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.
