Pretty Little Liars

This post first published August 27, 2011.

Author: Sara Shepard
Published: October 2006
Publisher: HarperTeen
Series: Pretty Little Liars #1
286 pages (paperback)
 
Pretty Little Liars is not a book I would usually read. I’ve seen it many times in stores, and — I admit — it’s the kind of book that looks like garbage. It just looks like it, I’m sorry! Even though I frequently read books that involve teenagers, I don’t normally read books that I think are just about a bunch of bickering girls in high school because it’s not my thing. Well, this book does involve a bit of that, I won’t lie, but Pretty Little Liars was surprisingly good! I ended up liking it quite a bit despite going into it thinking, “I probably won’t like this very much”. I picked it up to read (I live like, 3 minutes from the public library) after my friend Marjorie gave it a shot and ended up quite liking it. And I trust Marjorie’s opinions on books so I decided I had to read this too.

I think this has become a guilty pleasure series for me.

The story begins with five close friends in the 7th grade — Ali, the “ringleader” of the group, and Hanna, Emily, Spencer and Aria. They’re all great friends, but there seems to be a little fear of Ali as well, because she knows a secret about each one of her friends, a secret that they don’t want anybody else to find out. Even worse, the five of them have a group secret, a terrible one that involves a terrible prank gone wrong that they told no one.

However, one day, Ali mysteriously disappears after a sleepover party.

Three years later, the girls are entering the 11th grade. They more or less have stopped being friends ever since Ali became a missing persons case. They have each moved on and found new friends. But now, each one of them are receiving mysterious messages via text messaging and e-mails from someone who is haunting them with their secrets, and seems to be tracking their every move.
I’m not going to pretend this is a stellar piece of literature because it’s not. It’s quite the opposite of stellar literature, actually. It is, however, addictive and easy to read — perfect for those summer days where you’re just feeling too hot to move much (which is the circumstance I was in when I read this, heh). The characters are quite easy to relate to. I don’t mean directly — how many of us are (or were) rich girls from rich families attending a rich private school? — but I’m sure many of us have had to dealt with boys, self-esteem, insecurity issues, living up to your parents’ dreams, avoiding rumours from your peers, etc.

While I didn’t really like any of the characters, and I can’t say I had the same high school experiences as them, the characters (like Marjorie mentions) reminded me of how idiotic one can be when they were in 7th grade, or 11th grade. 7th grade is around the time girls start taking an interest in boys (as opposed to “ew! cooties!”) and I still remember how boy-obsessed me and my own friends were during that time — embarrassing memories, to be sure. Anyway, two of the girls in this book are actually admirable in some ways — they are A students who are aiming to be the best they can be. So it’s not just silly teenagers doing silly things :P

There is quite a bit of underage drinking, sexual scenes and smoking of pot in this story. While I do not condone such behaviour for middle-and-high schoolers (mostly middle-schoolers; I always figure high schoolers are old enough to make their own decisions, and drinking never seemed that bad to me but that may be because up here the legal drinking age is 19 (the characters are 17/18)), I disagree with the reviews I read that this is not a realistic portrayal of 7th/11th graders. Actually, I think it is realistic. Obviously not every kid does all this stuff, but you’d be surprised how common this kind of behaviour is in kids these days — and it’s happening at even younger ages, shockingly enough. I never did any of that kind of stuff because I hung out with a different circle of friends, but I heard of many kids from my old schools who did. Anyway, if that kind of stuff bothers you, I don’t recommend reading it.

But! If you don’t mind that kind of stuff, then you are in for a suspenseful story! It’s a light hearted and fun story, the kind you don’t really want to put down because you’re just so intrigued by what’s happening between the characters. There actually isn’t really much gossiping or backstabbing or catfights between the characters at all. Instead, it is about four girls who are, in a way, trying to “discover” themselves and their true passions … while their past keeps haunting them.
I can honestly say I really enjoyed this book! The ending was really great too, it was something I never predicted. The book ends in a way that it gives you a sense of closure, but also leaves enough room open for sequels. And I know this series has quite a bit of sequels — and I’m going to read them all! (Eventually).

My Rating: 4/5