harperclarke's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
author: Sara Shepard
pages: 243
rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
fav characters: spencer, aria, hannah, emily
least fav characters: melissa, spencers parents, ezra
things I liked: fast paced, interesting plot, good characters
things I didn’t like: nothing
important points: nothing was really revealed in this book, and I watched the tv show before reading the books so the secrets weren’t surprising
other things to mention: ezra is forever a creep
mulders's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I’m still here, bitches. And I know everything. —A
Iconic and fun and truly, thoroughly mediocre. Something I definitely would have eaten up back in primary. I was surprised by how seemingly uneventful it seemed, but I guess that's why there are sequels. It's interesting to read now having watched the show as a tween and find all the differences, especially in the girls' characterisations. The relationship between Aria and Ezra especially stands out to me in the book, even if only because Aria reads as so much more of a child than Lucy Hale ever played her. Emily's character also stands out and to me, as the biggest upside of reading this, since she gave a whole lotta nothing in the show, so her point of view was pleasantly surprising. My reviews tend to be a little deeper and a little more eloquent, usually, but there is simply nothing to take away from this past the surface level. A quick two-day read, but I don't know if I have it in me to read the rest of the series, even just for mindless entertainment.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Racism
miyyy's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
katyliz's review against another edition
mysterious
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
3.0
mermeladademora's review against another edition
4.0
Oh, no me acordaba por qué me gustaba tanto este libro. Es una lectura super fresca y sencilla... Acabo de recordar mis enormes ganas de leer el segundo libro.
Simple, sencillo y super entretenido...
Simple, sencillo y super entretenido...
meganffoster's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder
Moderate: Abandonment and Body shaming
Minor: Homophobia and Racism
thepoemreeder's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
polianasd's review against another edition
3.0
I read this book because my 11 year old daughter wanted to read it and I needed to know if it was appropriate for her age. It is not!
Good story, but very frustrating! I'm in no mood to read 15 books to have all the answers!
Good story, but very frustrating! I'm in no mood to read 15 books to have all the answers!
snchard's review against another edition
2.0
I nearly quit this book 30 seconds into the audio, because that narrator voice was grating. BUT, I needed a crime fiction book for a reading challenge, and I have seen a couple seasons of this show, so I knew it wouldn't be too unpalatable for me. This book is basically the same plot as the first episode of the show, except the characters are all somehow even less likable. It's also pretty overbearing in describing how affluent the girls are, using every single circa-2006 brand you can imagine. Doesn't quite age well.
katiecatbooks's review against another edition
2.0
Secrets. Cliques. Troublemakers.
Story: Ali DiLaurentis disappeared one night in seventh grade after she and her friends had a crazy night together. Four years later, her family has moved away from town and all the memories and a new family has moved into her old house.
Characters: There are four main characters, Emily, Aria, Spencer and Hanna, all friends until the night four years ago. Each has a secret and each acts in inappropriate ways, smoking, drinking, being promiscuous, behaving recklessly. One thing I didn't care for was the way the girls were acting much older than their age in the seventh grade intro chapter.
Language: The chapters flip around from one narrator to the next, with each of the four girls telling their story. Maybe it's because I read this book over many days, but I kept getting confused as to what girl belonged to which storyline. It's not helped by the author continually adding in side characters, whose names often appear in multiple storylines.
I really dislike books about girls and teens acting and behaving in adult (and not very respectable) ways. I worried going in that this would be similar to Gossip Girl, and thankfully it's not as bad as that, but the underlying snobbery was the same.
The one redeeming factor of the book was the cliffhanger at the end of the last chapter. On the one hand I'm tempted to continue the series to find out the answers, but on the other hand tomorrow I probably wont care and have forgotten the whole thing.
Story: Ali DiLaurentis disappeared one night in seventh grade after she and her friends had a crazy night together. Four years later, her family has moved away from town and all the memories and a new family has moved into her old house.
Characters: There are four main characters, Emily, Aria, Spencer and Hanna, all friends until the night four years ago. Each has a secret and each acts in inappropriate ways, smoking, drinking, being promiscuous, behaving recklessly. One thing I didn't care for was the way the girls were acting much older than their age in the seventh grade intro chapter.
Language: The chapters flip around from one narrator to the next, with each of the four girls telling their story. Maybe it's because I read this book over many days, but I kept getting confused as to what girl belonged to which storyline. It's not helped by the author continually adding in side characters, whose names often appear in multiple storylines.
I really dislike books about girls and teens acting and behaving in adult (and not very respectable) ways. I worried going in that this would be similar to Gossip Girl, and thankfully it's not as bad as that, but the underlying snobbery was the same.
The one redeeming factor of the book was the cliffhanger at the end of the last chapter. On the one hand I'm tempted to continue the series to find out the answers, but on the other hand tomorrow I probably wont care and have forgotten the whole thing.