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justsmile13's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
eviehunt's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
rebleejen's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
If I'd known this ended on a cliffhanger, I probably wouldn't have started. But now I have to keep going.
ihateprozac's review against another edition
4.0
*** Slight spoilers if you haven't read the books, watched the show, or even seen an ad for it ***
I began watching the Pretty Little Liars tv show a few days ago and was instantly hooked. It's like a visually beautiful yet evil cross between Gossip Girl and season 1 of Desperate Housewives. I'm desperate to know the secret behind A and Ali's death, so I decided to pick up the books and figure it out for myself (rather than just lurking Wikipedia!). As such, my perception and review of the book is going to draw a lot of comparisons to the tv show.
In comparison to the show, not a whole lot happens in the book. While watching the show I wondered how the books related to the season - for example, each season of True Blood corresponds to one of the books. Since there's 8 books I figured it wouldn't be the same (and if it were, I would DIE if it took 8 seasons to reveal everything), but I was surprised to find that the events in this book are summed up in 4-5 episodes. Granted, the chronology is different, and Ali's body is found at the end of the book rather than at the start, like the pilot would suggest.
But when I say that 'not a whole lot happens in the book', I don't necessarily mean this as a bad thing. It's certainly not like Twilight where literally NOTHING happens until the last 50 pages where the author throws in some battle or chase. But in contrast to the show, I certainly thought the book would be longer and more substantial.
It almost feels too short , like the author should've combined two books into one. However, I do realise this is young adult, and I appreciate how easy it was to breeze through - it means I'll be finding out all the answers sooner than later!
All that being said (and yes, I do realise my thoughts are all over the place!), I think the story and chronology works well considering its length. I liked that Ali's body wasn't uncovered until the end of the story, and the creepy group text from A closed the book. I can appreciate the chronology in both the tv show and book, and I think they work well for both mediums.
One thing I almost wish they had included in the tv show was the awesome epilogue from A! The first few episodes of the tv show make it seem as if Ali really is speaking from beyond the grave, and then it becomes gradually clearer that somebody else is the culprit. The epilogue where A literally speaks to the reader is much better at clearing this up, and closes the book on a really creepy and sinister note.
Because this book was so short and insubstantial, I can't really comment too much more on it, though I do have one major pet peeve thus far - the brand names. This book is great at combining female-targeted YA with a creepy mystery, but I feel like it's going to be horribly dated in a few years. The author tries so hard to randomly throw in popular brand names, and it's often just cringe-worthy.
Why did I need to know that Noel smelled like Kiehl's shaving cream (actually, how would Aria know that?!), and why was it necessary to tell us that Emily and her sister have such stumpy lashes that they couldn't live without Maybelline Great Lash? - which is probably the world's worst mascara, but I digress. The brands are thrown in so awkwardly and unnecessarily, and although it shows the materalism of the characters, it mostly just makes me cringe.
I think the author is doing herself an injustice by dating her books with these product placements, and that future readers will be unable to relate to these likely irrelevant brand references. I think a few brands thrown in here and there would be better, rather than each page reading like "hey, I know what kids think is cool these days! I swear I do!"
On a more positive note, I like how similar the characters are between book and tv show - while the characters' appearances differ, their personalities are essentially the same. It's not like Vampire Diaries where Elena was an unrelatable bitch in the books, and had to be completely revamped as a nice person for the tv show. I think this is a great compliment to the author and the characters she created, that they didn't require huge changes to be likeable and relatable.
Overall:.....Wow. Considering the book was so short and I didn't think I'd be able to review it very well, I sure wrote a lot! I'll try to keep it brief here: overall, the tv show is very faithful to the first book of the series, though that book only equates to 4-5 episodes. It's a quick and easy read, though it feels almost too short.
The brand mentions are cringe-worthy, and as a result the book may very well be irrelevant in 5 years. In general though, it's good entertainment value, and I'll be reading on to uncover the answers. I may be able to give more indepth reviews on the characters and storylines as I continue to read on, and get into the books that the tv show hasn't covered yet.
I began watching the Pretty Little Liars tv show a few days ago and was instantly hooked. It's like a visually beautiful yet evil cross between Gossip Girl and season 1 of Desperate Housewives. I'm desperate to know the secret behind A and Ali's death, so I decided to pick up the books and figure it out for myself (rather than just lurking Wikipedia!). As such, my perception and review of the book is going to draw a lot of comparisons to the tv show.
In comparison to the show, not a whole lot happens in the book. While watching the show I wondered how the books related to the season - for example, each season of True Blood corresponds to one of the books. Since there's 8 books I figured it wouldn't be the same (and if it were, I would DIE if it took 8 seasons to reveal everything), but I was surprised to find that the events in this book are summed up in 4-5 episodes. Granted, the chronology is different, and Ali's body is found at the end of the book rather than at the start, like the pilot would suggest.
But when I say that 'not a whole lot happens in the book', I don't necessarily mean this as a bad thing. It's certainly not like Twilight where literally NOTHING happens until the last 50 pages where the author throws in some battle or chase. But in contrast to the show, I certainly thought the book would be longer and more substantial.
It almost feels too short , like the author should've combined two books into one. However, I do realise this is young adult, and I appreciate how easy it was to breeze through - it means I'll be finding out all the answers sooner than later!
All that being said (and yes, I do realise my thoughts are all over the place!), I think the story and chronology works well considering its length. I liked that Ali's body wasn't uncovered until the end of the story, and the creepy group text from A closed the book. I can appreciate the chronology in both the tv show and book, and I think they work well for both mediums.
One thing I almost wish they had included in the tv show was the awesome epilogue from A! The first few episodes of the tv show make it seem as if Ali really is speaking from beyond the grave, and then it becomes gradually clearer that somebody else is the culprit. The epilogue where A literally speaks to the reader is much better at clearing this up, and closes the book on a really creepy and sinister note.
Because this book was so short and insubstantial, I can't really comment too much more on it, though I do have one major pet peeve thus far - the brand names. This book is great at combining female-targeted YA with a creepy mystery, but I feel like it's going to be horribly dated in a few years. The author tries so hard to randomly throw in popular brand names, and it's often just cringe-worthy.
Why did I need to know that Noel smelled like Kiehl's shaving cream (actually, how would Aria know that?!), and why was it necessary to tell us that Emily and her sister have such stumpy lashes that they couldn't live without Maybelline Great Lash? - which is probably the world's worst mascara, but I digress. The brands are thrown in so awkwardly and unnecessarily, and although it shows the materalism of the characters, it mostly just makes me cringe.
I think the author is doing herself an injustice by dating her books with these product placements, and that future readers will be unable to relate to these likely irrelevant brand references. I think a few brands thrown in here and there would be better, rather than each page reading like "hey, I know what kids think is cool these days! I swear I do!"
On a more positive note, I like how similar the characters are between book and tv show - while the characters' appearances differ, their personalities are essentially the same. It's not like Vampire Diaries where Elena was an unrelatable bitch in the books, and had to be completely revamped as a nice person for the tv show. I think this is a great compliment to the author and the characters she created, that they didn't require huge changes to be likeable and relatable.
Overall:.....Wow. Considering the book was so short and I didn't think I'd be able to review it very well, I sure wrote a lot! I'll try to keep it brief here: overall, the tv show is very faithful to the first book of the series, though that book only equates to 4-5 episodes. It's a quick and easy read, though it feels almost too short.
The brand mentions are cringe-worthy, and as a result the book may very well be irrelevant in 5 years. In general though, it's good entertainment value, and I'll be reading on to uncover the answers. I may be able to give more indepth reviews on the characters and storylines as I continue to read on, and get into the books that the tv show hasn't covered yet.
ashlxynicholx's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Honestly, the writing wasn't great and it read very immature, which could just be a product of its time (so many brand name drops) or maybe I'm just giving too much credit to a bunch of teenagers. I like how the show made it a bit darker and more mature, although maybe future books will change my mind.
jennc's review against another edition
5.0
Oh my, how fun was this book? Gossipy and mysterious and soapy. So, so much fun!
maddy1324's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
lovemydolphins's review against another edition
5.0
What's there to say about the first PLL book that hasn't already been said? Well, I'll try anyways.
The first time I read this, I was drawn in from the beginning. I found all the girls annoying and often dumb (even Spencer, the "smart" one), but I still liked them and wanted more. Yes, they made terrible decisions to the point where it seemed like they were trying to get themselves in trouble. It doesn't matter. The mystery was fascinating. Great page-turner.
The first time I read this, I was drawn in from the beginning. I found all the girls annoying and often dumb (even Spencer, the "smart" one), but I still liked them and wanted more. Yes, they made terrible decisions to the point where it seemed like they were trying to get themselves in trouble. It doesn't matter. The mystery was fascinating. Great page-turner.
anair02's review against another edition
Badly written. Looked up the plot online lol
alx7p's review against another edition
4.0
Primo vero libro letto in inglese! Non ho provato eccessive difficoltà , forse perchè conoscevo bene la storia. Vedremo le prossime letture.