Customer Reviews

Pretty Little Liars #5: Wicked

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Ian Thomas is in jail awaiting trial and the girls are able to relax and return to their lives. Or can they??? Just when the reader thought that the mystery of A has been solved at the end of UNBELIEVABLE, more bizarre events await the girls of Rosewood.

Hanna, Spencer, Emily, and Aria slowly try to settle back into their normal lives. Hanna is working through the trauma of learning that her best friend tried to kill her. She tries to live with her soon-to-be step-sister, Kate, and build up new friendships at school. Spencer is dealing with the cold shoulder she is receiving from her family. And through her grandmother's will, Spencer has just learned that she might be adopted. Aria has ventured to an art exhibit on her own, only to learn that the guy she was maybe flirting with was the artist himself. And finally Emily has met a boy. A boy that sends tingles through her.

The four girls still meet to discuss their grief and pull themselves together for the trial that is about to begin. But when Ian is released on bail to attend to his dying mother, the mysterious text messages start again.

Each girl receives messages that are more haunting than the ones before Ian was arrested. Now, the sender seems to be stalking them. The messages are sent at the most inopportune times, and some even come with photos attached; photos that were taken mere moments before the text arrived.

As the trial looms nearer, the girls are again thrust together trying to piece together the life that was Alison DiLaurentis. In WICKED, the reader gets a glimpse of the past and how the five girls initially became friends. The story hints at the Time Capsule and the flag pieces that bring the girls together.

In WICKED, Ms. Shepard brings the reader even deeper into the intrigue that is Rosewood. Told in alternating voices by each of the girls, the pieces of the puzzle slowly start to come together.

The wonderful thing about the PRETTY LITTLE LIARS series is that Ms. Shepard is able to lead the reader down one path, only to leave the ending wide open and wandering off in a different direction. With the shocking ending of WICKED, the reader will be waiting anxiously for the next installment, KILLER, due out in June 2009.

Reviewed by: Jaglvr

Hang on to your hats and glasses because you are going to take a VERY bumpy ride through Rosewood, Pennsylvania on Philadephia's Main Line!

Alison DiLaurentis, 13, was a bright leader of a girls' clique. The members of said clique were more like satellites than actual friends as Alison's approval tended to give her peers a social leg up. She has been discovered murdered some 4 years after the summer she completed 7th grade in Rosewood Day, a private school on Philadephia's Main Line. These girls drop designer names the way some folks drop names when they want to impress others.

Spencer Hastings, along with the other satellites discovers she has good reason to want to dim the sun around which she revolves. She sputters at the drop of a designer hat. In an earlier installment, readers learn that she has had a history of blackouts. Her older sister, Melissa, favored to the point of excess and indulgence treats her like dog droppings. To make matters worse, the Hastings have ostracized Spencer for plagiarizing her sister's paper and almost accepting the Golden Orchid Award even after Spencer came clean and said she was going to turn herself in. They told her to accept the award so as not to tarnish the family's pristine reputation, but once she confessed they continued to treat her like dirt. They have a history of ostracizing her, as readers of the earlier installments well know. They wouldn't even invite her to eat dinner with them nor allow her to help in planning a fund raiser for her own school which was being held in her own home! To make matters worse, her grandmother does not include her in the will. The old bag stipulated that only "natural born grandchildren" stood to inherit from her vast fortune. That raises the question - is Spencer adopted or is the old bag just as unloving as her son and daughter-in-law? Remember - Spencer did describe her as not being kid friendly in an early volume.

Aria Montgomery had been having an affair with her English teacher, Ezra Fitz. Her theme song is Van Halen's "Hot For Teacher." Back in town after a 3-year stay in Iceland, Aria reluctantly re-enters Rosewood Day School and the consequences of her father's infidelity. Aria's mother re-admits her into the house upon learning Aria knew about the affair even before the family left for Iceland. Aria, who has always had a thing for older men accepts her mother's invitation to an art show where she meets an attractive older man who turns out to be one of the artists. Some interesting plot twists later, Aria is literally fighting him off. He could be a statutory rapist. Sadly, Aria feels she cannot blow the whistle on him as she fears being ousted from the house once again. She carries her Icelandic yak-fur bag like Linus does his security blanket. Her brother Mike, some 2-years younger thinks the artist is the greatest thing since his on-going passion, lacrosse. He remains on the fence post regarding familial alliances.

Emily Fields, a reknowned swimmer has finally become open about her sexual orientation. She has broken up with her partner, Maya, who is now living in the DeLaurentis house. Her irate parents shipped her off to her unloving aunt and uncle in Iowa in an early installment. Luckily, she meets a very kind boy named Isaac at a church social and in time enjoys a girlfriend-boyfriend relationship with Isaac. She also discovers her own bisexuality at this time.

Hanna - a former fat girl now a bulimic femme fatale has survived a lot. In an earlier installment, she was run over by a car; discovered what "fake friending" means and learns that popularity is as shifting as the shadows that stalk her and the other 3 girls. Her ulta-kind (or to use a word that crops up a lot in this book, "uber") boyfriend, Lucas stands by her side until she makes an accusation with devastating repercussions. Her own father all but ousts her from the family as well and his favoritism towards his stepdaughter to be, Kate is sickening. Kate is sneaky and conniving and Hanna has to be on high alert around her at all times.

Someone else is making the girls remain on high alert. The mysterious A who has been shadowing them ever since Alison's death is back in town and A is adept at finding out the girls' darkest secrets and deepest fears. A sends them mysterious text messages and e-mails and another casualty falls into this story as well. Hang on to your hats and glasses - once you enter Rosewood, you can't leave until you find out the fate of the Pretty Little Liars and the mysterious A! Rosewood, Pennsylvania is like the Hotel California of Eagles' fame - you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave. In fact, that 1976 Eagles' classic could be the theme song for this outwardly idyllic Main Line town.

Yes. The story line is good. But MUCH more time is spent re-capping than actually progressing. If I have to read one more time about Emily's nickname or the afternoon when Meredith was discovered, I'll probably end up ripping my hair out. I usually end up skipping multipl paragraphs so I don't have to waste my time reading things that I already know..

It was on time and perfectly packaged.. I love this book series I've bought all of the nooks so far seen the show ... there awesome

I found this book to be a very fantastic read and really enjoyed the story, the characters, and the excitement of it all. This book added to the story line and helps peak the interest of the reader. Reading the books of the Pretty Little Liars series was more enjoyable then watching the tv series. The books flowed really nicely and showed how the story should truly be told unlike the tv series. Highly recommend to all...

After reading the first 4 books in this series I couldn't wait to get the rest of them and dive in. I've read this 5th book and I'm kind of bummed. Not a whole lot happens. The first half is really boring and took me 2 days of off and on reading to get through. The last few chapters really pick up though. I'm hoping that the next book will be more like the first ones with the excitement and the OMG moments that had my jaw dropping in disbelief.

This is an awesome book by Sara Shephard! I finished it in three days. Now I'm going to buy Pretty Little Liars #6

To see my full review, please visit my blog at [...]

I've read the past 4 books in the Pretty Little Liars Series by Sara Shepard, Pretty Little Liars, Flawless, Perfect, and Unbelievable, and have now finished the 5th. In my opinion, not very much happens in this installment comparatively speaking. This installment of the series is just as fast-paced and full of unbelievable instances, as the previous. I can't seem to get enough of this series! New mysteries seem to pop up with every new addition to the series.

In my experience young adult novels seem to be very popular and have very good ratings but are scrupulously torn apart for being empty, overly emotional, unrealistic, and lacking in character depth. Pretty Little Liars series seems to get alot of that criticism. But I feel this series has real depth and relevance to middle school and high school age women. Take Hanna Marin for example, one of the main characters, she struggles deeply with bulimia and father abandonment issues, along with low self-esteem. Emily Fields, another main character, is attempting to discover her sexuality and deal with reactions from family after they find out. Aria Montgomery, the third main character, has never felt like she fit in no matter what age she is or friends she has. She is an older soul that I believe would have a fantastic college experience and adult life but just doesn't fit on now. She also has the weight of keeping her family together, and seems to be the only what taking responsibility for the immoral acts committed by her parents. Spencer Hastings, the final main character, has a horrible complex with proving herself to her parents, living up to her older sisters accomplishments and trying to live up to the so called "perfection" that is the wealthy, historical Hastings family.

On top of all of these everyday issues teens have to deal with, the girls' best friend (Allison) disappeared when they were in middle school, then her body is found in her own back yard under a slab of concrete, now the girls are being stalked and terrorized by a mysterious "A" texting and emailing them during their most personal, embarrassing and secretive moments. They think they've found Allisons killer and then he disappeared as well.

All in all I really enjoyed the book. Its the type of book that I know if I need a quick read to take my mind of my life. I would recommend it to my friends. I look forward to reading the next in the series.

Call me a fan! I have fallen even deeper into this series and with each book, I can't wait to find out more clues to eithe confirm or deny my guesses. I think I could be close, but really I have no clue and I love it.

The writing has been so addictive. It is easy to slip into the story after reading a book between and I found myself immersed in the hunt for A and the killer. With each book, I hope to be closer and then at the end I find myself no closer, yet no further away from the truth. As stated before, there is some repetitiveness to each book because as the story develops Shepard repeats clues from previous books, but it can be easily bypassed.

As I still haven't started watching the series, I am intrigued as to how close to the characters they follow and if the intricacies of the story are apparent on screen. Maybe a show I will check out soon, but I definitely want to complete my reading before I begin my viewing.

I think this series can be enjoyed by all ages as the mystery is the heart of the story. As they are high schoolers, the drama is obviously at that level, but I don't think the story is any lower due to their ages.

I didn't enjoy this book as much as the first 4 books. This one came across sorta as filler. Not much new goes on with "A" in this one from what I recall. I'm starting to get the books and TV show confused as I read since it just started back up on TV again. A lot of elements from the show and books mix together but in different ways. So it does get confusing.

I'm interested to find out how how all this "A" stuff is being pulled off though