Customer Reviews

Pretty Little Liars #8: Wanted

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I admit that I love chick lit and I also love a wickedly riveting series, such as the Pretty Little Liars Series. It is a pleasant departure from the usual mean girl cliches like the "Cliques," "Sweet Valley High" and other series portraying girls at their cattiest.

Dramatis Personae

Alison "Ali" DeLaurentis: a bright, popular girl who led a clique of other rich, indulged girls. The others are more like satellites than actual friends as they know Ali is a powerful ally to have. They drop designer names every chance they get. They live in Rosewood, a suburb of Philadelphia on the Main Line. Ali, known for insidious cruelty has plenty of secrets. So do the other girls, all of whom have good reason to want Ali to do a permanent disappearing act.

Aria, an attractive, athletic brunette who was glad to escape Rosewood for Iceland. She has a yak-fur bag to which she is inordinately attached. In every installment in the series, you can count on her to reach into that damn yak-fur bag for something. I admit I did get rather sick of that damn yak-fur bag. Aria's father accepts a teaching position there and for 3 years, Aria and her younger brother by 2 years Mike, learn Icelandic and absorb Icelandic culture. Unlike Mike, Aria wants to remain in Iceland. She has a painful non-Ali related secret - she caught her father cheating with another woman. Early in the series, Aria had an affair as well and her mother was involved with a man who tried to seduce Aria. She moves in with her father, new stepmother and sibling-to-be.

Spencer, the grind who sputters at the drop of a designer hat. She earns As and other academic plaudits for real. She has long been eclipsed by her favored older sister, Melissa and has a history of bird dogging Melissa's boyfriends. The second time she does this, her cold-hearted family ostracizes her. To make a bad thing even worse, they even canceled her credit cards without telling her and stopped inviting her to meals. Melissa, a pompous Drama Queen has long reveled in her Favored Daughter status and you just want to kick her in the shins.

Hanna, the former fat girl now turned femme fatale is the weakest link in the chain. Bulimic and insecure, she clings to whoever's wardrobe is most in vogue. These girls all drop designer names and flaunt fashion like it's going out of style. Hanna's relationship with her divorced mother is more like business associates than family. (Hanna's mother works for a company called McManus & Tate, which sounds like a spoof of the advertising firm of McMann & Tate in "Bewitched" [1964-72]). Her father's fiancee Isabel has a daughter Kate who is Hanna's age and Hanna feels that she has been replaced by Kate. In this installment, Hanna receives tickets to a high end fashion show that she believes her mother sent. She invites Kate and Kate's two satellites to join her, only to discover the tickets were a hoax. A is back in town, messing with the girls' minds again. Kate and the Satellites drop Hanna, which turns out to be a good thing in the long run because Hanna is then able to reconnect with the mother she thought had jumped her ship.

Emily is still discovering that love comes in the most unexpected places. A bisexual, she finally accepts that part of her life and it is possible that Alison might have shared her feelings? As the mysterious A continues to tamper with the girls' minds, Emily is all the more convinced that A is telling her that it is past time to come out. Perhaps Alison has something to do with whoever A is?

More mysteries abound. The DiLaurentis family trots out yet another family secret, one who has devastating repercussions on the lives of all of the girls as well as the casualties from the previous installments and the man who was arrested as being A, the Advanced Stalker.

But was he? In the penultimate book, a man was arrested for stalking the girls as A, but the question of his guilt remains. The DiLaurentis' family secret leads to clues and even more questions about to do with the A incidents. Over time, readers will ride the A train to find out who A really is and what this secret means to the Pretty Little Liars, as the Rosewood 4 are called.

The Eagles' 1976 classic "Hotel California" is the town of Rosewood's Anthem as Rosewood and this series is a place where you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave. I loved the series and the conclusions (yes, conclusions) are very cataclysmic!

I just finished this book and thought it wrapped up the series well. I'd recommend it, although it would be a good idea to read the other ones first. There were some really good plot twists and you didn't really know how the book would end until it did. I'm upset the series ended, and I hope the television show does it justice.

*******TREAD WITH CAUTION. MAJOR SPOILERS LIE AHEAD.*******

This entire series has been such a treat. Having a Y chromosome and all, it's kind of embarrassing to say that I have read, much less immensely enjoyed, this entire series. Wanted is no exception. Even though it was bittersweet having to see this series end, its time had come. Only so many people can die and be framed for murders they didn't commit. It ended at the perfect time, too: right before it started getting annoying.

This is by far the most twisted, convoluted, and mind-boggling book in the series. But, when we are first introduced to "Courtney," and Sara Shepard went with the "the evil twin did it!" angle, I was pretty disappointed. Then, when she revealed that she is actually Ali, I was actually angry with this book. I was thinking the series would end with Courtney actually being the sister who was dead, Ali being alive and well this whole time, and everyone living happily ever after, and that would have been a terrible ending. Of course, in Rosewood, nothing is ever, ever, as it seems. I should have known that by now.

I was actually very pleased with how Sara Shepard twisted the evil-twin thing into something much more than that. I had to read the note from the-real-Ali at the end three or four times before I really digested what was going on. The whole "the Ali that Aria, Spencer, Emily, and Hanna were best friends with wasn't really Ali at all, but really a twin named Courtney posing at Ali. And then the real Ali was thrown into a mental hospital, and then came out posing as Courtney. So the four main characters were never friends with Ali, but Courtney-as-Ali, and Courtney isn't Ali at all, but Ali-as-Courtney, and she's trying to kill them all," was definitely convoluted, but was probably the most ingenious conclusion to a series this complex. I applaud Sara Shepard for even being able to come up with a solution to all the crazy things that have been happening throughout this series.

It was also nice seeing how all the girls, pretty much, got a happy ending. They're all moving on with their lives and what-not. Emily has always been my favorite of the four, probably because she's the most tragic of them all. It was almost heartbreaking seeing how much she was clinging on to Ali's (or Courtney-as-Ali...oh, screw it) memory, and how she just couldn't accept that her first love really is gone, and how she finally had to come to terms with the fact that the-real-Ali wasn't the Ali she knew, but a girl trying to kill her. Phew, run-on sentences, anyone? Anyway, Hanna was probably my least favorite, even though I had a special fondness for her, anyway. I would want to feel sorry for her so bad, and when you finally did, she'd turn around and be such a bitch that you'd forget liking her in the first place. However, she was still an interesting character, popularity-obsessed bitch that she is.

However, I did notice a major plot hole. It's completely unbelievable that a ring marked "A" or "C" was the only thing that could possibly tell the two sisters apart. The fact that Mrs. DiLaurentis mistakes Ali for Courtney simply because she's wearing a ring with a "C" on it instead of an "A" is pretty unrealistic. However, it didn't ruin the idea for me; it was just something I noticed.

Also (am I rambling?), the one part of this book that made no sense to me was the epilogue. I milled it over three times and still don't know what it means. Is Ali alive and gone to another school, where she can wreak havoc there? That's the only conclusion I can come to.

Overall, I'm going to miss this series so much. It's unlike anything I've ever read, especially since I never read books like this. Sigh. At least I still have the TV show, hot mess that it is. And, of course, Sara Shepard's new series is coming out this December.

Reviewed by Fallon F.: An Eighth Grader

Wanted by Sara Shepard is the last book of the Pretty Little Liars series. It is a suspenseful, mysterious, tragic story. Alison DiLaurentis was the head of the school; everyone worshiped her for her looks, brains, and popularity. It all came to an abrupt stop after she and her four best friends had a sleep over. Nobody ever saw Alison again.

There's a lot more going on in Rosewood, Pennsylvania than people think. Emily, Hannah, Aria, and Spencer have lost their best friend Ali. The killer has been locked away forever, but is it truly the real killer? Ali's parents have hidden a secret for almost seventeen years. They come out with it when Billy, the murder is in jail. Ali had a hidden identical twin sister named Courtney. After she is revealed, the mysterious unknown "A" returns and haunts the girls with secrets that no one knew except for their dead friend Ali.

Aria Montgomery always had trouble fitting in before Ali let her in to her clique. She went through many stages trying to change who she really was. When she moved to Iceland with her family, she found herself and finally fit in. Sadly she moved back to Rosewood Day High school, and her world became to fall apart again. The mysterious "A" has already ruined Aria's life twice. "A" destroyed her perfect family and the hopes of having true love with her teacher Mr. Fitz. The secret messages stopped when Billy was put in jail. Then Courtney came into her life. Aria had trouble trusting her since she was related to Ali, the girl who tormented her with secrets.

Hannah Marin was always the punching bag to Ali, because of her braces, zits, and mostly because of how much she weighed. After Ali went missing, Hannah took her place as the head of the school. She became obsessed with being the queen bee, and she always had to be perfect. When Courtney starts going to the same school as her, her spot of being on top is in jeopardy. She risks everything just to be the head of the school once again.

Even though the girls tend to overreact sometimes, they are great characters because of their personalities. Each one has a complete different way of dealing with life; they are like real teenage girls. Sara Shepard made and explained each background for the characters perfectly.

It felt like the events in this book could happen to anyone. I found myself never wanting to put the book down. There was so much mystery, it really made you think about what was going on and what might happen next.

Young adults and teens would enjoy this book just like the other seven books in the series of Pretty Little Liars. If they liked this book they would no doubt love The Lying Game. Visit the author's website for more information about her other bestselling novels.

I really didn't want this series to end. I couln't put the book down and ended up reading the entire book in one day. Was dying to know how everything turned out in the end (the suspense was too much). I felt that a few story lines were left unfinished, and felt that some parts were a little cliche. Although, I do think Sara Shepard did a great job of concluding the series. Loved the outcomes for each of the girls in the end. I would like to see spin-offs for some of the characters and storylines that were just touched upon. She is a fantastic writer and storyteller. I highly recommend this series. I cannot wait to read her next series "The Lying Game".

i have been a fan of thes ebooks since day one! my friend got m ehooked and since then, i simply have not put the series down! I had alwyas foundthis book to have all the elements to a greatseries! humor, realistic situations and characters, suspense, scary moments, and a mystery. this book in particular was so good because sara shepard tied the series in into a perfect knot. what a sigh of relief it was to know what TRUELY happened on the night that Ali disappeared. i will notspoil the ending but i can tel you it was a good one, one that the reader will never expect! but what made me REALLy like this book, aside from the above, was the fact that i feel like even i was teased by ali, took a video with aria, been an acomplicein 'the jenna thing', and had a sister that i felt i needed to impress. throughout the series, i have felt like a true member of the pretty little liars series.
on a separate note, i would like to add how much i am enjoying the show on abcfamily! i reccomend it to all the pretty little liars fans out there. and ignore th appearance of the actresses they are doing a great job of portraying their characters!
i hope hat you find this review helpful!
xo
emma ;)

I thought they should have ended at 4, but five made me hopeful. This one was all right. They obviously dragged it on but it was still interesting and a very ingenious twist.

this book was my favorite of the series! If i had to say if Alison is still alive after what happened, i would answer, "Of course! There has to be a cliffhanger with this mystery series!".Pretty Little Liars #8: Wanted (Hardcover)

This was just an great ending to an even greater bookseries! I'm so sorry that this is the last part, I wish there where more to come. But I loved every minute of Pretty Little Liars!
Greets from Holland!

I read this book in less that a day I just couldn't put this hard cover down. While it was my suspect that Ali might of been alive all along I wasn't ready for the twists in the story Sara Shepard created. This isn't the typical mean girls story that I normally dislike. The characters are complex and makes the reader care what happens to him. The story was a nice wrap that makes one see the whole series of book differently than when one was on book 1 as the final book becomes a matter of life and death for the girls with more lives at stake than I would of expected. I really like the final chapter with Emily getting some closure of her own.