Pretty Little Liars (Book series)



Pretty Little Liars? is a series of? young-adult novels? by American author? Sara Shepard, beginning with 2006's inaugural entry of the same name. The series follows the lives of four girls? – Spencer Hastings, Hanna Marin, Aria Montgomery, and Emily Fields? – whose? clique? falls apart after the disappearance of their leader, Alison DiLaurentis. Three years later, when the girls are juniors in high school, Alison's body is found, and they begin receiving various messages from someone using the alias "A" who threatens to expose their secrets and get revenge.

The novels explore several serious issues such as? bullying,? murder,? drug addiction,? underage drinking,? eating disorders,? homosexuality,? peer-pressure,? infidelity, and? mental illness. Moral ambiguity and the consequences of lying are featured prominently in the series; the girls constantly create their own problems through their unwillingness to tell the truth about certain events and misdeeds they have done.

 The novels have frequently appeared on the? [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times_Best_Seller_list The New York Times? Best Seller lis] t? In 2010, a? television series ? loosely based on the novels began airing. The twelfth book in the series,? Burned, is scheduled to be released on December 4, 2012. A prequel,? Ali's Pretty Little Lies, is set to be released on January 2, 2013. ? Additionally, a thirteenth book,? Crushed, is set to be released in June 2013.

Overview
The series is loosely divided into four arcs of four books each, chronicling the introduction and reveal of each "A". The series follows the lives of four teenage girls? — Aria Montgomery, Emily Fields, Hanna Marin, and Spencer Hastings? — whose clique falls apart after the disappearance of their leader, Alison DiLaurentis. Three years later, they begin receiving text messages from an anonymous source, "A," who threatens to expose their secrets? — including long-hidden ones they thought only their close friend Alison knew. But shortly after, Alison's body was discovered. The first arc covers Mona Vanderwaal's reign as "A" and the second arc focuses on solving the mystery of Alison DiLaurentis' murder, as well as Alison DiLaurentis' run as "A". The third and current arc features an "A" whose identity is currently unknown. There are two companion novels: the first,? Pretty Little Secrets, is set between the first and second arcs. The second companion novel,? Ali's Pretty Little Lies, is a prequel to the series. The four girls are nicknamed? the Pretty Little Liars? or simply? the Liars.

Characters
Although the series features an extensive cast of characters of varying significance, the novels focus predominantly on six main characters:

Spencer Hastings
 * An extremely competitive girl who strives for? perfection? in everything she does. A high-strung over-achiever, Spencer is willing to do whatever it takes to win, often to the detriment of herself and others. She is often quick to jump to conclusions and suffers from? IED. Spencer was half-sister with Alison and Courtney DiLaurentis, her father having had an affair around the time of Spencer's conception; her parents divorce when the affair comes to light. When she attends a summer program at? Penn? to improve her GPA, she becomes addicted to? speed, leading her to frame a friend for? possession? in order to get admitted to? Princeton. In? Ruthless, she experiences? hallucinations? and? paranoia? while suffering from withdrawal and guilt over her actions.

Hanna Marin
 * A pretty, popular girl who struggles with both? bulimia? and? anorexia? due to insecurities about her appearance. Flighty and occasionally air-headed, Hanna often acts purely on impulse. In Alison's absence, she became best friends with Mona, not knowing that Mona was "A". Hanna's parents divorced when she was younger, after her father had an affair. Hanna dislikes her father's new wife, Isabel, and her daughter, Kate, with whom she forms a rivalry. For a short time Hanna is sent to a mental institution, her father believing her eating disorders would resurface due to stress.

Aria Montgomery
 * An artistic, independent girl whose family moved back to Rosewood after her father took a three year? sabbatical? in Iceland. Prior to Alison's disappearance, Aria became aware that her father was having an affair with a student of his (Meredith); having promised to keep it a secret, she is kicked out of the house after the first "A" reveals the affair to her mother. Her parents divorce and Aria's father marries Meredith, and she becomes pregnant. Aria often feels out of place in Rosewood and tends to be attracted to older, more worldly men, which frequently causes conflicts for her.

Emily Fields
 * Emily is a dedicated swimmer and a shy girl with a sweet personality. She is? bisexual, a fact which she takes great pains? to hide? until she is? outed? by the first "A". Although at first her parents make attempts to "de-gay" her, they eventually come to accept her. Best friends with Alison, Emily was also in love with her, which caused her great anguish and continuously affects her judgement in the present. It was revealed in? Twisted? that she had hidden an accidental pregnancy from her family, later giving her child up for adoption. Despite this, she received a swimming scholarship to attend? UNC.

Alison DiLaurentis
 * An extremely popular, beautiful, and cruel girl. Alison is best friends with Emily, Aria, Spencer, and Hanna, and in one way or another, she learns all of their deepest secrets. She often used the girls' secrets against them in order to keep them in line, along with "The Jenna Thing", making them promise to never tell anyone what really happened. Alison mysteriously disappears one night at a sleepover, at the end of seventh grade. Three years later her body is finally discovered buried under the gazebo on her family's former property, launching a murder investigation. It is revealed in? Wanted? that the person the girls had all been friends with back in seventh grade was in actuality Ali's secret twin sister, Courtney, and that the real Alison had murdered Courtney for stealing her identity.

"A"
 * The main? antagonist? of the series. A is an anonymous? extortionist? who is privy to the Liars' deepest and darkest secrets and uses these secrets to exact revenge on the Liars for (often) perceived wrongdoings. There are four different "A" characters throughout the series. The first "A", Mona Vanderwaal, was able to discover the Liars' secrets by reading Alison's old journal. During a physical confrontation with Spencer Hastings, Mona was pushed over the edge of a quarry and died. The second "A" is the true Alison DiLaurentis, who had her identity stolen by her insane twin sister Courtney who is also the one who really died.