7. Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

ISBN: 978-0-06-088732-2

HarperTeen, New York, 2006

286 p.

Plot Summary 

In seventh grade, Hanna, Spencer, Emily, and Aria were the closest of friends, but they didn’t become close until the fifth member of their group, Alison, brought them together.  Although they all spent time together, both inside and outside of school, each felt a stronger bond with Alison than they did with any of the other girls.  Their bond was so strong that they shared secrets with Allison that they did not share with anyone else.  However, when Allison goes missing during the summer before eighth grade, the group drifts apart.  Spencer devotes even more time to her studying and extracurricular activities, Emily immerses herself in the school swim team, Hanna decides to reinvent herself along with the school geek, Mona, and becomes the skinny, popular girl she always wanted to be, and Aria’s family moves to Iceland.  Three years later, Aria’s family moves back into town and she witnesses exactly how different things have become among her former group of friends.  Not too long after Aria returns, each of the four girls begin getting texts and emails from someone named “A,” threatening to reveal their secrets.  Remembering that Alison was the only person who knew their secrets, the girls begin to suspect her and wonder if she has returned.  Is Alison really back, or does someone else know their deepest, darkest secrets?

Critical Evaluation

As a fan of the ABC Family version, I found that watching the television show before picking up the novel affected how I reacted to the portrayals of each character.  While Aria is my favorite character in the television show, I felt a bit annoyed with how she acts in the book.  In the television show, Aria is different from the other girls, but in the book, this difference comes off snobby.  Separating my opinion of the television show from the book, it’s easier to judge how Shepard wrote the characters.  Since Rosewood is such a small town, Aria’s return from Iceland automatically separates her from her peers.  Also, moving back to Rosewood took her away from the place where she finally fit in.  Therefore, writing her character as one that longs for the people and places she left behind in Iceland is relatable.  In addition, the emphasis that Shepard places on the fickleness of popularity in high school is a relatable theme.  While the girls were some of the most popular, as soon as Alison disappears, their popularity withers.  Hanna is able to regain her popularity only by going to extreme means to lose weight and stealing clothes and purses to get the most stylish things.  She is then paranoid that everyone will figure out that she’s not perfect and her popularity will disappear once again.  The threatening messages from “A” only work to heighten Hanna’s worries.  In addition to all of the other things that teens have to worry about, Shepard uses Hanna’s character to focus on the toll that the need to be popular can have on a young girl.

Reader's Annotation

When Alison disappears, Hanna, Spencer, Emily, and Aria’s friendship falls apart, lacking the one person that brought them all together.  However, nearly three years later, the girls are tormented by an unknown person who knows all of their secrets—secrets that only Alison knew, or so they thought.

Information About the Author

Sara Shepard has been writing for as long as she can remember, though when she was young, the things she wanted to be when she grew up were a soap opera star, a designer for LEGO, a filmmaker, a claymation artist, a geneticist, and a fashion magazine editor. She and her sister have been creating joint artistic and written projects for years, except they’re pretty sure they’re the only ones who find them funny.

She got her MFA at Brooklyn College and now lives outside Philadelphia, PA with her husband and dogs. The Visibles/ All The Things We Didn’t Say is her first novel for adults. Pretty Little Liars, her bestselling young adult series, is loosely based on her experiences growing up on Philadelphia’s Main Line…although luckily she never had any serious stalkers. (Retrieved from author’s website: http://www.sarashepardbooks.com/bio.php)

Genre

Young Adult – Chick Lit/Mystery

Curriculum Ties

N/A

Booktalking Ideas

1. Focus on high school cliques.

2. Discuss the effects that bullying has on the main characters.

3. Bring up different characters that might be “A” and the reason they would have to torment the girls.

4. Talk about friends growing apart.

Reading Level/Interest Age

14+

Challenge Issues

The novel includes teen drinking and partying, as well as an instance of drunk driving with little consequence.  Also, one of the characters realizes that she is homosexual.

When confronted with complaints about this novel, librarians should become familiar with the material and its content.  Turn to reviews from publications such as Publisher’s Weekly, School Library Journal, and Booklist, as well as reviews from teens that have read it.  Also, it is beneficial for librarians to present reasons backed by the ALA in support of intellectual freedom.  As stated in the Library Bill of Rights:

I. Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.

II. Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.

III. Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.

Why Include Book in Selection? 

I watch the television series and developed a slight addiction to it, so I was interested in how I would enjoy the novel.