A little different from the show ( )

Felt more like a TV pilot than anything even resembling a full story. Maybe that's my cue to just watch the show instead.

The most interesting part about the book is how it sometimes somehow reminded me of American Psycho.

2,5 stars. ( )

Disappointed in the cliff hanger ending as I'd been hoping for more resolution. Obviously this is going to be spun out for a whole series, which I probably wouldn't mind if I was a younger reader. I liked the way the characters became endearing despite their (fairly major) flaws. Thought the Hanna and Emily storylines were strong (despite Hanna's mother), but found Spencer and Aria's set-ups much weaker and less convincing. The overall idea of a group of friends falling apart after a tragedy is great and works well. Also, the character of the dead girl comes through very strongly throughout the book. ( )

I tried reading this book because I felt like I should. They seemed pretty creepy and gross, but I wanted to be able to judge them knowledgeably. I have no problem with fluffy books - I'm not a book snob by any means. But I couldn't get through this. The book just beats you over the head with all that is soulless about our culture, from extreme materialism to self destruction to try to achieve a twisted idea of success - I had to give up after 100 pages, it was bumming me out too much.

Alison, Aria, Emily, Hanna y Spencer eran las mejores amigas hasta que Alison, la reina del instituto, desapareció sin dejar rastro. Tres años después, sus vidas vuelven a cruzarse cuando empiezan a recibir misteriosos mensajes firmados por «A». Unos mensajes que cuentan más de lo que a ellas les gustaría, cosas que solo la desaparecida Alison sabía. Pero cuando el cuerpo de la reina del baile aparece, y las amenazas continúan, comienzan las preguntas: ¿Quién es “A”? ¿Cuánto sabe en realidad? Y ¿qué pueden hacer cuatro pequeñas mentirosas para protegerse de la verdad?

《I'm still here, bitches. And I know everything.
— A 》

As I watched the first seasons of the TV series I already know what's going on and what's going to happen, but nonetheless I've never lost the interest in the story throughout the whole book and I kept up pretty well remembering everything back again.
The book gives me a kind of "lighter" feel (because of the writing style, I suppose? It obviously can't be because of the plot, duh.), so I can say it's been a fast and lovely read (it actually took me a short time to read it, even if I went through a sort of reading slump that stopped me for 5 days :/).
I'll be trying to go on straight away with the series (I hope so lol)! ( )

This is the first time that I decide to read a book after watching the tv show and I'm happy this is different from the tv show, it feels like I'm rediscovering the story all over again and I love that! ( )

Love this scrumptious mystery! ( )

I’ve never seen the television show based on this series, so I went into this blindly. The 5 girls each have secrets. Then one girl disappears leaving no clues. And the book takes off. The story moves forward with no clue as to what happened to Alison, but each girl is secretly relieved because Alison held secrets on all of them.
The girls drift apart over the years which is why there’s a delay in realizing that they are each experiencing something similar which seems to be related to Alison.
Since this is number one a large series, many questions are answered, yet many more are left open. Then cliffhangers were pretty enticing and I can’t wait to read the next book.
( )

Oh wow. Okay. Where to start with THIS book.

I guess I’ll start by extending Shepard the benefit of the doubt. I think she was trying to write the most sensational, over-the-top, unrealistic and ridiculous teenagers ever. I think. I think this was on purpose and not bad writing. Right?

The next thing I’ll do it give Emily some props. Of all the characters in this nightmare of a novel, I think that Emily was the most… human? Her character is the only one here who I think could have had an actual, interesting, “doesn’t make me groan aloud and roll my eyes a lot” story. I more or less enjoyed the pieces from Emily’s POV, but she was not enough to save this book as a whole.

That aside. Wow. Pretty Little Liars is an absolute train wreck.

Lets make a list of some NOPEs, shall we?

Elitism
Fatphobia
Bullying
Adult/minor relationships
Infidelity
Homophobia
Just… really terrible parents? And friends. And boyfriends. And characters in general.
I am almost 100% sure I missed something there, but those are some of the things that made me want to hurl the book across the room… only this was an audiobook and my phone is expensive. Pretty Little Liars came out when I was in high school, near the age of these girls, and I’m so grateful I didn’t pick it up at the time because I was impressionable and already really really conscious about my weight, and the Hannah storyline was hugely problematic and probably would have been impressionable on 16 y/o me. So many of the characters in this novel make the most dramatic, unkind, unhealthy decisions possible. It was more disturbing than “thrilling”, I guess, with particular emphasis toward Aria/Ezra being a big fat NOPE, Emily’s boyfriend’s behavior bringing me SO MUCH rage, and of course, Hannah’s storyline.

Okay that’s the characters. Lets talk about some other things.

The pacing on this book was slow. It feels like it should be quick, but between the four POVs, I honestly felt like nothing was happening. We went through each of the POVs once and each of the girls did A Thing. Then went went through them again, and the girls did more or less the same thing again. Then through again, seeing the discovery. Again, reacting. End of book. Nothing happened, and it took forever to get there.

I have issues with the realism of everything, but again, that falls into the arena of giving Shepard the benefit of the doubt on her choices here.

The writing as well was just… sort of icky. There’s this scene early in the book where Spencer decides to strip down to her sports bra, underwear, and knee-high field hockey socks and go into the hot tub. And for some reason that scene bothered me an extra lot. Like it had it’s own problematic bits, but I honestly just couldn’t get past the fact Spencer went into the hot tub with knee-high socks. Why? Socks are the best thing to take off at the end of the day, especially after practice. I’m pretty sure Shepard did it just to allow Spencer to be mortified at her lack of glamour when A BOY OMG OMG OMG OMG sees her. For whatever reason, it was this scene that stuck with me as an example of the overall drama and ridiculousness that was this book.

There was a point as I was listening to it when I realised, Oh no. I’m going to have to read a bunch to find out who A is. Because the underlying story was intriguing. It was just everything else about the book that I disliked. Then I remembered – the series was over and I could Google the answer. Thanks Internet, you beautiful spoiler machine! Now I know the end of this series and don’t have to read any more… and wow was it anti-climatic. I would have been annoyed to read sixteen books and have it end there. Goodbye and good riddance, Pretty Little Liars! ( )

there was a scene in this book where 17yr old girls sprinted for three miles. such d u m b garbage, but joke's on me cause I'm the one still reading. ( )

The best things about this series are the things that make it addictively easy to read: every chapter some new crazy thing happens, it's simply written but charismatic, it's absolutely vapid...... Meanwhile, every main character is the same person with a slightly different gimmick, every boy looks, sounds, and acts the exact same, the mystery fumbles all its hints and red herrings, and most scandals just end up with a badly-timed kiss. Can't help it though :'| it's so perfectly consumable. ( )

Being a fan of the series, I was interested to reading the books in which the series were based on. Pretty Little Liars tells of four friends and their lives years after their friend disappeared. This book covers a week in the lives of Aria, Spencer, Emily, and Hannah (which in the series equals up to the first episode) as they begin their junior year and each start to encounter their pasts. This book is a quick read which each chapter switching to a different girl from where they have been, the mysterious A, what happens next etc it however is not until the last chapters that we see these friends reunite. Overall this book is interesting and leaves the reader wanting more yet leaves them in a mystery as to not knowing what will happen next as with each character. ( )

i watched the tv show before i read the books and now, after reading the book i see why the tv show says its 'based on' the books. the same events happen, same characters with the same names and they look the same, act the same, dress the same.
the same events happen, such as Alisons death and other things but they happen in different orders.
Fantastically written and full of scandal and suspense, the first in the Pretty Little Liars series is not to be forgotten. ( )

Pretty Little Liars follows four girls who used to be best friends until their de facto leader disappeared the summer before they started 8th grade.

Spencer Hastings, Hanna Marin, Aria Montgomery, and Emily Fields were all best friends before Alison DiLaurentis (known as Ali) disappeared one summer evening. All of the girls had secrets that only Ali knew and though they were sad at her disappearance, all of them felt relieved since she knew some things about all of them that they would never want anyone to know. Fast forward a few years and it is now junior year for these girls at their private school in Pennsylvania. All of the girls have drifted apart from one another and have various upheavals going on in their lives at the moment. All of them start receiving mysterious text messages from a person called "A" who reveals their past mistakes and seems to have knowledge of things in the present that they would not like anyone to know.

I thought that the writing was very good and the story moved fast. Each chapter alternates between either Spencer, Hanna, Aria, or Emily. Ms. Shepard has each chapter labeled with their names but honestly each girl's voice is do distinct that you will not have any trouble telling the narrators apart. Out of the four girls I have to say that I liked Spencer the most followed by Emily. Hanna I felt really sympathetic for and Aria got on my last nerves throughout the entire book.

At times certain things in the book (such as everyone being totally ok with these teens drinking and no one ever carding them) caused me to be taken out of the book. This novel touches upon so many different threads (bullying, bulimia, perfectionism, etc) but manages to keep all of these threads from being tangled up with one another so I was able to read the book and enjoy it.

I can say I am not a really big fan of books that end on cliffhangers but I realize that this is a series and for you to find out who "A" is and all of the other secrets the Liars have not divulged yet you will have to continue to read the series. I honestly don't have time for that right now with all of my other books I must get through, but I probably will circle back to this series in a few years just so I can finally figure out who "A" is and what in the world was the Jenna thing that the Liars kept talking about but not providing any details in the book to the reader. ( )

4.5/5

No Spoilers. If you have watched the show and/or read the books, then you will already know all of this. And if you have already read all of the books, please do NOT give me spoilers.

I loved the book but I can't say it was a favorite. Maybe that's because I've already started watching the show, so the first 3-4 books will probably be things I pretty much already know, but with a few more details than the show can give. I can actually say I like the look of the characters in the show better than in the book (the descriptions given). They all fit better to me in the show (maybe because that's what I'm used to now).

As always, some things about the books changed when they made the show (beyond how the girls look). I can give it to Sara Shepard, her writing style is simple but really good. She gives just enough detail for you to understand what's going on without over doing it. She makes you want to read it. The chapters in the book aren't that long. In the book and in the show, I think my favorite is Aria. I don't know why. I like a little about everyone though. Spencer is the outspoken, I don't care what you think kind of person. Hanna is learning to be comfortable with herself but still has her struggles. Emily, although she fights a lot of who she is in the beginning, begins to just say Forget it, I'm just going to be me and be happy with that. Aria, like the other three, has her struggles but she seems to be coming into herself as well.

I won't go through what I like and dislike about all of the characters but I will say that of all the boyfriends, I love me some Caleb!...But so far, he hasn't shown up in the books (just started book two). I still kind of like Ezra but questioning him and his intentions and still think he is way too old for Aria. But I can say that Toby is running a close second with Caleb, but I'm still wondering about him too.

I went into the T.V. show not sure what I would think but ended up loving it, that's what made me want to read the books. I hope I can get through them before the end of season 5, or at least through enough of them to be ahead of it and know what may happen before the end of this season (at minimum). That is, if they don't make drastic changes. But, seeing that I do not have cable or satellite (and refuse to get them right now, I am still one episode behind right now and may just wait until they put the whole season on Netflix before I watch them all). ( )

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard is about 4 girls who are connected by their old BFF, Alison (Ali) DiLaurentis. Their names are Spencer, Aria, Emily, and Hanna. For 7th graders they have pretty big secrets, all of which Ali knows. They are all having a sleepover when Ali disappeared. Ali was a manipulative queen bee, but they all loved her.
Fast forward to three years later when Ali is still missing. Aria moved to Iceland after Ali vanished, and Hanna became popular. Spencer and Emily matured. Aria moves back to Rosewood. (Where they are)
The girls (minus Ali, who is presumed dead) start getting threatening messages sent by someone named A . They all assume it’s Ali. They do not tell each other (because they are not friends anymore) A reveals their secrets and ruins their lives. Their secrets, by the way, are: Emily is lesbian. She kissed Ali once, and was secretly dating Maya St. Germain.
Aria kisses a guy at a bar, and he turns out to be her teacher. They are secretly illegally dating. She also knows about her Dad’s affair with one of his students.
Hanna was bulimic. She used to be fat but when Ali left she changed. She and her also popular new BFF Mona Vanderwaal shoplift often.
Spencer… Oh Spence. She kisses her perfect older sisters (Melissa) boyfriend in 7th and then has a crush on her current boyfriend Wren.
A also dangles over them all a terrifying group incident called The Jenna Thing, which is revealed in the second book. It was a great read! It’s mature though, and can be pretty violent.

I gave this book a 4 ½ star rating because it was everything I love in a book. It had romance, mystery, and had me unable to put this book down. I took half off because I didn’t know what the Jenna Thing secret was the whole book. At least the author, Sara Shepard, spilled the beans pretty quickly in the second book. You should read this book because it is very suspenseful and cliff hanger-y, which I usually hate but these books were so good I didn’t mind. The book is mature, and if it were a movie I would rate it PG-13. Read it- you won’t regret it! -A
(Jk it's Jayna. Meow ) ( )

I simply could not identify with nor sympathize with any of the characters in this book, try though I might for several chapters. I got it to read along with Gone Girl since those two were used in the description of another YA novel I read recently, but also did not like. I suppose this is simply not my type of book. Sorry.
I think that this was also first person present tense narration, but I was too taken aback by the scenario to recall now that I've returned it to the library. ( )

Pretty Little Liars is a book about 5 girls who have been best friends since they were born. They're moms where friends while they all were pregnant. So they're really close. Alison (The group leader who bossed all the girls around without them even knowing she did it) is the mean girl. One day Spencer couldn't handle doing everything that Ali told people to do. She was tired of everything Ali wanted done perfect. So she tells Ali off and Ali runs away and doesn't return. Two years later, the group has now been separated but they all come back together connected with a sober bully.

I loved this book, because it's just like The Vampire Diaries. Theres action and drama and gossip. It's all about the girls who are going through a hard time because they thought they were all pretty and popular, but with out Allison there will always be someone to bully them. ( )

I really didn't like that there were so many brands all through the book! The first half felt like one big advertisement. But other than that I really liked it especially because I didn't get to see the beginning of the TV series so I really didn't know the whole background (like Mona, I was just kinda like what's a Mona?) and stuff about all the people. That being said the books and the TV series seem really different. Like I saw some of the stuff in the first book when I was watching and I started really late into the show, but it was still the first book, but I already started the second book and stuff from that book happened already in the TV series too. (And out of order, like the stuff in the second book happened in the show before stuff in the first book happened) I know this is a review for the book not the tv show but I also know it was written to be a show not a book so. ( )

I think my rating of this book has been colored by the television series. I started watching the series when it came out and am just getting to read the books now. So, my expectations are tailored to the characters of the tv show and the differences between them let me down a little. I don't know why, because I know that the books and tv show of something are never the same.

The thing I find the most strange is that all the girls smoke and their parents let them drink wine at home. Not many parents do that, at least that I know of. But I suppose there's the fact that all of these girls are more well off than any of my friends. It's interesting to see how they changed the characters' families around.

In the book Emily has three older siblings, and in the show she (at least seems though it hasn't been confirmed or denied) to be an only child. Spencer's parents are completely uptight and harsh, and Aria's parents are the exact opposite. I also love how Aria's brother's name is Michelangelo. The names couldn't fit any better with their parents mantra of being creative and expressive.

I also love the random teenage references, and even the snack items that Shepard decided to include, like Sour Apple bubble tape and Tahitian Treat. I haven't had either one in so many years, I was left really wanting a Tahitian Treat as I read. There have been imitations of it, but nothing compares to the real thing.

Even with the differences between the book and the show, I am looking forward to reading the next installment of the series, both for the factor of making comparisons and just to see what happens next. ( )

I'll only review book one, because honestly, I may not even continue the series. I was annoyed most of the time with this book due to the main characters, who are basically privileged brats. that sounds horrible to say, but I felt like they all complained about very minor things, while they are potentially being stalked and harassed by a mysterious possible murderer. ( )

Audio-wise, the narrator's voice fit really well with the story but as a result got annoying after a while. (Think teenage girl deliberately trying to sound shallow/dumb). I broke it up by reading the ebook between commutes. It's a guilty pleasure, but with decent character development. And of course the cliffhanger at the end means I will be starting book 2 (Flawless) immediately. ( )

Since I fell in love with the television series, I decided to read this as I watched the show. The first book is much more detailed than the series, and has a different plot. Although I loved reading this book, I still enjoyed the show better! Still a good read, though! ( )

If you have seen the TV series, don't bother reading the book series. Or at least the first few novels. They are almost identical to the show. I know they deviate significantly later on, but after seeing the first season and reading this book, it felt like I was reading the script. Normally I would be impressed; this time, I was not. ( )