Wicked by Sara Shepard

Title: Wicked
Author: Sara Shepard
Series: Pretty Little Liars #5
ISBN-13: 9780061566073
Pages: 310
Year Published: 2008
Genre: Young Adult (Mystery)
Date Finished: January 25

From the dust jacket: In idyllic Rosewood, Pennsylvania, where Burberry earmuffs keep diamond-studded ears warm, four very pretty girls have done some very wicked things. . .

High school juniors Hanna, Spencer, Emily, and Aria have paid dearly for their sins. A stalker named "A" terrorized them for months and revealed their darkest secrets. But now that A's true identity has been revealed, the girls can finally go back to their pretty little lives.

Only, once a pretty little liar, always a pretty little liar—and these girls just can't help but be bad. Hanna will do anything to be Rosewood's queen bee. Spencer's digging up her family's secrets. Emily can't stop thinking about her new boyfriend. And Aria approves a little too strongly of her mom's taste in men.

As the secrets get darker and the scandals juicier, the consequences turn deadly. After all, girls who forget the past are condemned to repeat it. And in Rosewood, someone is always watching. . .

My review: I finished reading Unbelievable yesterday and immediately started Wicked. At the end of Unbelievable, we learned "A's" identity and someone was arrested for Ali's murder. At the beginning of Wicked, it's a few months later and the trial for Ali's murder is set to begin. Spencer, Hanna, Emily and Aria will testify against the defendant, hoping to finally bring this tragedy to an end. Unexpectedly, the accused murderer is released on bail due to a family emergency until the trial's start date. Everyone is stunned after hearing this, especially the four former best friends. Moments later, each girl receives another text from "A". Not sure whether or not to take it seriously (after all we already know who "A" is) or not, the girls shrugged it off thinking someone is just playing with their minds. Until they each start to receive more texts and soon realize that "A" is back. This time, it's a "new A" and this "A" seems more deadlier than the first.

Wicked takes the reader back in time to show the events that led up to Ali choosing Emily, Aria, Hanna and Spencer as her new best friends. The four girls were thrilled to belong to Ali's new clique, but each will learn that there was a price to pay. As each girl tries to accept "A's" identity, Ali's murder trial and letting go of their past friendship with Ali, each realizes that it's not easy to bury the past. Especially when someone is trying very hard to not allow them to forget.

Like the four previous books, Wicked ends with a cliffhanger. I've been reading this series back-to-back for the last two weeks and I have to admit, I cannot wait for book 6: Killer. The only problem is, it's not released until June!