Pretty Little Liars (book series): Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 12:50, 19 October 2011
 | This article may require copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling. (March 2011) |
| File:PrettyLittleLiarsSeries.jpg | |
| Author | Sara Shepard |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Young-adult fiction |
| Publisher | HarperTeen |
| Media type | Print (paperback) |
Pretty Little Liars is a series of young adult novels by Sara Shepard. The series follows the lives of four girls — Spencer, Hanna, Aria, and Emily — whose clique falls apart after the disappearance of their leader, Alison. Three years later, when the girls are juniors in high school, Alison's body is found and they begin receiving various messages from someone using the alias "A" who threatens to expose their secrets. The idea was described as "Desperate Housewives for teens".[1]
The first novel, Pretty Little Liars, was released in October 2006.[2] It was followed by eight other books: Flawless, Perfect, Unbelievable, Wicked, Killer, Heartless, Wanted, and Twisted. The tenth book in the series, Ruthless is set to be published on December 6, 2011.
A television series based on the books currently airs on ABC Family. The series stars Troian Bellisario as Spencer, Ashley Benson as Hanna, Lucy Hale as Aria, and Shay Mitchell as Emily.
Pretty Little Liars
| Author | Sara Shepard |
|---|---|
| Publisher | HarperTeen |
Publication date | August 21, 2007 |
| Pages | 304 |
| ISBN | 978-0060887322 |
The story introduces an exclusive group of friends: Alison, the perfect yet manipulative queen bee; Aria, an independent girl who is considered to be the weirdo in Rosewood; Emily, a dedicated swimmer who is secretly in love with Alison; Hanna, who strives to be thin and popular like Alison; and Spencer, an ambitious girl who is constantly competing against and at odds with Alison. Alison mysteriously disappears during a sleepover with the girls the night their seventh grade school year ends.
Three years later, the girls are no longer friends. Aria returns to Rosewood from a two and a half year trip to Iceland with her family and is much more sophisticated than she was when she left. She starts up a relationship with a man who turns out to be her AP English teacher. Emily befriends the new girl in town, Maya, and soon develops romantic feelings for her. Hanna, Rosewood's new "it" girl, struggles with shoplifting and bulimia. Spencer continues to compete with Melissa, her perfect older sister. She falls for Melissa's new boyfriend, Wren Kim.
Throughout the story, the girls receive messages from a person known as "A," who threatens to reveal their secrets of the present and past, including a horrible incident the girls refer to as "The Jenna Thing." They believe it is their missing friend, Alison, because she is the only one who knows all their secrets. However, they realize someone else is taunting them when the police find Ali's corpse buried in the backyard of her former house and think that it is Jenna who is "A".
Flawless
| Author | Sara Shepard |
|---|---|
| Publisher | HarperTeen |
Publication date | March 27, 2008 |
| Pages | 352 |
| ISBN | 978-0060887339 |
The girls continue to receive text messages from an unknown person, "A", who threatens to expose their secrets. The girls begin to believe that the person behind the threats is Toby, as he is the only other person who knows about "The Jenna Thing." Spencer, the only one who knows why Toby took the blame for them for what happened to Jenna, believes he wants revenge for them ruining his life.
"A" taunts Emily about her sexuality and her growing feelings for Maya. Hanna is also pressured by "A" to tell Naomi and Riley, her rivals, that Sean dumped her and that she suffers from bulimia. Hanna is shocked when "A" also reveals that Sean is now interested in pursuing a relationship with Aria, who is still hiding her affair with Ezra. "A" tells Aria to either get rid of Meredith or to tell her mom the truth about Aria's father having an affair. "A" also reveals to Melissa that Spencer has been secretly dating Wren, Melissa's ex-boyfriend.
Emily accuses Toby of murdering Alison; he later commits suicide and Spencer reveals that Toby had molested his step-sister, Jenna. Alison found out about it and used it to blackmail him into taking the blame for "The Jenna Thing." Emily realizes that Toby thought she knew about the abuse and that he was worried she would expose his secret.
Perfect
| Author | Sara Shepard |
|---|---|
| Publisher | HarperTeen |
Publication date | May 27, 2008 |
| Pages | 298 |
| ISBN | 978-0060887384 |
Aria tries to keep her father Byron's affair a secret from her mother and brother, while Hanna deals with her social downturn after not resorting to bulimia to stay thin. Emily starts up a secret, yet tentative, relationship with Maya. Spencer remembers pushing Ali back on a stone path after a heated argument, and fears that she is the one who killed her.
After ignoring "A"'s threats, "A" reveals to Ella, Aria's mother, that her husband had an affair with a student of his named Meredith. Ella, angry and feeling betrayed by Aria, kicks her out of the house. Emily is publicly outed by "A" at a swim meet and Emily's parents attempt to send her to Tree Tops, a "de-gaying" program, and forbid her from seeing Maya. They threaten to send Emily to live with relatives in Iowa if she doesn't comply, but Emily, realizing she can't change who she is, disobeys them. Aria dates Sean, Hanna's ex, while continuing an affair with Ezra; "A" sends pictures of them kissing to Sean, who calls the police. Hanna is humiliated at Mona's 17th birthday party, however, when she receives a text message from "A" regarding the incident, she recognizes the phone number and realizes who "A" is.
She tells the girls to meet her at the Rosewood Day playground, but before she can tell them what she knows, Hanna is hit by a SUV. "A" sends the other girls a message, stating that Hanna " she knew too much."
Unbelievable
| Author | Sara Shepard |
|---|---|
| Publisher | HarperTeen |
Publication date | May 27, 2008 |
| Pages | 352 |
| ISBN | 978-0060887414 |
Hanna survives getting rundown by "A," but has no memory of who "A" is. After Emily's parents catch her with Maya at a party, they send her to live with relatives in Iowa. Depressed, Emily runs away, only coming back home when her parents tell her they accept her sexuality. Emily breaks up with Maya when Maya sees her about to kiss Trista, a girl from Iowa who came to visit.
Aria is forced to move in with her father and his former student and fling, Meredith. Meredith announces that she's pregnant and that she and Byron are to be married. While at a Hollis College art class, Aria befriends Jenna. Jenna reveals the real truth behind "The Jenna Thing," telling Aria that she and Alison plotted together to get rid of Toby. Spencer's family discovers she cheated on her Golden Orchid essay, but keep it quiet to protect their reputation. Spencer confesses to Melissa about kissing Ian, as well as Ian's affair with Alison. She also admits that she's afraid she may have killed Alison. Mona tells the girls that she has also gotten a text from "A."
The girls suspect Melissa as Ali's killer. Spencer and Mona decide to go to the police station to tell them about Melissa. Hanna suddenly remembers "A"'s identity: Mona. Emily texts Spencer to warn her, but Mona prevents Spencer from escaping. She reveals that she and Jenna used to be friends and knows the truth about "The Jenna Thing." She found Alison's diary and used the secrets inside it to taunt the girls as "A." Spencer accuses Mona of killing Alison, but Mona refutes her accusation, stating that Ian must have been the killer, as he was afraid Alison would reveal their relationship to Melissa. Spencer and Mona then get into a physical fight as Spencer once more attempts to escape; during the struggle, Spencer accidentally kills Mona.
The girls go to Ian's court hearing where he pleads not-guilty.
Wicked
| Author | Sara Shepard |
|---|---|
| Publisher | HarperTeen |
Publication date | November 25, 2008 |
| Pages | 320 |
| ISBN | 978-0061566103 |
A new "A" appears and begins threatening the girls.
Emily realizes she is bisexual (or homo-flexible) when she falls for Isaac, a boy she met at church, but keeps it a secret because she doesn't think anyone will understand. She is afraid of revealing her past to Isaac, but "A" eventually forces her to come out to him; Isaac accepts her for who she is. Hanna, desperate to be Queen Bee once more, forms a new "it" clique with her stepsister Kate Randall, Riley, and Naomi. Hanna and Lucas break up after Hanna tells a lie about Kate on "A"'s advice.
Aria has feelings for a man, Xavier, who she met at an art show; however, he ends up dating her mother, putting her and Ella's shaky relationship at risk. Neglected by her family and feeling like an outsider, Spencer comes to believe that she is adopted when she is excluded from her grandmother's will which bequeathed money to her "natural born grandchildren".
Ian continues to deny killing Alison, and eventually the girls discover his body in the woods and learn that he was murdered by "A".
Killer
| Author | Sara Shepard |
|---|---|
| Publisher | HarperTeen |
Publication date | June 30, 2009 |
| Pages | 321 |
| ISBN | 978-0061566134 |
The girls discover that the person they think is Alison's murderer, Ian, has actually been framed. Emily has sex with her boyfriend, Isaac; his mother finds out and threatens Emily, leading to their breakup. Aria falls in love with Jason DiLaurentis until he becomes cold and distant. Spencer meets a woman named Olivia Caldwell who she thinks is her real mother, and attempts to move to New York. However, it turns out to be a scam and she loses all her college money after giving it to Olivia.
At the opening party for Radley, a former so-called "haven for troubled youth", Emily finds proof that Jason DiLaurentis had been a patient there, and soon Hanna, Spencer, Aria and Emily all come to believe that Jason and Darren Wilden had something to do with Ali's murder. Before Ian's death, he had confirmed their suspicions about Jason and Wilden. Someone sets the woods behind Spencer's house on fire. The girls see someone who they believe to be Alison, running away from the fire.
Wanted
| Author | Sara Shepard |
|---|---|
| Publisher | HarperTeen |
Publication date | June 8, 2010 |
| Pages | 259 |
| ISBN | 978-0061566196 |
Now that Alison's killer is on trial, the Pretty Little Liars think they can rest. However, Hanna, Aria, Emily, and Spencer are shocked to learn of the existence of Alison's twin, Courtney, when she's introduced at a press conference. Courtney had spent her life in institutions due to "health issues" and her existence was kept secret by her family. Newly released, she attempts to resume her sister's life and begins tentative friendships with Ali's old friends, even striking up a romantic relationship with Emily, who is overjoyed. Courtney later reveals that she's actually Ali; that the real Courtney had pretended to be her on the night of Ali's disappearance, and she was the one who was killed. One by one, the Pretty Little Liars begin to trust Ali.
Meanwhile, Spencer had begun to believe that her sister is Alison's killer and brother, but Ali is revealed to be the real killer. The girl they were friends with years ago was actually Courtney, and the real Ali was stuck in an institution. Alison killed Courtney, attempted to kill the girls in the forest fire, killed Jenna, and now plans to kill them by setting the house on fire. It says in the letter she gave them that she tried to make them go crazy, like sending Hanna fake tickets to a fashion show, kissing Aria's boyfriend, letting Emily believe that they would have a relationship, and not revealing what Spencer's surprise was. The girls discover that Alison also smoked Ian and kidnapped Melissa - which was the surprise for Spencer - who they free before escaping the burning house. Trapped inside the house, Alison is assumed dead, although her body is never found.
At the cemetery, when Emily is finally letting both Ali and Courtney go, she hears a giggle. At the very end of the book, that a girl has joined a new school, with a name very similar to Alison DiLaurentis.
Twisted
| Author | Sara Shepard |
|---|---|
| Publisher | HarperTeen |
Publication date | July 5, 2011 |
| Pages | 320 |
| ISBN | 978-0062081018 |
Spring break of junior year, the girls go on vacation in Jamaica, where they encounter a girl who they believe is Alison, thinking she survived the fire. The girls are attacked by "Ali" on top of the hotel in Jamaica and in an attempt to save Hanna, Aria shoves Ali off roof, seemingly killing her.
A year later, the girls have parted ways once again. Aria has trouble dealing with the Kahn's new foreign exchange student, Klaudia, who creates rifts in Aria's relationship with Noel, wanting to steal him from Aria. In a fit of anger, Aria pushes Klaudia off a ski-lift, injuring her. Emily befriends a new girl, Chloe, and reveals that she'd gotten pregnant from her fling with Isaac and secretly gave birth to a baby girl in Philadelphia over the summer, which she gave up for adoption. Emily is now panicked about getting a swimming scholarship, her only option for college; Chloe's dad offers to help, but makes sexual advances towards Emily, which ruins her friendship with Chloe.
Patrick, a photographer, offers Hanna a modeling job, however he turns out to be a liar who blackmails Hanna with a racy photo of her. Hanna steals money from her dad's campaign fund to pay him off and frames Jeremiah, one of her father's campaign workers. Mrs. Hastings becomes engaged to Nicholas Pennythistle, and Spencer discovers that Zach, is gay. She promises to keep his secret, but accidentally blurts it out after Mr. Pennythistle misunderstands a situation and accuses Zach of sleeping with Spencer. It revealed that Spencer also ruined the life of a girl she went to an academic summer program with in order to get into Princeton.
Throughout the book the girls are tormented with notes from a new "A," who knows what happened in Jamaica, as well as all their other new secrets. The body of the girl they pushed off the roof is found, and the girls realize that she wasn't Alison, and that they killed an innocent person.
Ruthless
| Author | Sara Shepard |
|---|---|
| Publisher | HarperTeen |
Publication date | December 6, 2011 |
| Pages | 336 |
| ISBN | 978-0062081865 |
For years scandal has rocked Rosewood, Pennsylvania — and high school seniors Aria, Emily, Hanna, and Spencer have always been at the center of the drama. They’ve lost friends, been targeted by a ruthless stalker named A, and narrowly escaped death. And it’s not over yet.
Aria’s love life is on the fritz. Emily’s exploring her wild side. Hanna’s kissing the enemy. And someone from Spencer’s past — someone she never thought she’d see again — is back to haunt her. But none of that compares to what happened last spring break. It’s their darkest secret yet and guess who found out? Now "A" is determined to make them pay for their crime, and the only thing scarier than "A" is the fear that maybe, just maybe, they deserve what’s coming to them.
Reception
Publishers Weekly said of the first novel, "This is clique lit with a mystery twist: the author has spun a plethora of possibilities sure to make readers reach for the next installment in this planned four-book series and beyond."[3] "breathes new life into the tired genre of high society chick lit."[2] Commonsensemedia.org rated it 3 out of 5 stars, saying "This is fluffy guilty-pleasure fare, with few surprises among either the character types or the plotting. Gossip Girl fans probably will enjoy this one -- but parents who read along will find plenty to cringe over."[4]
References
- ^ Maughan, Shannon (June 26, 2008). "Moving On Up: Pretty Little Liars". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved June 4, 2009. [dead link]
- ^ a b "Pretty Little Liars: Reviews and Product Details". Amazon.com. Retrieved May 30, 2009.
- ^ "Pretty Little Liars: Editorial Reviews". BarnesandNoble.com. 2006. Retrieved May 30, 2009.
- ^ Pavao, Kate. "Review: Pretty Little Liars#1". Commonsensemedia.org. Retrieved July 24, 2009.
External links
I know who killed Ali (: