Pretty Little Liars #3: Perfect [Paperback]

 

 

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Author: Sara Shepard
Publisher: Harperteen
Pages: 336
Source: Personal Copy
Category: Young Adult/Series
Rating: 5/5

Synopsis/Overall Impression:

Spencer, Aria, Emily and Hanna's lives were perfect, they had all material things a girl could want, they were the 'it' group in school, and there leader of the pack was Allison. Allison was the girl everyone loved, but secretly hated. As the series continues 'A' is still unknown, and the girls suspicions are running wild. We begin to see the girls who were once torn apart, coming back together and re-bonding. 'A' is becoming for vicious, and up's the ante by revealing more secrets. The girls are living in terror, and the media has been repeatedly playing a leaked home video of the girls. The girls are struggling, life does not feel safe or stable. The girls begin to share some secrets that only Allison knew. Each girls come to the realization that 'Allison' wasn't always the best friend, and at times she could be really mean, teasing and taunting each of the girls.

I really enjoyed 'Perfect' and thought Sara Shepard did a great job. Each book reveals more and more, and as a reader I'm hooked. The mystery is great, and the revelations are shocking. I feel that the books get better and better with each instalment, i'm not frustrated at the lack of details, I'm more intrigued and more entertained. These books keep me on the edge of my seat. I don't want to give any spoilers. We see the girls struggle with their daily life, being a teenage is not easy. Loving your teacher, and being hurt by your best friend seems world shattering. Throw in a parents divorce, a mothers neglect, and a sister who has it out for you. Life is not easy for these four girls. Who will keep their secrets? Who can they trust? And more of all Who is 'A'?

One little spoiler: 'A' makes a mistake, one of the girls knows who 'A' is, but now this girl is fighting for her life.

Unlike trite mean, catty girl stories such as Gossip Girl and the Sweet Valley High books which I found cliches, the Pretty Little Liars Series is a riveting and engaging series full of interesting characters who drop designer names at the drop of a designer hat, weird plot twists and plenty of questions to keep readers wanting to know more.

Dramatis Personae

Alison "Ali" DeLaurentis: a bright, popular girl who led a clique of other rich, indulged girls. The others are more like satellites than actual friends as they know Ali is a powerful ally to have. They live in Rosewood, a suburb of Philadelphia on the Main Line. Ali, known for insidious cruelty has plenty of secrets. So do the other girls, all of whom have good reason to want Ali to do a permanent disappearing act. In this installment, readers learn more about Ali's mean and manipulative side.

Aria, an attractive, athletic brunette who was glad to escape Rosewood for Iceland. Her father accepts a teaching position there and for 3 years, Aria and her younger brother by 2 years Mike, learn Icelandic and absorb Icelandic culture. Aria has a yak-fur bag from Iceland that has become her security blanket. She reaches into it with alarming frequency. Unlike Mike, Aria wants to remain in Iceland. She has a painful non-Ali related secret - she caught her father cheating with another woman. Once back in town, she picks up an older man in a bar and once school starts, discovers that her Ezra is her English teacher! She knows how to play to get an A! Her theme song is Van Halen's "Hot For Teacher!" Ousted from her home because she kept her father's secret, Aria moves in with Sean, a kind boy whom Hanna carried the torch for. That arrangement did not last long.

Spencer, the grind with a tendency to sputter. She earns As and other academic plaudits for real. She has long been eclipsed by her favored older sister, Melissa and when she steals Melissa's boyfriend for the second time, her cold-hearted family ostracizes her. She has her baptism in fire by being ousted from her family in a manner of speaking, but she stands to lose much more because she plagiarizes Melissa's economics essay and wins a Golden Orchid Award. She finally gives Melissa what she has coming and the repercussions are....drastic. Melissa, a pompous Drama Queen has long reveled in her Favored Daughter status and you just want to kick her in the shins.

Hanna, the former fat girl now turned femme fatale is the weakest link in the chain. Bulimic and insecure, she has now linked forces with another social outcast. Together, they drop designer names and flaunt fashion like it's going out of style. She drops designer names the way the Beatles dropped "yeah, yeah, yeahs" and her on again, off again friendship with fellow diva Mona, a former "dork" is the barometer of her moods. Catty and vicious, Mona calls the shots and is a master at humiliating Hanna. A kind boy named Lucas steps up to the plate for Hanna and Mona's perfect facade cracks at the seams.

Emily discovers that love comes in the most unexpected places. She discovers her family's true colors of bigotry as she also learns some things about herself. She has just now accepted her sexuality, thanks to her partner Maya. Emily's family threatens to ship her off to an eccentric aunt and her 3 equally eccentric kids in Iowa if Emily doesn't "straighten out" and attend Tree Tops, an anti-gay quasi-rehab group whose mission statement is to straighten out gay and bi teens. Emily's mentor Becka is a very interesting character and, fortunately is not a cliche. The discoveries these two find make for very interesting reading. In time, Emily would be ousted from her family as well due to her orientation.

The girls are ALL in danger and very little mention is made of the Jenna Thing, the catalyst for the girls' Pact of Silence. Jenna's brother Toby is a complex character and his part in the girls' lives cast some very interesting shapes and shadows indeed.

Because Ali was murdered, the case has been opened once again. The officer assigned to Ali's case is one Officer Wilden, a former Rosewood student who is now romantically involved with Hanna's mother. The girls continue to get messages from the mysterious A who is stalking them and sending them texts and e-mails that chronicle their every move. Whoever A is, A knows these girls very well and may in fact even BE one of them! At no time are the girls ever out of danger as A is keeping close tabs on all of them.

This is a deliciously wicked and riveting read that will keep readers bound to the last page. You really feel their pain when their own families ostracize them, as in Spencer and Hanna's case. Bigotry crops up again in this installment. Melissa and Spencer vie for the affections of one of Melissa's classmates, who is Anglo-Korean. Emily discovers that she could find love in an interracial relationship.

The overplayed 1983 song "Every Breath You Take" by the Police could be the soundtrack for this series.

PERFECT starts out with a flashback to a time when Ali was still alive and part of the group. Ali receives a phone call but doesn't share with Spencer, Hanna, Aria, or Emily. But that's kind of how it's always been. Ali was always the leader. Playing the girls off each other and keeping secrets on each of them.

Now, Ali is supposedly dead and the girls have all gone their own way.

Spencer has been nominated for the Golden Orchid. It's only the most prestigious essay contest in the country. The only glitch...no one knows that it's an essay that Spencer stole off her sister's computer one night when she didn't complete an assignment.

Aria is still secretly crushing on Ezra, her teacher. When they first met, Aria didn't know Ezra was going to be a new teacher at Rosewood. There was an instant connection, but so far they've been good about not acting on those feelings.

Hanna has had a major falling out with her now best friend, Mona. This has caused Hanna to resort to overindulging with food again.

And Emily. Well, she doesn't want to be on the swim team anymore. And she does want to date her friend Maya, but knows how violently her family would react to that news.

All four girls are still getting cryptic messages from the unknown "A." Who can possibly know all of their secrets, the ones that only Ali knew? As the messages keep coming, each girl gets tangled up in a web of her own creation.

A cliffhanger involving the remaining girls leaves the reader ready for the next installment of the PRETTY LITTLE LIARS series, UNBELIEVABLE, due out in May 2008. I picked up the first book in the series on a whim the fall of 2007. I kept being drawn to the cover. I sat down and quickly devoured the first story. From there, I was hooked.

The twisted lives of these girls at Rosewood are enough to keep anyone coming back for more!

Reviewed by: Jaglvr

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