Comment

Community comment are the opinions of contributing users. These comment do not represent the opinions of Port Moody Public Library.
Aug 23, 2017TEENREVIEWCREW rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Pretty Little Liars is the first book in the series about five best friends - Alison, Aria, Emily, Hanna, and Spencer. Everyone loves Alison but they are secretly jealous of her. She is the "secret keeper" of the clique; she holds the darkest and deepest secrets of each of the girls that nobody else knows. During a sleepover one night, Alison mysteriously disappears. Three years later, the girls began to receive text messages from an anonymous person named A, who threatens to reveal their secrets that they told Alison. Who could "A" be? The girls go on a journey filled with mystery, drama, and suspense to figure out who A is. While the concept of this book was interesting, it is certainly fast-paced and a bit confusing. A lot happened in the book and made me feel lost sometimes. The writing was unpolished, basic, and clunky; it could have been written better. The author filled the book with a ton of brand names and named the exact model of every bag, shoe, and top which I found totally unnecessary and annoying. Overall, the book was okay but could have been way better. Rating: 2 stars @LavishReads of the Teen Review Board at the Hamilton Public Library The first novel or Pretty Little Liars is a bit concerning and too idealistic. As much of a fan, I am of the series and the tv show; I can't help but wonder what was going through Sara Shepherd's head when she was writing the series. The concept is alluring and exciting and quite literally a 'Desperate Housewives' for teenagers, but I can't help but wonder why these events of drinking, drugs, and sexual activity were being done to these girls at the mere age of 12. Of course, it would be naive to think these events and practices don't happen to children at this age, but the majority of these children, act and learn things fit: for children. My concern is how this book might portray adolescent girls and how non-adolescent women can see it. I read the novel when I was also the same age as these girls, and as a 12-year-old who saw these girls doing these activities, I felt as a child that I should be partaking in these life events and that I was missing out. These girls were portrayed as perfect and YOUNG. Despite the author's fantastic storyline, it discomforts me that it wasn't carefully thought out on and not given more concern to what these young girls in the story were doing and how it could affect its readers. @Moonlightbae of the Teen Review Board at the Hamilton Public Library A mystery, suspense, teen thriller that gets more compelling as you read on. 4 girls the drift apart and are brought back together because of the disappearance of their best friend. Or at least that's what I would have hoped for. The problem with this book is that all the information is given to us, and that's something that you never want when you read a mystery novel; you want to be able to piece together clues and hints yourself to figure out what's really going on. The characters are also super hard to relate to and mostly super dull, which also made it tough to get through. Overall, good ideas in theory, but kind of a mess in practice. - @loona of the Teen Review Board of the Hamilton Public Library