Bibliographic Information:
- Title: Pretty Little Liars
- Author: Sara Shepard
- ISBN: 0060887303
- Publisher: Harper Collins
- Copyright Date: October 1, 2006
Genre: Contemporary Fiction/Mystery/Thriller/Drama/Cult Classic
Format: Book
Awards/Honors: New York Times Children’s Series Best Sellers 2008, 2009, 2012 (Wikipedia, 2021).
Reading Level/Interest Level: Teens Grades 8-12, Ages 14-18 (Baker & Taylor Titlesource360)
Plot Summary: Five best friends, each with a secret, and Alison knows them all. When Allison mysteriously disappears from a sleepover during the summer between 7th and 8th grade, the friends split up and go their sepearte ways. Three years later, the girls start receiving mysterious texts, signed ” -A”, threatening to reveal their secrets. The only one who had known their dark secrets was Alison, who was still missing and presumed dead. The texts also refer to “The Jenna Thing,” which only the five girls knew about. The girls start to believe that Alison is still alive, until they get calls from the police saying they have found Alison’s body. While they are at Alison’s funeral, the girls each receive a text saying “I’m still here, bitches. And I know everything. -A.” (Shepard, 2006).
Author Background: Sara Shepard is an American author best known for her bestselling series Pretty Little Liars and The Perfectionists. Shepard was raised in Downington, PA. She received her B.S. from New York University in 1999 and her M.F.A. from Brooklyn College in 2004. Shepard worked for Time, Inc producing lifestyle magazines for corporate customers. She started writing her own books in 2005. Shepard lives in Pittsburgh, PA with her husband, kids, three dogs, and one cat (Pretty Little Liars Fandom, N.D.).
According to Shepard, Pretty Little Liars is based on her experiences growing up in Philadelphia. The series is comprised of 16 books and two companion books. The series was made into a TV show by ABC Family in 2010. Shepard has written many YA and adult books. Her most recent YA book, Influence, which she co-wrote with actress Lilia Buckingham, was published in January, 2021 ( (Pretty Little Liars Fandom, N.D.).
Critical Evaluation: Pretty Little Liars is a short, fast-paced, engaging mystery thriller. The story is a page-turner. The characters are wealthy teens who are dealing with typical teenage problems, such as boyfriends, parents, school, inappropriate relationships, self-esteem, and eating disorders. Some of the relationships are not realistic or believable but that does not distract from the story. The characters are well developed, as is the plot. The description of their hometown is detailed, and having grown up in a suburb of New York City, I could picture the neighborhood, the houses, and the mall. the book is well written, and it is an easy read. The book ends with a cliff-hanger, leaving readers (including myself) wanting more. I did not expect to like this book. It is not a great work of literature and will not be winning any awards, but it was an enjoyable read. Pretty Little Liars is similar to series like Gossip Girl and The Clique. Teens who like this genre will enjoy this book.
Creative Use for a Library Program: For a library program, the teens could watch an episode of the TV show Pretty Little Liars and compare it to the book. We could discuss some of the issues that are the secrets of the characters in the books. We could also play the game Two Truths and a Lie, where one teen tells three facts about themselves- two true and one false, and the others have to figure out which one is the lie.
Speed-Round Book Talk: Five girls. Dark secrets. One is missing and presumed dead. So, who is sending the mysterious texts, signed only -A? Read Pretty Little Liars and find out!
Potential Challenge Issues and Defense: Pretty Little Liars has a lot of profanity, under-age drinking, lying, some violence, and inappropriate relationships. Some parents might object to younger teens reading this book. Parents need to know their teens and what material they can handle, or not. This books would be a better fit for high school students, as opposed to middle school, although many middle schoolers do read these books and enjoy them.
Reason for Inclusion: Pretty Little Liars is a cult classic. Even though the first book in the series was published in 2006, the series is still very popular and circulates well at my library. I never read the series and I wanted to see why it is still so popular after all of these years, so I read the first book. I can see the appeal to teens, especially younger ones. Teens gave it an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars on Commonsensemedia.com (2021) so I decided to include it in my collection.
References:
Common Sense Media. (2021). Pretty Little Liars, Book 1. Retrieved from https://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/pretty-little-liars-book-1/user-reviews/child
Epic Read. (2015, May 12). Epic author facts: Sara Shepard | The Good Girls. [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzh6k8VZs48&ab_channel=EpicReadsEpicReads
Paulina Staszel. (2013, December 26). Pretty Little Liars book trailer. [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXEkS4ZYsyM&ab_channel=PaulinaStaszel
Shepard, S. (2006). Pretty Little Liars. Harper Collins
Wikipedia. (2021, March 9). Pretty Little Liars (book series). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretty_Little_Liars_(book_series)
Debby's YA Mini Library Collection 