Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that this book features all kinds of bad behavior. One character hooks up with a teacher, another with her sister's boyfriend. There's bulimia, drunk driving, shoplifting, pranking, swearing, smoking -- and the big secret: what happened to their best friend.
Families can talk about the appeal of this book -- and the crop of clique series that have appeared on bookstore shelves in recent years. Are these books simply escape, or do they promote dangerous values? Do they impact the way girls treat one another -- or themselves? For more ideas, read our discussion guide.
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Kate Pavao
PRETTY LITTLE LIARS is the launch of yet another series about pretty, privileged girls who do all sorts of naughty things.
The only difference between this book and other similar series? There's a mystery at its heart -- a former friend disappeared one night before the start of eighth grade. Ali's disappearance gives readers something to guess about in between the protoganists' student-teacher sex scandals and bouts of bulimia.
This is fluffy guilty pleasure fare all the way, with few surprises either among the character types or the plotting. Gossip Girl fans will likely enjoy this one -- but parents who read along will find plenty to cringe over.
From The Book
The police questioned the girls -- along with practically everybody else from Rosewood, from Ali's second-grade gymnastics instructor to the guy who'd once sold her Marlboros at Wawa. It was the summer before eighth grade and the girls were supposed to be flirting with older boys at pool parties, eating corn on the cob in one another's backyards, and shopping all day at King James Mall. Instead they were crying alone in the canopied beds or staring blankly at their photo-covered walls.
Plot Summary:
This is basically Desperate Housewives for the teen set. The book centers on former friends, each with her own set of issues -- one crushes on a girl, another struggles with her weight/self-esteem, etc. What they share now is a mystery in their past: One night, during the summer before eighth grade, their leader, Allison, disappeared without a trace. They've drifted apart but come back together when they start receiving strange messages from someone named "A" who seems to know all their secrets, past and present.
Related Books:
More Glam Girl Series
Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar
The It Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar
The Invasion of the Boy Snatchers: A Clique Novel by Lisi Harrison
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Sexual ContentGirl-on-girl kissing, plus Aria nearly has sex with her teacher, Spencer hooks up with her sister's boyfriend, and Hanna tries to seduce her boyfriend in the woods. |
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ViolenceThe plot centers around a missing girl -- and there are references to, but few details about, the "Jenna thing," a prank gone wrong. |
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LanguageYou'll find all the big bad words -- but not a lot of them. |
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Social BehaviorThese girls do all sorts of bad things: shoplift, drink and drive, steal boyfriends, starve (or throw up intentionally), etc. |
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CommercialismTiffany & Co., Kate Spade, BMW, Marlboro, Corona, Cheetos, etc. |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoCharacters drink and smoke. |
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