Pretty Little Liars (Pretty Little Liars, Book 1) [Hardcover]

Sara Shepard (Author)

Book Description

Release date: October 3, 2006 | Series: Pretty Little Liars (Book 1)

Gossip thrives amid the Mercedes-Benzes, mega mansions, and perfectly manicured hedges in the exclusive town of Rosewood, Pennsylvania. Behind their big Gucci sunglasses, beneath their perfectly pressed Polos, everyone has something to hide, especially high school juniors Spencer, Aria, Emily, and Hanna. Spencer covets her sister's gorgeous new boyfriend. Aria is having an affair with her English teacher. Emily is infatuated with the new girl at school. And Hanna is using some ugly tricks to stay beautiful. Deeper and darker still is a horrible secret the girls have shared since sixth grade—a secret they thought was safe forever.

Then the girls start receiving threatening messages signed by someone named "A." Could "A" be Alison, the ultra-popular girl who disappeared three years earlier? Alison was their best friend. She knew everything about them. But if Alison isn't "A," who is? And how could anyone else know so much about the bad girls they were and the bad girls they've become? Suddenly, their secrets—the big ones, the little ones, even the long-buried ones—no longer seem so secret. Suddenly, nothing is safe in Rosewood.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In the exclusive Philadelphia suburb of Rosewood, Alison is the Queen Bee of her elite seventh grade hive. BFs Aria, Hanna, Spencer, and Emily vie for her attention, even as each of them hides a hideous secret only Alison knows. So when Alison goes missing after a slumber party, never to be seen again, each girl is heartbroken, but also a little relieved. Now it is three years later, and though the four girls have grown apart, they are each still hiding something. Artsy Aria is carrying on an affair with one of her teachers, fashionista Hanna shoplifts to accessorize her trendy outfits, blue-blood Spencer is sleeping with her older sister’s boyfriend, while straight-A Emily is trying to ignore her attraction to a new female classmate. When the girls begin receiving threatening text messages and emails that from someone known only as "A," they must confront the fact that against all odds, it appears Alison is back. Could Alison still be alive? And if so, why is she so determined to uncover all their dirty little secrets?

Debut author Sara Shepard's shamelessly addictive blend of Desperate Housewives and I Know What You Did Last Summer is absolutely delicious. Her infusion of mystery and murder breathes new life into the tired genre of high society chick lit, and will give fans of Gossip Girl and The A-List something new to dig their French-manicured nails into. A cliff-hanging ending will leave readers craving the second title in the planned four-part series. --Jennifer Hubert

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up–Rosewood, PA, is filled with mansions, Mercedes, and fortunate girls like Alison, Spencer, Emily, Aria, and Hanna. These five friends are bound together by a horrible secret–never fully revealed in the book–until the summer after seventh grade, when Alison goes missing. Now high school juniors, each of the remaining girls is going through a trying time and has a new secret. Spencer is falling for her sister's boyfriend, Aria is involved in a relationship with her teacher, Emily has issues with her sexual identity, and Hanna has an eating disorder. They think that no one knows about these things, until all four of them begin to get mysterious notes, e-mails, and text messages from someone by the name of A. They are afraid that Alison is back, and the mocking tone of the messages makes them worry that she could be ready to divulge their hidden past. In the end, her body is found, but they still receive the messages, leaving readers to wonder what happens next. Shepard writes a suspenseful page-turner that will have teens thirsting for more. The plot is quick-moving and encapsulates the feelings of many teens.–Kristen M. Todd, Middle Country Public Library, Centereach, NY
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: HarperTeen; 1ST edition (October 3, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060887303
• ISBN-13: 978-0060887308
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (336 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #187,487 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am originally from outside Philadelphia, and PRETTY LITTLE LIARS is based on my experiences there...kind of. Sort of a hyperbolic version of them. Plus some random stuff thrown in.

Well, after many years of avoiding the area, I've moved back to suburban Philadelphia again. I spend most of my time eating chips and cereal straight out of the bag. I am also a proud hypochondriac. I took out my tongue piercing when I was eighteen because I thought it was giving me a sinus infection. And I often think I have a brain tumor when it's really just a headache.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#9 in Books > Teens

#9 in Books > Teens

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 63 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars As satisfying as a pint of Ben & Jerry's...without the calories October 3, 2006

By Erika Sorocco

Format:Hardcover

The summer after seventh grade started out fine, but when Alison "Ali," one of Rosewood, Pennsylvania's most popular girls vanished, things changed. While her closest friends (Spencer, Aria, Hanna, and Emily) have all moved on, and are now juniors in high school, she was never seen again. The girls, wanting to move away from the secrets Ali took with her, broke apart, and made new friends. Putting the scandalous past behind them. Spencer began competing non-stop with her older sister, Melissa, for her parents affections, but one little slip-up, and her good girl image is shattered; Aria moved away to Iceland, but has returned, only to find that everyone she used to know (including the guy she was always crushing on) has stayed the same, stagnant, stuck in one place; Emily has tried to move on, and forget about the feelings she held for Ali, but when a new girl moves into Ali's old room, she must come to terms with the truth; and Hanna, who went from "little piggy" to Paris Hilton-wannabe, has found herself in deep water, being questioned by the police on an almost weekly basis. But now, they must confront their old secrets, and join forces once again, for someone known only as "A" is onto them. Someone who knows things about them that only Ali knew. Someone who gets off on sending them threatening messages. Now the girls are confused, since Ali was never found, how on earth could she be contacting them. She should be dead. She should be on some other plane, millions of miles from them. But maybe...she's not.

I have one guilty pleasure. No, it's not chocolate, or sweets. In fact, it has nothing to do with food. It's books about the rich. Their scandalous lives, and the constant shopping they spend most of their time doing. But no YA book has come even close to the amount of scandal found within the pages of Sara Shepard's PRETTY LITTLE LIARS. From page one I was intrigued by the secrets that these four (or should I say five?) girls shared. From blow-ups to make-ups, and everything in between. The characters found within these pages are beyond young and beautiful. There's an evil that lurks around them. An evil that is unexplainable and addicting. Each girl possesses her very own unique personality. Personalities that will draw readers in, in droves, and keep them reading long into the night. From Spencer's wandering eyes; to Aria's fondness for older men; and Hanna's thirst for attention; to Emily's constant confusion regarding her relationships; every reader will find the ability to mesh with one of these...scandalous characters. As satisfying as a pint of Ben & Jerry's...without the calories.

Erika Sorocco

Freelance Reviewer

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Who is "A"? January 12, 2009

By Shon VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Imagine you are BFF with the most popular girl in school. Everyone else wants to be you. Of course you love the power you have that so many people are envious of you, but secretly you truly wonder if being her BFF is a blessing or a curse. Now imagine it's the start of the summer between seventh and eighth grade and you and your BFF are celebrating by having your annual summer sleepover. Things don't go quite as planned and the two of you end up fighting and she walks out of your house. The very next morning you hear from her mom and you just know something terrible has happened. Suddenly days turn into weeks and before you know it the summer has ended, school has started and still no word from your BFF. She just simply disappeared off the face of the earth. Although you do not wish her any harm, you have to admit, there's a part of you that's relieved that she's gone. You start to feel freer and less burdened because all the secrets she knows about you, have vanished along with her. Horrible to think, some might say, but if they knew what she knew about you, they might feel exactly the same.

This is how it is for Aria, Spencer, Hanna and Emily. Alison, Ali, disappears during their slumber party. After her disappearance, the four friends gradually drift apart until no one can even recall they were once friends. It's now three years later and the teens are about to start their junior year. Spencer is very anal, in competition with her older sister about everything (and a certain someone); Hanna is now the new "it" girl, but carries a terrible secret about her drastic makeover; Aria is back from Iceland with her family and has a crush on a new boy, unfortunately she just found out he's her new English teacher; and Emily is the all-american good girl doing what she can to please her parents, that is until she meets Maya...

All four have secrets, secrets that they want to stay buried. Secrets that only one other person knows about: Ali. During the first week of school, each start to receive texts about their secrets, threatening to expose them. Each text is simply signed "A" and naturally the girls think Ali is back. But is she? Not only does "A" haunt them with their past, "A" knows what they are hiding now. It's as though each girl is being watched.

I really enjoyed this first book of the series and devoured it in one sitting. It's fast-paced, with short chapters and you just want to keep reading to learn more about what each girl is hiding. The story goes back and forth between past and present, but it's not confusing at all. After each girl receives a text, the author will go back to the past to explain its relevancy. Actually, I thought it added to the suspense.

Although this is a young adult novel, I have reservations about preteens reading it. There are mature themes discussed in the book and if younger children read it, I suggest the parents read it as well and have a conversation about these topics.

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Inappropriate for Anyone Under Age 18 December 9, 2012

By Gia

Format:Kindle Edition

I am a director of education and read contemporary juvenile and young adult literature so that I am aware of what many students are reading. I was SHOCKED by the contents and characters in this book. I found the characters to be plucked straight from TV shows that are aimed at adults and the plot developed as a situational comedy/drama.

I do not think that it is an appropriate book for any youth in high school or younger to read. The author has placed her teen age characters in adult situations. In addition, none of the adults in the book is a good parental model. The adults are immature, self absorbed, and emotionally still adolescents. The teen aged characters lie, drink, do drugs, steal cars, have sexual encounters with teachers, have sexual encounters with older young adults (one character goes after her college-age sister's boyfriend who is in medical school.) and show no remorse or examination of conscience for their actions.

I find such behavior in high school sophomores to be highly inappropriate for a book aimed at middle- and high-school students.

On page 88 the author refers to one mother as a MILF. This means means "Mother I'd Like to F*#%", I couldn't believe that an editor and publisher allowed it to appear in a book for youth.

I am not a prude, but I do believe that books for youth should not further sexualize teen girls and young woman, especially through situations that have them lusting after older men (who are happy to return the lust).

It is a sad reflection of our society that editors and publishers believe that this book is appropriate for youth. But, they are as greedy and driven by market success and money as the characters in the book, no matter the true cost to others and the harm done in the long run.

Equally shocking to me are the parents who allow their children to read these books without first reading, reviewing, or at least reading reviews of them. Parents NEED to parent. Just because a book in labeled and marketed as Young Adult does not mean that the book is appropriate for youth. It is negligent (if not criminal) that this book is able to be published and marketed as a book for Young Adults.