Pretty Little Liars (Pretty Little Liars, #1)

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Pretty Little Liars (Pretty Little Liars #1)

by Sara Shepard (Goodreads Author)

3.99 of 5 stars 3.99 · rating details · 53,828 ratings · 4,392 reviews

Everyone has something to hide—especially high school juniors Spencer, Aria, Emily, and Hanna.

Spencer covets her sister's boyfriend. Aria's fantasizing about her English teacher. Emily's crushing on the new girl at school. Hanna uses some ugly tricks to stay beautiful.

But they've all kept an even bigger secret since their friend Alison vanished.

How do I know? Be

...more

Kindle Edition, 304 pages

Published October 6th 2009 by HarperTeen (first published October 1st 2006)

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Nov 19, 2011 The Holy Terror rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: color-yellow, borrowed, mystery, young-adult, surprised-i-didn-t-hate-it, 2010

This series feels like it'll be a total guilty pleasure. It really reminded me of some of the R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike books that I read as a teen, and that's definitely a good thing. It's not literary genius but it's fun and easy to read. I started watching the TV show based on this series and I wanted to find out more because the episodes weren't coming out fast enough for me. I didn't feel like reading and watching the same series was redundant, it felt more like they complimented each...more

38 likes · like · see review

Jan 05, 2011 Jessica rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: teenage girls, people who like young adult books/series.

"Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead."
-Benjamin Franklin.

The first book in the series, Pretty Little Liars, is about five best friends - Emily, Aria, Hanna, Spencer and Alison. Alison is the girl everyone loves, but secretly hates because they’re envious. She is what you could call the secret keeper of the clique, the one that holds the deepest and darkest secrets of each of the girls that nobody else knows and that they wouldn't dare share with another person. During a sleepover...more "Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead."
-Benjamin Franklin.

The first book in the series, Pretty Little Liars, is about five best friends - Emily, Aria, Hanna, Spencer and Alison. Alison is the girl everyone loves, but secretly hates because they’re envious. She is what you could call the secret keeper of the clique, the one that holds the deepest and darkest secrets of each of the girls that nobody else knows and that they wouldn't dare share with another person. During a sleepover in seventh grade, something happens, Alison has walked out the door after a fight and their best friend has disappeared. Rosewood doesn’t seem so picture perfect anymore…

Fast forward a few years later and the four girls are now juniors in high school at Rosewood Day. They have different social groups and none of them have talked since the disappearance of Alison. What brings them together again? Nothing they would have ever guessed. They're all receiving secret messages from an anonymous sender who goes by -A. Not just any messages though - but their secrets that vanished with their best friend and things that are going on in their lives today that they would rather keep hidden.

Emily is testing the bounds of her new friendship with Maya, Aria is doing a little extra credit for English with her teacher, Hanna had vanity insanity and went too far for perfection and old habits are hard to break, and Spencer is getting a little too close to what isn't hers which is her sister's boyfriend. Unless the girls do exactly what -A says, their secrets will become everyone’s news. Who is -A? Why are they doing this? Did their best friend, Alison, come back? What exactly is the big Jenna secret? These are all of the things that are itching to be answered. Read and find out.

This series is for teenage girls and found in the YA section, but I’m out of my teens and still enjoy them a lot. It's a light, fun and easy read that you can definitely read in one sitting because you don't want to put it down until you've found everything out to tie up all the loose ends of the story. Pretty Little Liars has drama and cliffhangers that keep you on your toes and at the edge of your seat.

Next book is Flawless.(less)

80 likes · like · see review

Jul 17, 2010 Alix rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Young Adult Fans

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

21 likes · like · see review

Jul 09, 2010 Morgan F rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, mystery, 2000s, series, goodreads-author, harperteen, multiple, read-2010, medium-sized, e-book

Okay, I'm hooked. I started watching the TV show when it first came out, and liked it well enough. So I decided to see how the book series would compare.

This book follows a former group of friends three years after their leader, Alison, went missing. Now they are getting mysterious text messages from a person known only as "A". "A" knows secrets only Alison knew and trust me, these girls have plenty of them. Despite being only 16, these girls have more skeletons in their closets than the cast o...more

45 likes · like · see review

Feb 24, 2013 Lisa rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, contemporary

I'm ashamed to admit I've read this book, and the only reason I'm copping to it is because I need it for my reading challenge. Pretty Little Liars is not the type of book I usually read, but after a friend admitted the show was one of her guilty pleasures, I decided to check out the book. Unfortunately, I got no pleasure from reading this, only guilt and frustration.

Pretty Little Liars tells the story of Aria, Spencer, Emily, and Hanna, four girls whose best friend, Alison, disappears one night...more I'm ashamed to admit I've read this book, and the only reason I'm copping to it is because I need it for my reading challenge. Pretty Little Liars is not the type of book I usually read, but after a friend admitted the show was one of her guilty pleasures, I decided to check out the book. Unfortunately, I got no pleasure from reading this, only guilt and frustration.

Pretty Little Liars tells the story of Aria, Spencer, Emily, and Hanna, four girls whose best friend, Alison, disappears one night during a slumber party. After their devastating loss the four girls drift apart, leading their own separate lives. Aria spends two years abroad in Iceland, Spencer immerses herself in her academic and extracurricular actives, Emily focuses on swimming, and Hanna loses weight and becomes the new "it" girl at their posh private school, Rosewood Day. Three years later, each of them begin receiving ominous text messages from someone named A, who threatens to expose their secrets—secrets only Alison knows.

The best thing about this book is the premise. In the hands of a good writer, this could have been an engaging read, but there is not one aspect of the story, other than the mystery, that was handled well. The characters are vapid and shallow, and an extraordinary amount of time is spent describing their appearance, in particular their designer clothing. The messages are appallingly unhealthy. One of the main romances is between Aria and her English teacher, which is presented as "true love" rather than an inappropriate affair between a young girl and a much older man, who as her teacher holds a lot of power over her. There are also implied messages about the importance of being thin, wealthy, and wearing designer labels.

The writing was very clunky and unpolished. The dialogue was unrealistic, particularly when it came to the parents. There was an excessive use of dialogue tags and an excessive use of words other than "said." Characters "squeaked," "whispered," "spat," "murmured," and "threw in" all on one page, in the course of one conversation. While I'm hardly a stickler for the "only use said" rule, I found it very distracting here. Instead of relying on the dialogue itself to show how the characters are speaking, the dialogue tags tell us how the lines are being delivered. Shepard also tends to abuse adverbs throughout the text. Most times they were unnecessary, and sometimes they were downright awkward. In one example, a boy "messily dribbled" beer down his chin. The word "messily" is unneeded because it's implied by the situation.

I won't be reading on in the series, although I'm mildly interested to know who A is. The mystery is intriguing, but I don't care what happens to any of the characters, and I can't suffer through glorified student/teacher relationships, or poor writing to satisfy my curiosity. Those who enjoyed the Gossip Girl series will probably enjoy this one. (less)

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May 11, 2008 Jennifer Wardrip rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: trt-posted-reviews

Reviewed by Safia Abdul for TeensReadToo.com

Alison, Emma, Spencer, Aria, and Hanna were once the best of friends back in the summer between seventh and eighth grade. They held private sleepovers, passed notes in homeroom, and shared their darkest secrets. Then a tragic incident shook the safe, suburban town of Rosewood: Alison vanished without a trace. Now years later, Alison still hasn't been found and the other girls are now in the eleventh grade, but are no longer friends.

Emma is the sporty...more

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Feb 08, 2012 Crystal Starr Light rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary, young-adult, mystery

“I'm still here, b!tches. And I know everything."

Once upon a time, five girls were friends: Alison, the ringleader, Aria, Emily, Hanna, and Spencer. Then one day, Alison just up and disappears.

Three years later, the girls begin to receive threatening texts, IMs, and notes about their secrets, past and present. Aria is flirting with the English Teacher; Emily is hanging out more with the new neighbor girl, Hanna has a dirty way of keeping thin, and Spencer is out for her perfect sister's boyfrien...more

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Apr 21, 2011 Petra Sýkorová rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: rc-review, czech, young-adult, drama

Kniha byla vážně dobrá! Seriál se přesně drží originálu a i když jsem díky seriálu věděla, co se bude dít, čtení jsem si užila. Stojí to za přečtení.

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Jan 31, 2008 Victoria rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Teenage Girls

Shelves: realisticfiction

Pretty Little Liars has been my favorite book I have read so far. It is filled with drama, suspense and mystery, but it also brings together friendship and bravery. Four best friends, Aria, Hanna, Emily and Spencer, are separated by the death of their friend Alison DeLaurentis, as she has mysteriously disappeared. They each shared secrets with Alison and one very important one that nobody could find out: the Jenna secret. All four friends soon drifted apart, but were brought back together when...more Pretty Little Liars has been my favorite book I have read so far. It is filled with drama, suspense and mystery, but it also brings together friendship and bravery. Four best friends, Aria, Hanna, Emily and Spencer, are separated by the death of their friend Alison DeLaurentis, as she has mysteriously disappeared. They each shared secrets with Alison and one very important one that nobody could find out: the Jenna secret. All four friends soon drifted apart, but were brought back together when they start receiving mysterious text messages from A. Could A. be Alison? Were all of their secrets about to become secret no more? They must work together to find out who it is soon, because all the information Alison kept confidential is no longer safe.
Aria Montgomery is a free spirit; she became best friends with Alison, Spencer, Emily and Hanna and made documentaries about their friendship. She is crushing on her English teacher and she used to live in Iceland. When she returns home and learns that her friends have all separated, she is shocked to find mysterious texts from A. Now she learns that she must work together with her old friends to find out who A. is, before they tell their old secrets and ruin their lives.
Hanna Marin is the most popular girl in school. She is dating Sean Ackard, the hottest guy in school and she is also best friends with Mona Vanderwahl, together they are the elite clique of the school and they are totally gorgeous, rich and popular, they never used to be though. In the seventh grade, Hanna was chubby, ugly and totally self-conscious about how she looked, and Mona was completely weird, clingy and she desperately wanted to be popular. They both decided that in the summer of seventh they would transform themselves into glamorous, beautiful and totally popular people and they would be best friends for life. They showed up freshman year looking totally hot, and nobody cared about the dirty secrets they used to stay beautiful, nobody that is, until now. Hanna starts receiving terrifying messages from A. that could ruin her perfect reputation and send her life spiraling out-of-control!
Emily is a pale-skinned, redheaded, swim jock. She is the un-girlish of all of her friends and she is constantly attending swim practice and striving to get a swimming scholarship and go to a good school like her sister Carolyn. Emily soon finds out that she is attracted to girls, and when a mysterious text message she receives from A. threatens to display this horrible secret, Emily is forced to stay away from the new girl and her new crush Maya. Will A. tell her deep dark secret? Only time will tell.
Spencer Hastings is your average over-achieving, well-rounded, athletic, smart, beautiful, rich teenage girl. She plays field hockey, does extremely well in school and lives in an amazing house, she has a picture-perfect life, except for one tiny flaw, her menacing older sister, Melissa. Spencer is always trying to live up to Melissa's greatness, be more successful then her, have a cuter boyfriend then her, but when Melissa catches her boyfriend and Spencer making out, Spencer's life is plummeted downhill fast. Then when mysterious text messages from A. start coming, it seems like Spencer's life couldn't get any worse, or can it? Read this totally awesome, action-packed book to find out!

(less)

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Mar 27, 2012 Tiny Pants rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, series, fiction

I had avoided this series because the title is stupid and the cover art is heinous. Then I read the second one, Flawless, and I LOVED it! My only regret is that I didn't read the first one first, since when I then devoured this one, it took a lot of the snap out of the "oh snap!" moments.

These are kind of a thriller/mystery type series, which I've never been into before, but are really, really good. Yes, the characters are still white and wealthy and blablabla, but actually all different from e...more

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Jul 30, 2010 April rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ereader, ya, contemporary

Work can be such a drag sometimes. You get all of your tasks done. You get future tasks done before deadline, so you may be left twiddling your thumbs, just dying for the phone to ring. Or you may end up surfing the internets, if you have an office job like me. Enter the geniuses at Harper Teen who have a few of their books in ebook format online with free full access for a limited time. Friends, I devoured Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepherd in that post-lunch until 5 p.m. time frame.
Read the ...more

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Oct 10, 2012 Lorene Frisbie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This novel would probably appeal to young adult readers, but not so much to older adults. It has a decent mix of characters, typical high school age students with issues like: bulemia, sibling rivalry, partying, teacher/student crush, and shoplifting. A student goes missing and assumed dead. Three years later, the surviving friends begin receiving crypitically correct emails and texts from the missing student. Only this small group of friends knew these secrets....

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Sep 19, 2011 Jianne rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: borrowed-books

Pretty Little Liars is the first book in the Pretty Little Liars series by Sara Shepard. And yes, there's a TV series adaption of the novel which I have not watch but WILL watch soon!

Alison, Hannah, Spencer, Emily and Aria are best friends. Alison, being the queen bee and leader of the group and the popular girl knows the secrets of her friends. Because what Allison wants, Allison gets, Spencer for the first time said no to her which eventually led to them arguing and Alison disappearing. That w...more Pretty Little Liars is the first book in the Pretty Little Liars series by Sara Shepard. And yes, there's a TV series adaption of the novel which I have not watch but WILL watch soon!

Alison, Hannah, Spencer, Emily and Aria are best friends. Alison, being the queen bee and leader of the group and the popular girl knows the secrets of her friends. Because what Allison wants, Allison gets, Spencer for the first time said no to her which eventually led to them arguing and Alison disappearing. That was three years ago. After Allison's disappearance, the girls mourned but also felt relief because Alison no matter how an awesome friend she is, everyone is also scared of her. After she disappeared, the remaining girls drifted apart living life on their own. Hannah replacing Ali as the popular girl in school and is not longer chubby, Emily who is not quite sure whether she is a girl or a lesbian or a by, Aria who has lived in Iceland is now back in Rosewood and is not plain simple Aria, and finally Spencer who is now better than her older sister Melissa. Just when the girls think that things are not going to get worse, well it does. Mysterious messages from a person called A, have been bothering and being sent to the girls. As each of them shared their dirty little secret to Ali, the girls suspect that Ali has come back. But has she? What are these dirty little secrets they try hard to keep? And most of all, who is A?

After reading Trash which is also a YA mystery novel, I expected a lot from this book because Trash blew me away. Anyway, Pretty Little Liars is just as good! It is gripping, seductive, mysterious, devilish yet enjoyable. My mind the entire time was like "who the freaking hell is A?" and I know I'm not alone there. I am super lost for words! (Why is it hard to describe good books?) It is absolutely unputdownable! I read it for a day in school, and school being the reason why I read slower than usual. It is a very light, quick, fun and sexy read. And really OMG, I wanna know! Though I have not watched the series I had heard a lot of good things about it.

I love all the characters! They're all different, unique and easy to connect with. Though my favorite would be Spencer and Aria. This book emphases on "things don't end happily," and they don't do they? And yes, the tag line, Don't trust a pretty girl with a dirty secret. Yes yes, I would like to know what "The Jenna Thing" is! I'm running around in circles trying to figure out who and what! Moreover, I also love the boys here. Dreamy and oh so HOT! I enjoyed reading the narration, and I love the causality of it. The real life problems are present and definitely realistic. The insight of reality will sink you in. This is such a wonderful maze "A" has created. Compelling and I will say it again, UNPUTDOWNABLE (I have 9 classes everyday and I read it for 7 lessons!) wow, I am so happy! I laughed, I smirked, I smiled, I felt sad, just basically I am overflowing with emotions.

However, let me just say the flaws I found. Yes, realistic enough. But exaggerated at times? Not to mention the romance. Moreover, the narration was not deep in terms of emotions but I was able to appreciate it right? I just hope more clues on who "A" is.(less)

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May 20, 2013 Elizabeth Pettee rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The book I read for the fourth quarter is call Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard. The book revolves around four main characters, Emily, Spencer, Aria, and Hanna. Their best friend Alison disappeared one night at a sleep over the five girls were having and was nowhere to be seen. A few years later, none of the girls have talked to each other since, because Alison was known as the girl who kept the other girls together, however, each of them have been receiving messages from an secret person mar...more

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May 09, 2013 Robert rated it 3 of 5 stars

As I wandered through the hallowed high school halls, with a target on my back, being judged and ignored in equal parts, feeling like a space alien with three heads, my shoes squeaking on the hard linoleum, scared that I would be stuffed in a locker before third period and left for three more, I tried to picture a happier place and time, possibly being stuffed in a wooden coffin and buried six feet under, or chained to a basement wall by my ankles. No, high school wasn’t that bad, but it could h...more As I wandered through the hallowed high school halls, with a target on my back, being judged and ignored in equal parts, feeling like a space alien with three heads, my shoes squeaking on the hard linoleum, scared that I would be stuffed in a locker before third period and left for three more, I tried to picture a happier place and time, possibly being stuffed in a wooden coffin and buried six feet under, or chained to a basement wall by my ankles. No, high school wasn’t that bad, but it could have been. Hormones raging like a banshee, peer pressure intercepting you from four directions, and the haves conducting their own form of discipline on the have nots certainly makes for a warped alternate universe, one that I am glad I can safely put in my rearview mirror.

If not for high school, though, and the teasing by the jocks and trying my best to blend into the wallpaper, or the painted lockers, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. But for Spencer, Aria, Emily, and Hanna, they are just getting started, and I can’t really say I’m envious. Even if I could go back and supposedly be one of the cool kids, I’d say not just no, but hell no. And then I’d proceed to punch the genie in the mouth and kick him in the balls.

Despite the classification for PRETTY LITTLE LIARS, this novel felt more romance than mystery/thriller with all the teenage hormones bubbling to the top of the surface. Romance might not truly fit either because I never realized how much teenage girls thought about sex. I mean, I’m a guy, so we think about sex every 37 seconds. But gals think about it nearly as often as we do, probably about every 77 seconds. They’re just better about hiding it.

If you like a little Prada or Gucci or Coach, because you live near Saks Fifth Avenue, then this novel is definitely for you. As you pull on your Abercrombie skinny jeans and Von Dutch t-shirt, paint your lips with Chanel lip gloss, drop your Treo in your cherry-monogrammed coin purse, slide on your Miu Miu heels, stuff a Marlboro between your lips, and climb behind the wheel of your BMW, rumbling across the cobblestone streets of Rosewood on the way to your second student council meeting, the first major meeting since you lost the presidential race and ended up as vice-president, you can listen to this breezy read blaring through your bass speakers.(less)

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Nov 02, 2011 The Itzel Library rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to The Itzel Library by: Publisher

Shelves: 2011, boring, bullying, contemporary, couples, cover-love, dating-violence, de-pesadilla, drugs-and-sex, dysfunctional-family, fiction, forgettable, free, fun, humor, lesbian, love-hate, men-and-women, mental-health, mental-illness, mistery, movies, promiscuo, raro, rev-itzel, romance, series, society, spy, suspense, telenovelesco, to-review, violence, witches, women, wtf, ya

Pequeñas Mentirosas da la pinta de ser un libro ñoño, en realidad es un poco más spooky de lo que se imaginan cuando ven la portada o leen la sinopsis.

Imagínense a un grupo de muy buenas amigas, cubriéndose unas a otras sus travesuras. Poco a poco van surgiendo problemas y un día después de una casi sesión de espiritismo, Alison desaparece. La buscan por todos lados, la prensa cubre todo el caso, pero nunca la encuentran. Y las demás chicas terminan siendo las "amigas de la chica desaparecida".

A...more Pequeñas Mentirosas da la pinta de ser un libro ñoño, en realidad es un poco más spooky de lo que se imaginan cuando ven la portada o leen la sinopsis.

Imagínense a un grupo de muy buenas amigas, cubriéndose unas a otras sus travesuras. Poco a poco van surgiendo problemas y un día después de una casi sesión de espiritismo, Alison desaparece. La buscan por todos lados, la prensa cubre todo el caso, pero nunca la encuentran. Y las demás chicas terminan siendo las "amigas de la chica desaparecida".

Años después, con una amistad que se ha fracturado, cada una de ella ha hecho su vida a su antojo. Todas tienen diversos problemas, desde falta de atención por parte de los padres, preferencias sexuales, desórdenes alimenticios, etc., etc.

De pronto, una serie de mensajes más que reveladores de las vidas privadas de ellas empiezan a ser enviados en pequeñas notas, email's, mensajes de texto; y todos son firmados por "A".

Pero Alison nunca fue encontrada. Y sólo ella podría saber ciertas cosas. Cosas de las que nadie más debería enterarse. Cuando un descubrimiento de lo más extraño e inesperado les alcanza, Aria, Emily, Hanna y Spencer tendrán que unir fuerzas y descubrir quién se esconde detrás de todos los mensajes... antes de que sea demasiado tarde.

Éste es uno de los libros más raros que he leído. No deja nada bueno, no le encuentro ni pies ni cabeza, la más de las veces ya no quería leer y otras tantas sólo seguía por curiosidad. Siendo una serie muy larga, me intriga la "identidad" del mensajero, porque evidentemente, no se resuelve en este libro. Si bien la historia no estuvo tan mal, me siento un poco en conflicto porque no estoy segura de que me gustara pero tampoco me desagradó como para no querer leer nada más. Mmmm fue raro. Creo que es un libro entretenido y, desde que la serie ha tenido tanto éxito, algo bueno debe de haber. Entonces, me quedaré abierta a la posibilidad de leer los demás libros de la serie en algún momento.(less)

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Nov 15, 2012 Mercedes rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

For the most part this first book in the Pretty Little Liars installment was, okay. Granted, this could just be a biased opinion after having watched the television series before hand. I did just try to block out my expectations and take on this book with a fresh pair of eyes. However, the only motivation I could find in order to finish this was the T.V series. I know that the series isn't taking the same direction as the books, but just thinking about how the books will play out; and all of th...more

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Jan 02, 2011 Rita Walbridge rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Pretty little Liars is written by Sara Shepard and the book revolves around the lives of 5 friends at first, but then one of them mysteriously disappears. Her 4 other friends are determined to find out who and why wanted their friend dead or gone. As they try to figure out the author of this evil act they are being haunted/ stalked by a mysterious person named "A" with all their secrets that only their "dead" friend knew. The girls are now trying to deal with their friends death and a stalker. W...more

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May 28, 2011 Lesleigh rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: randolph-co-library, series, favorites, would-recommend, reviews, suspense, chick-lit, kick-ass

Who would want to read a book with a doll on the cover? I mean, isn’t that for like middle graders? WRONG. Pretty Little Liars might start off with the characters in their middle grade years, but before long, they’ve already bloomed into full fledged high school students with personalities of their own.

Hanna, Spencer, Aria and Emily were all nobodies, until Allison found them. Together, they built a friendship, but it was all based on secrets. The only secret the girls didn’t realize was that A...more

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Dec 04, 2012 Marla rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, young-adult

Call it what you want, but PLL was a fun read and I'm hooked! I can tell this is going to be a "guilty pleasure" for me. Shepard brings readers into the lives of the spoiled, rich, entitled, troubled lives of five teenage girls, one of which disappears at a slumber party.

Typical catty, high school antics and creepy, stalker-like messages build a suspenseful story as the girls navigate their young lives and fragile relationships.

From broken hearts to feelings of worthlessness and neglect - this b...more

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Apr 17, 2012 Adela Cacovean rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

În momentul în care a început difuzarea peste hotare a acestui serial, nu am băgat de seamă. Titlul mi se părea comun (în original Pretty Little Liars) și puțin prostesc. Mi-a atras atenția asupra lui o prietenă. La început, am ezitat, însă, apoi, i-am propus iubitului meu să ne uităm împreună la el. Mi-a plăcut mult, așa că am ajuns repede la zi cu episoadele, așteptându-le mereu cu entuziasm, așa că, atunci când a apărut cartea, mi-am zis: de ce nu? Acum că am terminat cartea, m-am gândit să î...more În momentul în care a început difuzarea peste hotare a acestui serial, nu am băgat de seamă. Titlul mi se părea comun (în original Pretty Little Liars) și puțin prostesc. Mi-a atras atenția asupra lui o prietenă. La început, am ezitat, însă, apoi, i-am propus iubitului meu să ne uităm împreună la el. Mi-a plăcut mult, așa că am ajuns repede la zi cu episoadele, așteptându-le mereu cu entuziasm, așa că, atunci când a apărut cartea, mi-am zis: de ce nu? Acum că am terminat cartea, m-am gândit să împărtășesc cu voi, ca de obicei, impresiile.

În mare, serialul a urmat cu fidelitate cartea, însă ceea ce m-a surprins a fost că primul volum a fost ecranizat, ia ghiciți?! Într-un singur episod! Fiind simplă, mai exact scrisă cu cuvinte de zi cu zi, se citește foarte ușor. Astfel, am terminat-o în 5 zile, dintre care am citit mai mult pe fugă.

În carte, ca și în serial, povestea este foarte complexă, destul de greu de explicat pe scurt, însă mă voi strădui. Totul începe cu o prietenie plină de secrete dintre 5 fete de clasa a 7-a: Allison, Aria, Spencer, Hanna și Emily, care se destramă după ce una dintre ele dispare, și anume Allison. Trei ani mai târziu, când fetele sunt la liceu, acestea încep să primească mesaje și email-uri îndrăznețe de la o persoană care se semnează mereu cu „A”. Această A pare să le cunoască toate secretele, secrete pe care ar fi trebuit să le știe doar Allison. După ce îi este găsit cadavrul lui Allison, fetele se reunesc pentru a afla cine este A și cine a ucis-o pe vechea lor prietenă. Ca povestea să fie și mai complicată, fiecare dintre fete are o personalitate puternică și sunt toate departe de a fi fete cuminți. Aria se îndrăgostește de un bărbat de care află mai târziu că e profesorul ei de engleză. Hanna are obiceiul de a fura din magazine. Spencer se află într-o continuă competiție cu sora ei și nu se poate abține să nu flirteze cu iubiții acesteia, iar Emily nu e atrasă de bărbați. Pe lângă aceste secrete, veți afla multe altele dacă urmăriți serialul sau citiți cartea. Eu vă recomand să le faceți pe amândouă. Și aveți grijă cui îi dezvăluiți secretele voastre. Cum spun și versurile opening-ului serialului: Two can keep a secret if one of them is dead. (Două persoane pot să păstreze un secret dacă una din ele e moartă).(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Dec 18, 2012 Maud rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Anyone who doesn't mind a bit of chicklit with a lot of mystery

Shelves: mystery

Alison, Aria, Emily, Hanna and Spencer were best friends, until Alison disappeared. Three years later, the remaining girls, now juniors at Rosewood Day, are leading separate, but charmed lives.
But in Rosewood, appearances are deceiving, and when the girls start receiving mysterious texts signed by someone named A, the past threatens to ruin their perfect present. A claims to know all of their secrets—but who is A? How much does A really know? And what can four pretty little liars do to protect t...more Alison, Aria, Emily, Hanna and Spencer were best friends, until Alison disappeared. Three years later, the remaining girls, now juniors at Rosewood Day, are leading separate, but charmed lives.
But in Rosewood, appearances are deceiving, and when the girls start receiving mysterious texts signed by someone named A, the past threatens to ruin their perfect present. A claims to know all of their secrets—but who is A? How much does A really know? And what can four pretty little liars do to protect themselves from the truth?

Pro’s/Con’s
The con for me with this book was the beginning. You switch so much between all the girls that I had a hard time remembering who was who and who did what.
But after I got that down it was an enjoyable read. I like the fact that you get answers to your questions yet there are still a lot of questions adding up to the pile and after finishing this book I still don't know a lot of stuff. Like Alisons killer and some other things that must have happened before A started to message the Pretty Little Liars.
Another thing that I really liked was the switching point of view. In the beginning it might be hard but after that it gives you a lot of information and it makes it a better read if you ask me.
The last pro thing that I would like to mention is the tension. I think Sara Shepard has done an amazing job with building up and keeping up the tension. Whenever I felt that something must be it, it would be something totally different. And when something seemed so ordinary it turned out to be a whole lot more then that. Overall a job well done.

Recommend it?
Yes, I would. Don't worry if you think this might be too chicklitisch for you, I in general do not like chicklit but this is something different than pretty girls fighting over a pretty guy while one of their friends disappeared. And that's all thanks to A. It's exciting and you will want to read more after this. So pick this up on a rainy day (or sunny it doesn't really matter) and let yourself drown into the world of the Pretty Little Liars. One warning: you might not trust your friends anymore after you have read what these little friends kept from each other...(less)

1 like · like · see review

Apr 30, 2010 Kat Alexander rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, first-in-a-series, read-2010, reviewed, books-i-own

Ah, scandalous! Every now and then, I do enjoy the occasional fluffy, stereotypical trash novel. And upon seeing an ARC of it at a 50-cents-an-inch sale at a library, well, how could I resist?

Pretty Little Liars is typical of teenage-girl fiction. Five friends, one supposed dead. Lots of drugs/drinking, and some of that scandalous behaviour. Oh, and everything has to come crashing down on their pretty little heads--it IS a teenage girls' novel. Still, enjoyable enough to read. There were genuine...more

5 likes · like · see review

Jan 06, 2008 Karin rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: youngadult

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard is a story of four high school girls as they progress through their junior year of high school. Once best friends, they have now grown apart and have gone separate directions. Their friendship started to dissolve when the "queen bee" of their friendship, Ali, disappeared the summer between seventh and eighth grade. Ali knew everyone's deepest, darkest secrets, including one that ties them all together.

The story is told basically in 4 separate stories, followi...more

4 likes · like · see review

Jun 13, 2010 Emily rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Scandal, treachery, and intrigue for the high school set. Pretty Little Liars kept me turning pages and on the edge of my seat. I'm not wholly emotionally invested in the girls yet, but I am interested in their story. How their secrets may come to light or whether they'll find a way to keep everyone in the dark. I'm going to be grabbing the next in the series and see if my interest in what happens to Aria, Spencer, Emily, and Hanna continues.

4 likes · like · see review

May 28, 2011 Stephanie (Stepping out of the Page) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own, chick-lit, young-adult, read-in-2011, series-or-companions, movies-or-tv, lgbt-maintheme, too-much-hype, let-down

Eh, I'm not too sure how I feel about this one but I did have rather high expectations from the majority of reviews that I've seen. Right at the beginning, I didn't enjoy being bombarded with endless designer brands and clichés of rich kids. However, as the book progressed, I did relax, get more into it and found myself laughing at parts. As soon as I adjusted to the characters and learnt more about them, they did become more likeable. At around the halfway point, I really began to enjoy the boo...more

3 likes · like · see review

Oct 15, 2007 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: teens

Creepy...
Beda sama cerita-cerita remaja lainnya.
Menceritakan tentang 5 perempuan yang jadi "it girl" di sekolahnya. Pemimpin mereka namanya Alison, cantik dan ultra populer. Keempat lainnya pengikut Alison, yang punya hubungan benci-cinta sama Alison.
Pada suatu hari, Alison tiba-tiba menghilang. Daerah tempat tinggal mereka yang upper class itu pun jadi terguncang.
Tiga tahun kemudian, masing-masing dari keempat anak yang tinggal dapat surat, sms dan e-mail dari seseorang yang berinisial "A"....more

2 likes · like · see review

Jan 21, 2012 Allison M. rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

After Ally disappeared four friends, Aria, Hanna, Emily, and Spencer, get weird txt message from -A. The girls think A is Ally's ghost until they found Ally's body in her old backyard. The girls must find out how A is. And keep their secrets away from A and try not to get hurt. You should read the books and watch the show. Once you read one you read them all.

1 like · like · see review

Aug 06, 2010 Jen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paid-full-price, read-in-2010, books-i-own

WOW! I give this five stars on account of its sheer unputdownableness. I'm quitting life for the next few day and devoting all my time to reading the rest of this series.

6 likes · like · see review

Apr 22, 2013 Anna rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is really good. It is about a group of friends who drift apart because one of them disappears. Three years later, there is a person who texts and emails them with secrets only Ali (the girl who disappeared) knew. Is it her? If not, who? Read to find out!

I think it was a really good book about an incident which might actually happen to some girls these days. The author highlights the theme of friendship and love through the experiences of these girls.

Perfect for any teenage girl who li...more

1 like · like · see review

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About Sara Shepard

Sara Shepard graduated from NYU and has an MFA from Brooklyn College. She currently lives in Tucson, Arizona. Sara's Pretty Little Liars novels were inspired by her upbringing in Philadelphia's Main Line.

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