Pretty Little Liars - Sara Shepard

Three years ago, Alison disappeared after a slumber party, not to be seen since. Her friends at the elite Pennsylvania school mourned her, but they also breathed secret sighs of relief. Each of them guarded a secret that only Alison had known. Now they have other dirty little secrets, secrets that could sink them in their gossip-hungry world. When each of them begins receiving anonymous emails and text messages, panic sets in. Are they being betrayed by some one in their circle? Worse yet: Is Alison back?

Spencer Hastings

Let's start with my favorite Liar in the tv show. Spencer is a huge nerd. She doesn't whine too much, and is pretty chill. She's a bit masculine in the way she dresses and behaves, but can still be very fragile and love-longing at some times. Even though I loved how down-to-earth she was, almost having sex and being in love with your sister's lover was a dick move. Like, it was so wrong. She was the only one with an actually passionate and/or legal relationship though.

I hated her parents so much, her parents obviously prefer Melissa (her sister) over her. When she finally did something great, she got their attention, and was way too happy with that. I hope her bond with her parents grows in the future.

Aria Montgomery

My second favorite Liar in the tv show. She's a little more dramatic in the book. She is so desperate for boys it actually made me cringe. I mean, starting a relationship with your teacher? Only having talked/kissed with him once and knowing he's "the one"?(her actual words). She didn't have any problems with her parents at all, and had a sibling-relationship with her brother. I didn't think she had much to whine, but she still did. 

I love her style: cowboy boots with fringes,  colorful tops and a lot of colors overall. She has gone through many phases, and is still trying to find herself.

Emily Fields

Even though she's my least favorite Liar in the tv show, I preferred her in the books. She's the typical shy girl that never rebels, until she befriends Maya, a girl living in Alison's house. Maya makes her feel and do things she's never done before. Because she wants to impress Maya, she smokes weed and jumps in a river. She also realised she didn't even like her boyfriend. 

After a few moments with Maya, she realises she's falling in love with her. I have never been in love with a girl, but I'm bisexual, so this actually made me like her way more. When she kissed Maya and Ben (her boyfriend) found out and called her things, I couldn't help but feel so bad for her. Her parents are racist and homophobic (Maya is black), and while she hasn't come out yet, when she does, I hope all goes well. I'm really looking forward to reading about a lesbian couple, cause LGBTQ+ isn't mentioned in a lot of books, and if it's mentioned, it's sometimes as an insult.

Hanna Marin

My least favorite Liar in the book. She thinks she can get away with everything, and doesn't even realise that her decisions have consequences. She steals just for the adrenalin, and steals her boyfriend's car when he says that he doesn't want to lose his virginity to her. Like, how stupid is that? 

I get that she has some serious mental issues, that she's had Bulimia (and it's slowly coming back? I'm not really sure). And she has this obsession with being "perfect", that's actually gotten in her head way too deep. Her mother isn't like any mother should be, she's okay with her daughter stealing and even sleeps with the policeman for her. Even though her mom thinks she's doing her job right, she is far from that. Her bond with her father also isn't that tight, I hope that improves in the future and we'll see more of Kate.

Alison DiLaurentis

What a bitch. She didn't treat her friends right. I'm guessing this is an act to be cool, cause everyone has that (I did too, let's not talk about that). But I just thought: 'What if she had treated them well?' Would Emily have been more accepting over the fact that she was in love with Alison? Would Hanna have not felt like a "fat pig"? Would Aria have delt with her father's secret better? I know she returns in the TV show, and I'm hoping she does too in the books. She's really something special, and I'm so excited to read her backstory.

Preferring one Liar over the other

This book switches it's point of view. And because the Liars aren't great friends in the beginning, I started to prefer one Liar's story over the other's really soon. Because of the small cliffhangers every chapter, it suddenly got really boring to not be able to read further and having to read 3 more chapters. I hope as their friendship grows, it will become less frustrating.

Title: Pretty Little Liars

Author: Sara Shepard

Series: Pretty Little Liars (book 1)

Even though I already know who book-A is, and I don't think I'm up for 16 books, I'll still read further to see how the story unfolds. For now, it's a 3/5 stars from me. 

Dominique