The cover of Sara Shepard's first novel, Pretty Little Liars, compares it to
The O.C. It didn't remind me of that show, but it was reminiscent of a few other things: the
Traveling Pants series, the
Gossip Girls series, Donna Tartt's The Secret History, even the Twilight Zone. And it left me ... entertained but confused.
Aria, Emily, Spencer, Hanna and Ali are the best of friends in the same way many teenage girls are friends, i.e. they know each other's secrets and have a tendency to use them against each other. Particularly Ali, the leader of the pack. So when Ali disappears the girls are of course horrified, but also a little bit relieved. Understandably, they drift apart. Three years later they've all changed a lot and then they start getting messages signed by 'A'. Not only does the mysterious 'A' know their past secrets, he or she knows exactly what they're up to now too...
