(Disclaimer: The Image above is only the first book in the series)
Hey y'all (I'm not actually from the south though I wish I had the accent). This is my first post, which means that no one is reading it yet! In honor of my first post, I will do it on my favorite teenage series, The Pretty Little Liars series by Sara Shepherd.
Here is the summary of the first book, Pretty Little Liars, from Amazon.com. I am only putting the summary of the first book, because this series is very suspenseful and I would hate to give away the ending.
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?
Now doesn't that sound dramatic?
Okay, so I'm going to rate this series in a number of categories before I write my review.
Writing: 9/10
Plot: 10/10
Book Covers ( We say don't judge a book by its cover.... but haven't you ever picked up a book because of its awesome cover?): 9/10
Characters: 10/10
Age: 13+. I started reading this series when I was 11, and it wasn't exactly appropriate but there were no graphic descriptions. If you watch the Gossip Girl TV show (or anything like it) you'll be fine. And I personally think that reading is reading, so reading a book with some sexual or drug elements is NOT the worst thing that you can do, as long as you don't go out and do the stuff you're reading about.
Review:
I absolutely adore this series! Why? Because it has so many great elements. It isn't just snobby girls milling around and complaining about their horrible lives, there's an actual plot.
The murder mystery is so creative and interesting, and there are not many Young Adult books that achieve as great of a plot as this one. The characters are complex and deep, and each of them have some drama/ suspense in their stories, so you are never bored. The story is told in the third person, but each chapter switches off between having one of the four girls in the 'spotlight' of the chapter, so you don't get too sick of the characters and you find yourself excited to see which character comes next. There is so much going on that when reading books from this series, you are almost never bored. Each book has some closure at the end, but there is still some elements left unresolved which leaves the reader on the edge of their seat (wow major cliche) until the next book comes out. I have found myself counting down the days until these books come out.
My only issues?
- Sometimes there are so many things going on that you can get a little confused and have to go back and re-read what you just read to figure out what's going on.
- ALL of the books leave off on some sort of cliffhanger so it's a little frustrating when you read the whole book and you find yourself still wondering what happened (but its okay because there's always the next book!)
And remember... nothing is what it seems ;)
