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| It seems like only yesterday that Hanna Marin, Alison "Ali" DiLaurentis, Spencer Hastings, Aria Montgomery, and Emily Fields were carefree, fun-loving seventh graders at posh private school Rosewood Day. Planning sleepovers, gossiping about boys, braiding each others hair, sharing secrets. But like the flip of a switch, everything changed. Ali mysteriously disappeared, and the four other girls parted ways. That was years ago. Now the mysterious "A" has dredged up the past once more; barraging Hanna, Spencer, Aria, and Emily with painful memories of the past via text messages. It's obvious that "A" is Ali's killer; but if the girls tell, one of them will be the next to die. | |||
| Hanna Marin has always been so full of life. Shopping as much as possible, prancing around in sky-high platforms, and perusing fashion and gossip websites to get her daily fix of all things celebrity. Seeing her lying in a hospital bed, unable to speak, bruises dotting her face, in a coma seems completely out of the ordinary. Aria Montgomery, Spencer Hastings, and Emily Fields know Hanna, and this isn't her. But it is a reminder of just how close "A" truly is to them; and how "A's" threats are absolutely true. But Hanna isn't the only one in turmoil at the moment. | |||
| Emily Fields has suddenly been shunned by her family. The fact that she has come out of the closet, so to speak, shames her parents, and even her sister, and has landed her on a one way trip to Iowa to live with her strict aunt and uncle, along with their children. Iowa seems like the worst place on earth. But some of the people there are actually pretty cool; and very into Emily. | |||
| Spencer Hastings has finally come to the realization that she has black-outs at times, and can't help but wonder if she is the one responsible for Ali's death. With the Golden Orchid competition coming up, however, Spencer has no time to think about the past - only the future. After stealing her older sister's essay, and having it nominated for the Golden Orchid, Spencer can't believe that her family is supporting her in this competition. But it's up to her to do them proud. Too bad she has a strange feeling that somehow, her lying, stealing, cheating ways are going to come back to haunt her. | |||
| Aria Montgomery wants nothing more than to be with her older teacher, Ezra. But after "A" spilled the beans about Aria and Ezra's little affair to Aria's boyfriend, that's impossible. Suddenly, Ezra is under scrutiny, and Aria has been cast out of her temporary living space. The only thing left for her to do is to turn to her cheating father, Byron, and his artsy girlfriend, Meredith. But turning to the two of them is right up there with selling your soul to the devil, and Aria doesn't know if she's ready to do something so drastic. | |||
| ===''Wicked''=== | ===''Wicked''=== | ||
Revision as of 05:57, 1 April 2011
For the television series, see Pretty Little Liars (TV series). | This article may require copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling. You can assist by editing it. (March 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| File:PrettyLittleLiarsSeries.jpg | |
Pretty Little Liars Flawless Perfect Unbelievable Wicked Heartless Killer Wanted Twisted Ruthless | |
| 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. The year later, they begin receiving various messages from someone using the name "A" who threatens to expose their secrets. Originally developed as a television series by book packaging company Alloy Entertainment, the idea was described as "Desperate Housewives for teens." Alloy met author Shepard and gave her the property to develop into a book series. The first novel, Pretty Little Liars, was released in October 2006. It was followed by Flawless and Perfect in March and August 2007, Unbelievable and Wicked in May and November 2008, Killer in June 2009, and Heartless in January 2010. Wanted, announced as the eighth and final installment, was released on June 8, 2010. In December 2010 Shepard announced that she would write four more novels in the series, beginning with Twisted, to be released on July 5, 2011.
A television series based on the novels premiered on ABC Family on June 8, 2010. The series stars Troian Bellisario as Spencer, Ashley Benson as Hanna, Lucy Hale as Aria, and Shay Mitchell as Emily.
Novels
Pretty Little Liars
| Author | Sara Shepard |
|---|---|
| Publisher | HarperTeen |
| Publication date | October 3, 2006 |
| Pages | 286 |
| ISBN | 0060887303 |
The story introduces an exclusive group of friends: Alison DiLaurentis, the perfect yet manipulative queen bee, Aria Montgomery, an independent girl who is considered to be weirdo in Rosewood, Emily Fields, a swimmer who holds secret feelings for Alison, Hanna Marin, who strives to be thin and popular like Alison, and Spencer Hastings, an ambitious girl who is brave enough to stand up against Alison's manipulative ways. Alison mysteriously disappears during a sleepover with the girls before their 8th grade school year began.
The story then jumps 3 to 4 years after, where the girls are now separated. Aria returns to Rosewood from a 2 year trip to Iceland with her family and comes back much more sophisticated than before she left. She meets and kisses a guy in a local pub who is revealed to be her English teacher, Ezra Fitz. Emily befriends the new girl in town, Maya, and soon develops romantic feelings for her. Hanna is the new popular girl in town alongside the former nerd, Mona. However, she sometimes will shop-lift and throw up her meals to stay thin and popular. Spencer continues to struggle against the rivalry with her and Melissa, her perfect older sister. Problems occurs when she begins to feel attracted to Melissa's new boyfriend, Wren Kim, when he is introduced to the family.
Throughout the story, the liars get messages threatening to reveal their secrets of the present and past, including a terrifying incident the girls refer to as "The Jenna Thing". They automatically believe it's their missing friend, Alison, because she is the only one each of them confided to with their darkest secrets. However, they are shocked when the police find her corpse hidden in her former house. The book ends with the liars receiving a text saying, "I'm still here, bitches. And I know everthing. - A"
Flawless
| Author | Sara Shepard |
|---|---|
| Publisher | HarperTeen |
| Publication date | March 27, 2007 |
| Pages | 330 |
| ISBN | 0060887338 |
In continuation from the "Pretty Little Liars" series Hanna, Aria, Spencer, and Emily continue to receive text messages from an unknown person, "A", who threatens to expose them of their secrets. At first the girls think "A" is Alison because she is the only person who knew their secrets, but then they start to believe the person behind the threats is Toby, because some messages they receive refer to 'The Jenna Thing' and with Alison dead, he is the only other person who was a part of the incident, although everyone but Spencer is unaware of why he took the blame for what happened to Jenna.
"A" sends Emily a text message hinting that "A" knows about Emily and Maya's romantic relationship and 'A" leaves a note for Hanna that forces her to tell Riley and Naomi that she makes herself throw up and that Sean was the one who broke up with her. Later on, she receives a text that tells her Sean is at Foxy with another girl. When she arrives, she finds Sean and Aria together. "A" continuously tells Aria to either 'get rid of the problem' or to tell her mom the truth about Byron, her father, that he is seeing another woman. Spencer's sister, Melissa, finds out Spencer has been secretly dating her ex-boyfriend, Wren, by someone who Spencer believes was "A".
Towards the end of the book, Hanna finds out that it's impossible for Toby to be "A" because he is found dead behind Emily's house. Emily reads a note Toby left for her that tells the truth about 'The Jenna Thing', which previously Emily thought Toby was referring to Alison when she told him "I know what you did to her." Spencer tells the other girls the truth: Toby abused his stepsister and Toby promised to keep a secret for Alison if she did the same for him. But thinking Emily knew the truth, he committed suicide as, mentioned in the note "he couldn't live with the mistake he has made."
A's identity remains unknown and Emily receives another text message from "A" saying it's not over until "A" says so.
Perfect
| Author | Sara Shepard |
|---|---|
| Publisher | HarperTeen |
| Publication date | August 21, 2007 |
| Pages | 320 |
| ISBN | 0060887362 |
Aria tries to keep her father Byron's affair a secret from her mother and brother, while Hanna deals with her social downturn by resuming her bulimia. Emily is in a secret romantic relationship with Maya. Spencer remembers pushing Ali into a stone wall after a heated argument, and fears that she is the one who killed her. After Aria ignores "A's" threats, "A" reveals Byron's affair to Ella, and Aria's mother kicks Byron out of the house. "A" also reveals Emily and Maya's relationship publicly, and Emily's parents force her into a program to "cure" her apparent homosexuality. Aria is also cheating on her boyfriend with her AP English teacher Ezra; "A" sends a picture of them kissing to Aria's boyfriend, who calls the police. Hanna receives a text from "A" and finally realizes who "A" is. She calls Spencer, Emily, and Aria to meet her at their special spot, the Rosewood school playground; before she can tell them what she knows, Hanna is hit by a car.
Unbelievable
| Author | Sara Shepard |
|---|---|
| Publisher | HarperTeen |
| Publication date | May 27, 2008 |
| Pages | 352 |
| ISBN | 0060887397 |
It seems like only yesterday that Hanna Marin, Alison "Ali" DiLaurentis, Spencer Hastings, Aria Montgomery, and Emily Fields were carefree, fun-loving seventh graders at posh private school Rosewood Day. Planning sleepovers, gossiping about boys, braiding each others hair, sharing secrets. But like the flip of a switch, everything changed. Ali mysteriously disappeared, and the four other girls parted ways. That was years ago. Now the mysterious "A" has dredged up the past once more; barraging Hanna, Spencer, Aria, and Emily with painful memories of the past via text messages. It's obvious that "A" is Ali's killer; but if the girls tell, one of them will be the next to die.
Hanna Marin has always been so full of life. Shopping as much as possible, prancing around in sky-high platforms, and perusing fashion and gossip websites to get her daily fix of all things celebrity. Seeing her lying in a hospital bed, unable to speak, bruises dotting her face, in a coma seems completely out of the ordinary. Aria Montgomery, Spencer Hastings, and Emily Fields know Hanna, and this isn't her. But it is a reminder of just how close "A" truly is to them; and how "A's" threats are absolutely true. But Hanna isn't the only one in turmoil at the moment.
Emily Fields has suddenly been shunned by her family. The fact that she has come out of the closet, so to speak, shames her parents, and even her sister, and has landed her on a one way trip to Iowa to live with her strict aunt and uncle, along with their children. Iowa seems like the worst place on earth. But some of the people there are actually pretty cool; and very into Emily.
Spencer Hastings has finally come to the realization that she has black-outs at times, and can't help but wonder if she is the one responsible for Ali's death. With the Golden Orchid competition coming up, however, Spencer has no time to think about the past - only the future. After stealing her older sister's essay, and having it nominated for the Golden Orchid, Spencer can't believe that her family is supporting her in this competition. But it's up to her to do them proud. Too bad she has a strange feeling that somehow, her lying, stealing, cheating ways are going to come back to haunt her.
Aria Montgomery wants nothing more than to be with her older teacher, Ezra. But after "A" spilled the beans about Aria and Ezra's little affair to Aria's boyfriend, that's impossible. Suddenly, Ezra is under scrutiny, and Aria has been cast out of her temporary living space. The only thing left for her to do is to turn to her cheating father, Byron, and his artsy girlfriend, Meredith. But turning to the two of them is right up there with selling your soul to the devil, and Aria doesn't know if she's ready to do something so drastic.
Wicked
| Author | Sara Shepard |
|---|---|
| Publisher | HarperTeen |
| Publication date | November 25, 2008 |
| Pages | 320 |
| ISBN | 0061566071 |
A new "A" begins making threats. Ian denies Ali's murder, Emily has a new boyfriend named Isaac, and Hanna has trouble with her stepsister Kate Randall, who she believes is the new "A". Aria has feelings for a man who soon becomes her mother's boyfriend, and Spencer comes to believe that she is adopted. Hanna and Lucas have a fight after Hanna tells everyone Kate has herpes at a party, and they break up. Hanna's father forbids her from talking to anyone except Kate. Spencer, Emily, Aria, and Hanna find Ian's body in the woods behind Spencer's house.
Heartless
| Author | Sara Shepard |
|---|---|
| Publisher | HarperTeen |
| Publication date | January 19, 2010 |
| Pages | 288 |
| ISBN | 0061566144 |
After the fires, the girls insist that they saw Ali. Later the police make them believe it was all a hallucination due to the smoke. "A" sends Emily to Lancaster, where she discovers that an Amish girl named Leah disappeared around the time of Ali's death. Emily also discovers that Darren Wilden had been an Amish person and left the community, and she soon comes to believe that he killed Leah. Hanna's father sends her to a clinic to prevent her eating from reappearing due to stress from the Ali situation, and to cure her Posttraumatic stress disorder. Hanna befriends another patient named Iris, her roommate, who later abandons her after another patient reveals Hanna's scandalous past to everyone at the clinic. While Hanna was in the clinic, there was a painting on Iris' wall of a blonde girl with bright blue eyes accompanied by a heart shape face. Anyone would regonize this face a million miles away as the infamous face of Ali. Iris explains this was her former roommate. Hannah believes the girl in the painting to be Ali, but Ali, the perfect girl, would never be in a "mental institution". Hanna has more dreams about Ali that are similar to the ones she was having while in her coma and later on, who leads her to suspect that Iris had something to do with Ali's death. "A" sends Spencer messages which make her suspicious of her mother; Spencer learns that at one point her father had been having an affair with Ali's mother. Spencer realizes the possibility that Ali and Jason are her half-siblings, and is led to believe that her mother may have killed Ali because of it. Spencer confronts her parents, but her mother is shocked to hear about the affair for the first time. Aria, Spencer, Emily, and Hanna are all arrested for Ali's murder; together in a jail cell, they realize that "A" has tricked each of them into believing someone else killed Ali. Wilden releases the girls and tells them that Billy Ford killed Ali; Emily recognizes him as one of the men working on Ali's gazebo. Billy is also charged for Jenna Cavanaugh's murder, and the reader is left wondering whether Billy was "A" or not.
Killer
| Author | Sara Shepard |
|---|---|
| Publisher | HarperTeen |
| Publication date | June 30, 2009 |
| Pages | 336 |
| ISBN | 006156611X |
The girls discover that the person they think is Alison's murderer - Ian - has actually been framed, and they start to wonder if the new "A" really wants to threaten them or just to solve the mystery. Emily has sex with her new boyfriend Isaac, whose mother finds out and banishes Emily from their house without Isaac knowing. Hanna and Kate compete for the affections of Aria's brother Mike, while Aria falls in love with Jason DiLaurentis again. Spencer meets a woman named Olivia Caldwell who she thinks is her real mother, and attempts to move to New York, but it turns out to be a scam and she loses her college money. 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, Aria, and Emily all come to believe that Jason and Darren Wilden had something to do with Ali's murder. Ian confirms their suspicions about Darren and Jason right before someone sets the woods behind Spencer's house to fire. While Aria is trying to get to Spencer's barn to show them Ali's flag from 6th grade, she finds someone caught in the woods because of the fire, saves this person, and then they all recognize her as Ali.
Wanted
| Author | Sara Shepard |
|---|---|
| Publisher | HarperTeen |
| Publication date | June 8, 2010 |
| Pages | 272 |
| ISBN | 0061566179 |
In the start of this book, 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. When the unexpected twin is revealed, everyone believes that Ali is still alive. Courtney had spent her life in institutions due to "health issues" and her existence was kept secret by her family. She is finally released and goes home to Rosewood, where she attempts to resume her sister's life and begins tentative friendships with Ali's old friends. She 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. She tells the girls that when she tried to tell her family who she was, they didn't believe her because Courtney was notorious for pretending to be Ali, and sent her back to the institution in Courtney's place. The girls are thrilled that Ali is back, and jump at the chance to go with her to the family's house in the Poconos after a school dance. On the way there Spencer gets a frantic call from her mother telling her that Melissa has disappeared. Spencer had begun to believe that her sister was the one who killed Ali and that she may be after the rest of them, but once they arrive at the house it's revealed that Ali is the killer. The girl they were friends with years ago was actually Courtney, and the real Ali was stuck in an institution. She killed Courtney for ruining her life, attempted to kill the girls in the forest fire, and is now going to kill them by setting the house on fire. They're able to escape after stumbling onto Ian's body hidden in a closet and releasing a bound Melissa, who Ali had kidnapped and was planning to kill as well. Ali is trapped inside the house and it's assumed she died in the fire, although her body is never found. The police discover that she killed Ian, Jenna, Courtney, and is "A". She did this all for revenge on them because they were all part of Courtney's life, which was supposed to be hers. After learning that her ex-husband shipped Hanna off to a mental institution, Hanna's mother transfers back to Rosewood and kicks Hanna's father, Isabel, and Kate out of the house, thrilling Hanna. Hanna and Mike get back together, and Meredith goes into labor, giving birth to a girl. Aria and Noel Kahn get back together after it's revealed that "A" kissed him, not the other way around, and Ella breaks up with Xavier after learning of his inappropriate behavior towards Aria. Spencer's father proclaims that even though he and her mother may not get back together, things are going to change for the better in their family, and Spencer and Melissa grow closer after almost being killed. Emily buries everything she can find that reminds her of Ali at Courtney's grave, hoping she can finally find closure, but is unsure of whether the noises she hears at the cemetery are real or imagined.
Twisted
Twisted is the ninth book in the series and will be released to a contest winner on March 31st, 2011 and released to the public on July 5th, 2011.
The summary has been confirmed as : "It’s been a year since Alison DiLaurentis disappeared from Aria , Hanna , Spencer and Emily’s lives , but someone is keeping her spirit alive. Someone who knows all the dark , terrible things these Pretty Little Liars have done in the last few months. Someone who will stop at nothing to make them pay…" Damn! I can't wait to read!
Ruthless
Ruthless is the tenth book in the Pretty Little Liars series. It is set to be released on December 6, 2011. It will also be released to a contest winner on July 6th, 2011
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." "breathes new life into the tired genre of high society chick lit." Commonsensemedia.org rated it 3 out of 5 stars, saying "This is fluffy guilty-pleasure fare, with few poopy 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." Sara Shephard, the author, has said that she is going to write another book, "Sexy" to be published in September 2011.
In June 2008, cumulative sales for the first four novels totaled more than 400,000 copies.
References
- ^ Maughan, Shannon (June 26, 2008). "Moving On Up: Pretty Little Liars". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved June 4, 2009.
- ^ "Pretty Little Liars: Reviews and Product Details". Amazon.com. Retrieved May 30, 2009.
- ^ "Flawless: Reviews and Product Details". Amazon.com. Retrieved May 30, 2009.
- ^ "Perfect: Reviews and Product Details". Amazon.com. Retrieved May 30, 2009.
- ^ "Unbelievable: Reviews and Product Details". Amazon.com. Retrieved May 30, 2009.
- ^ "Wicked: Reviews and Product Details". Amazon.com. Retrieved May 30, 2009.
- ^ "Killer: Reviews and Product Details". Amazon.com. Retrieved May 30, 2009.
- ^ "Heartless: Reviews and Product Details". Amazon.com. Retrieved July 11, 2009.
- ^ "Pretty Little Liars #7: Heartless By Sara Shepard". HarperTeen.com. Retrieved September 1, 2009.
- ^ "Wanted: Reviews and Product Details". Amazon.com. Retrieved December 7, 2009.
- Armstrong, Jennifer (December 8, 2010). "Pretty Little Liars: Four new books on the way, starting in July". EW.com. Retrieved December 27, 2010.
- "Twisted: Reviews and Product Details". Amazon.com. Retrieved December 27, 2010.
- "Pretty Little Liars Stands as ABC Family's No. 1 Series Launch on Record Across Target Demos". TVbytheNumbers.com. June 9, 2010. Retrieved June 24, 2010.
- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1578873/
- Shepard, Sara. Pretty Little Liars: Heartless. New York, NY: Harper Lee, 2009.
- Shepard, Sara. Pretty Little Liars: Wanted. New York, NY: Harper Lee, 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.