Flawless

Author: Sara Shepard

Pages: 330

Published: HarperTeen, 2007

Genre: Realistic fiction/Mystery/Thriller

Age Range: 13 & older

Cover Score: A

Overall Grade: A

In seventh grade, Aria, Spencer, Emily, and Hanna's best friend Alison went missing--and now, 4 years later, she has been found dead. The girls are shocked and horrified, but even more so when they continue receiving creepy text messages from an unknown "A"--messages threatening to reveal secrets that only Alison knew. For Spencer, she and Alison had a secret together than no one else knew: one that had to do with the night that Jenna Cavanaugh was blinded. And now that the Cavanaughs have moved back to wealthy Rosewood, Spencer's afraid that Jenna's always-creepy stepbrother Toby wants revenge...but will she be able to tell the other girls before they're all in danger?

My thoughts: Yep, I'm hooked. "Amazing" is an overused word--but it's the only way to describe the Pretty Little Liars series. I seriously don't know how Ms. Shepard does it--the plot line was thick and complicated, but by the end she's wrapped up all the loose ends into an ohhhh I get it now! way, leaving you wanting more.

Before picking up this series and watching the ABC Family TV show, I guessed that the books were just trashy chick-lit. Never judge a book by its cover. The first book set everything up, but Flawless had more action and mystery and creepiness. Flawless was intense--I absolutely couldn't stop reading!

I loved all of the characters. They felt life-like and I liked how, even though the story was narrated in third person, I felt like I could really get into each girl's head. My favorite character would probably have to be Aria, though.

I know I'm a little late for (finally) giving the series a try, but I'm totally obsessed now--anyone out there who hasn't read Pretty Little Liars, go ahead and get yourself a copy, and make sure you have the next book in the series on hand. I just got the third book, Perfect, from the library, and I'm ready to dig in.