trying to ignore her attraction to a new female classmate. When the girls begin receiving threatening text messages and emails that from someone known only as “A,” they must confront the fact that against all odds, it appears Alison is back. Could Alison still be alive? And if so, why is she so determined to uncover all their dirty little secrets? (From Amazon)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON 1/12/2011 ON BOOKSLIKESTARS.NET
Review:
Sara Shepard has easily become one of my favorite authors. I loved this series so much. It’s an addictive, young chic whodunit, filled with gossip, scandals, murders, Tiffany charms and Fendi bags. Aria, Spencer, Emily and Hanna haven’t spoken to each other in three years, ever since their best friend Alison disappeared the night of their seventh grade sleepover. Suddenly, all of them start receiving devious text messages, emails, and notes from the anonymous “A”, threatening to ruin their lives by dishing out their old, hidden secrets on a silver platter: Aria’s cheating dad, Spencer’s fling with her sister’s boyfriend, Hanna’s bulimia and Emily’s girl-on-girl preferences. Even worse is that this mysterious cyber-bully has all the new dirt on them as well. Everything from sticky fingers to stolen essays, percocets to student-teacher flings. At first they think it’s their ex-ringleader, Alison DiLaurentis, back from wherever she disappeared to. But when her body is discovered in a hole behind her house, the girls figure out quick that “A” must be tied to Ali’s death. Now all they have to do is figure out who the killer is, so they can put an end to “A”’s tortures and taunts.
If I had to pick one character as a fav, it would be a tie between Aria and Emily. Aria because of her yak-fur loving, kooky personality. She’s the black sheep out of all the girls so I love her for that. Plus, she’s always falling for guys who break her heart. And then there’s Emily, who I love because she reminds me of my younger self. She’s shy and superstitious (if a red car passes me before I hit the corner, then I’ll have a good day).
It was hard for me to put these books down and walk away. I not just wanted, but needed, to know what was going to happen to the girls in the next installment and what unbelievable tricks “A” was going to play on them. This heartless digital stalker turned their perfect lives into a flawless hell by sending them on wild goose chases, forcing them to humiliate their families, having them arrested, committed, chased, run over, even going as far as trying to set them on fire. Whoever “A” is, she’s one bad bitch. And isn’t going to stop until this pretty little quartet pay for what they’ve done. When I finally grabbed the final book, I was tearing through the pages, desperate to see who is finally revealed as the infamously wicked, “A”.
While reading this series, you find yourself reminded of the scene from Scream, when Randy suddenly yells out:
“There’s a formula to it, a very simple formula. EVERYBODY’S A SUSPECT!”
So who’s “A”? Is it Spencer’s sister? Or better yet, her mom? Is it Rosewood’s golden boy, Ian Thomas? Bad-boy-turned-cop, Darren Wilden? Ali’s brother, Jason? Hanna’s BFF Mona? Little blind Jenna Cavanaugh? Jenna’s ultra creepy brother Toby? The mayor? That dog over there? Or could it be one of the Pretty Little Liars? Seems likely, doesn’t it? Well, you’ll just have to read them for yourself and see…trust me, you won’t be disappointed.
Sara Shepard has decided to continue the series with four new installments, the next one being Twisted (#9), due out in July 2011. She also has a new series called The Lying Game, which if you loved PLL, you should probably pick this one up too. And don’t forget to watch the PLL tv show on ABC Family.
4
