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!

Unbelievable by Sara Shepard

Title: Unbelievable
Author: Sara Shepard
Series: Pretty Little Liars #4
ISBN-13: 9780060887414
Pages: 335
Year Published: 2008
Genre: Young Adult (Mystery)
Date Finished: January 24

From the back cover: Four pretty little liars' charmed lives have turned into living nightmares. Emily's been shipped off to Iowa to live with her überconservative cousins. Aria's boyfriend is behind bars—because of her. Spencer's afraid she was involved in Ali's murder. But Hanna's fate is far worse: She's clinging to life in the hospital because she knew too much. If these girls don't start listening to me, Hanna's ging to look like the lucky one. ~A

First sentence: Ever wish you could go back in time and undo your mistakes?

My review: Unbelievable picks up where Perfect left off: moments after Hanna's accident. While her friends and family pace the hospital's waiting room to learn Hanna's fate, "A" continues to threaten each girl. Emily is sent to live with her cousins after her parents learn she kissed the new girl, Maya. Little does Emily (or her parents) know that her cousins aren't so innocent and have issues of their own. Meanwhile, Aria is trying to cope with her parents' imminent divorce. Just recently broken up with her boyfriend, Sean, Aria has no place to live. She's forced into moving in with her father and his mistress and isn't thrilled to hear their latest news. Spencer is up for the Golden Orchid award. . . something she has always dreamed about. The only problem is she plagiarized her sister's paper. When she learns she made the finals, will she come clean and confession or will "A" out her? Hanna is in the hospital recovering from her accident. She doesn't remember the events of that fateful evening, although pieces of memories flood her mind.

Unbelievable finally reveals "A's" identity and the motive behind the threats and texts. As each girl begins to remember their past friendship with Ali, each slowly realizes that Ali just wasn't the sweet, innocent girl everyone loved. Ali kept secrets of her own. . . secrets that could have killed her.

I figured out "A's" identity after reading book 2: Flawless, however after reading the last chapter in Unbelievable, I just can't help but to wonder is there more to "A" and these four former best friends. I mean, the series isn't finished yet. . .

Perfect by Sara Shepard

Title: Perfect
Author: Sara Shepard
Series: Pretty Little Liars #3
ISBN-13: 9780060887384
Pages: 298
Year Published: 2007
Genre: Young Adult (Mystery)
Date Finished: January 18

From the back cover: In Rosewood, Pennsylvania, four perfect-looking girls aren't nearly as perfect as they seem. Aria can't resist her forbidden ex. Hanna is on the verge of losing her BFF. Emily is freaking out over a simple kiss. And Spencer can't keep her hands off anything that belongs to her sister. Lucky me. I know these pretty little liars better than they know themselves. But it's hard keeping all of their secrets to myself. they better do as I say. . . or else! ~A

First sentence: Have you ever had a friend turn on you?

My thoughts: Hanna, Spencer, Aria and Emily are still dealing with Ali's murder investigation. Someone leaked a home video of the five girls together days before Ali went missing and the media can't stop playing it. Repeatedly watching the video makes each girl wonder if they really did know Ali at all. Spencer sums it up by saying:

"Being Ali's friend was great, but we had to make a lot of sacrifices. We went through a lot together, and some of it wasn't good. It was like, 'We go through all this for you, and you repay us by ditching us?'" (p. 153)

As each girl struggles to deal with "A's" threats, "A" begins to up the ante. "A" is now sending texts and leaving messages to the people in their lives exposing their secrets. As each girl is on the verge of losing it all, one of them desperately tries to remember the night Ali went missing. Is it possible she's responsible for Ali's death? "A" makes one little mistake and one of the four friends realizes "A's" identity. Before she can tell the others, she's mysteriously involved in an accident. Will she survive to reveal "A's" identity? Or will "A" have to take drastic measures to fix his/her mistake?

Perfect, so far, is my favorite in the series. The author does a great job of showing how each girl is struggling to maintain her sanity and keep her life intact while dealing with "A's" threats. I didn't see the end coming and I can't wait to start Unbelievable to see what happens next.

Flawless by Sara Shepard

Title: Flawless
Author: Sara Shepard
Series: Pretty Little Liars #2
ISBN-13: 9780060887353
Pages: 330
Year Published: 2007
Genre: Young Adult (Mystery)
Date Finished: January 13

Flawless immediately begins where Pretty Little Liars ends: the afternoon of Ali's funeral service. Aria, Spencer, Emily and Hanna are still stunned that their former friend's body was found. The police have reopened the case and now consider it as homicide. Each girl admits to receiving texts and e-mails from "A" and agree to disclose if any more are received. All four have secrets that they have kept from each other and the only other person who knows is Ali. Now Ali is dead and that leaves no explanation for how "A" knows all about these secrets.

Flawless goes more in depth with each character and her back story. Spencer constantly feels inferior to her older sister, Melissa. When Melissa catches Spencer with her boyfriend, her parents shun her and barely speak to her. They are nonchalant about Ali's death and hardly acknowledge Spencer's grief. Feeling ousted by her family, Spencer resumes her relationship with Wren and soon her perfect facade begins to crack. Spencer also feels guilty about what really happened the night the Jenna thing occurred, but remains silent. Her silence may eventually put her friends in harm's way.

Hanna is desperately trying to hold it together. She no longer feels like the "confident, popular" Hanna, but more like the "insecure, overweight " Hanna of years ago. Hanna continues to make poor decisions and tries to live with the consequences. Her dad is back in her life, but he comes with his soon-to-be bride and Hanna's nemesis, step-sister Kate.

Emily is trying to understand her feelings for the new girl, Maya. She begins to avoid Maya and soon finds herself on a date with someone she never considered dating potential. She's also dealing with her ex-boyfriend's hatred after he caught Emily kissing Maya.

Aria is trying to get over her feelings for her teacher. She finds a new love interest, but isn't quite sure what to expect. In the meantime, she's also carrying the burden of the real reason why her dad moved her family to Iceland and realized the problem hasn't gone away at all.

So, you think each girl has enough to deal with, right? Well, apparently "A" doesn't think so. "A" not only continues to send texts and e-mails, no, he/she has upped the ante and begins leaving notes on their car windshields, in their textbooks and at school. "A" is carrying out his/her threats and forces the girls to do the unspeakable to protect their secrets.

Honestly, I can't believe how much I like this series! It's very quick reading and the more I learn about each girl and their secret, the more I want to know "A's" identity. I've narrowed it down to two people, so we'll see if I'm right. "A" definitely turned up the heat at the end of Flawless, so I can't wait to see what happens in book 3, Perfect.

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

Title: Pretty Little Liars
Author: Sara Shepard
Series: Pretty Little Liars #1
ISBN-13: 9780060887322
Pages: 286
Year Published: 2006
Genre: Young Adult (Mystery)
Date Finished: January 11

From the back cover: Everyone has something to hide-especially high school juniors Spencer, Aria, Emily and Hanna. Spencer covets her sister's boyfriend. Aria's fantasizing about her English teacher. Emily's crushing on the new girl at school. Hanna uses some ugly tricks to stay beautiful. But they've all kept an even bigger secret since their friend Alison vanished. How do I know? Because I know everything about the bad girls they were, the naughty girls they are, and all the dirty secrets they've kept. And guess what? I'm telling.

My thoughts: Imagine you are BFF with the most popular girl in school. Everyone else wants to be you. Of course you love the power you have that so many people are envious of you, but secretly you truly wonder if being her BFF is a blessing or a curse. Now imagine it's the start of the summer between seventh and eighth grade and you and your BFF are celebrating by having your annual summer sleepover. Things don't go quite as planned and the two of you end up fighting and she walks out of your house. The very next morning you hear from her mom and you just know something terrible has happened. Suddenly days turn into weeks and before you know it the summer has ended, school has started and still no word from your BFF. She just simply disappeared off the face of the earth. Although you do not wish her any harm, you have to admit, there's a part of you that's relieved that she's gone. You start to feel freer and less burdened because all the secrets she knows about you, have vanished along with her. Horrible to think, some might say, but if they knew what she knew about you, they might feel exactly the same.

This is how it is for Aria, Spencer, Hanna and Emily. Alison, Ali, disappears during their slumber party. After her disappearance, the four friends gradually drift apart until no one can even recall they were once friends. It's now three years later and the teens are about to start their junior year. Spencer is very anal, in competition with her older sister about everything (and a certain someone); Hanna is now the new "it" girl, but carries a terrible secret about her drastic makeover; Aria is back from Iceland with her family and has a crush on a new boy, unfortunately she just found out he's her new English teacher; and Emily is the all-american good girl doing what she can to please her parents, that is until she meets Maya...

All four have secrets, secrets that they want to stay buried. Secrets that only one other person knows about: Ali. During the first week of school, each start to receive texts about their secrets, threatening to expose them. Each text is simply signed "A" and naturally the girls think Ali is back. But is she? Not only does "A" haunt them with their past, "A" knows what they are hiding now. It's as though each girl is being watched.

I really enjoyed this first book of the series and devoured it in one sitting. It's fast-paced, with short chapters and you just want to keep reading to learn more about what each girl is hiding. The story goes back and forth between past and present, but it's not confusing at all. After each girl receives a text, the author will go back to the past to explain its relevancy. Actually, I thought it added to the suspense.

Although this is a young adult novel, I have reservations about preteens reading it. There are mature themes discussed in the book and if younger children read it, I suggest the parents read it as well and have a conversation about these topics.

Time of My Life - Allison Winn Scotch

Title: Time of My Life
Author: Allison Winn Scotch
Genre: Chick Lit
ISBN: 0307408574
Date Finished: January 7
Pages: 283

From the outside looking in, it appears as though Jillian Westfield has the perfect life. After marrying and moving away from New York City into the suburbs, Jillan and her husband, Henry, have a daughter, Katie, a nice home and Jillian does not have to want for anything.

For Jillian, something is missing. She feels an emptiness inside, that she is uncertain if anything will ever fill it. Then one day while walking with a friend, she learns that her old flame, Jackson, is getting married. Trying to hide her true feelings, Jillian shrugs it off and politely wishes him the best. It's not until Jillian is alone that she allows her true feelings to emerge: what if Jackson was the one who got away? How different would her life be if she and Jackson never broke up and she never met and married Henry? To Jillian's surprise, she travels back in time to have those questions answered.

Time of My Life is a book for those of us who wake up one morning thinking: How did I get here? and There has to be more to my life than just this! Jillian gets the opportunity to attempt to correct those past mistakes and live the life she thinks she wants. As Jillian desperately tries to alter her future by cleaning up her past, she fails to realize that each action will have a consequence. She also comes to understand that no matter how hard she tries to manipulate situations to transform her life into what she wants it to be, events still occur that are out of her control. Jillian realizes running back into the past isn't always the answer. Just maybe, we need to release our past so that we may be able to fully appreciate what we have in front of us.