Book Review: Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

Summary:

Everyone has something to hide—especially high school juniors Spencer, Aria, Emily, and Hanna.

Spencer covets her sister's boyfriend. Aria's fantasizing about her English teacher. Emily's crushing on the new girl at school. Hanna uses some ugly tricks to stay beautiful.

But they've all kept an even bigger secret since their friend Alison vanished.

How do I know? Because I know everything about the bad girls they were, the naughty girls they are, and all the dirty secrets they've kept. And guess what? I'm telling.

Review:

I wish this series had been out when I was in middle and high school.  I would have really enjoyed them back then.  Pretty Little Liars is a light-hearted read about four rich mean girls and the secrets they are all keeping.  They used to be a group of five, until one girl disappeared three years earlier.  The remaining friends have gone their separate ways but are haunted by the disappearance of Alison and the secrets only Alison knew about each one of them.  The book is written simply but well; however, I found the content lacking for my tastes.  I would recommend Pretty Little Liars for a younger audience. 

Just One Gripe:

I don't really like reading about 16-year old mean girls .  I already lived through that in high school and don't want to remember!

The Best Thing About This Book:

I liked how "A" put such extreme fear into said mean girls.  I also liked that one of the side characters was named Toby, which is my husband's name.

Appropriate for a younger audience:

Yes

Score:

Characters:  3/5

Plot:  2/5

Setting/Imagery:  2/5

Originality:  3/5

Ending:  3/5

Total Score:  13/15