"Pretty Little Liars" by Sara Shepard

Sara Shepard's "Pretty Little Liars" follows the lives of four former best friends as they struggle with the disappearance of their leader three years ago -- and the constant threat of their dark secrets being exposed by a mysterious text messager who goes only by the initial "A".

Plot Line

Spencer, Hanna, Emily, Aria and Alison were best friends until Alison, the leader of their group, disappeared without a trace. The girls grew apart and now, three years later, they're thrown back together as they all begin receiving taunting text messages, emails, and IMs threatening to reveal their darkest secrets -- secrets only Alison knew. Each message is signed only with the initial "A", causing the girls to suspect that their long-lost friend is the mysterious sender. But when Alison's dead body turns up, and it's clear that she's been dead for years, the girls are forced to look elsewhere to find the identity of their stalker.

Aria has moved back to Rosewood after two years in Iceland, and is still trying to keep a horrible secret from her mother -- years ago, she found her father cheating on her mother, and her father forbid her from saying anything about it. But now A is threatening to expose the secret, once and for all.

Spencer has spent her entire life trying to outdo her perfectionist sister, Melissa. Years ago, she had a chance and took it, when she seduced Melissa's boyfriend, Ian. Now Melissa has brought home a new boyfriend, and Spencer is a little too attracted to him. Emails and instant messages from A threaten to reveal Spencer's antics to Melissa.

Hanna used to be chubby and dorky, until she figured out the cheater's way to stay skinny. Now she's thin, gorgeous, and one of the most popular girls in school, and she constantly lives with the fear of gaining weight and spiraling back to the dorkdom she came from. She's also got some pretty sticky fingers, and lately has been getting caught left and right for her stealing habit. A's texts taunt her with memories from her past, and warn her that she might want to start watching her weight a little more closely.

Emily used to love Alison -- really, really love her. She kissed her one day long ago, then wrote her a letter expressing her love, which she isn't sure Alison ever got. Now a new family has moved into Alison's old house, and Emily quickly makes a best friend out of the new girl, Maya. But as they begin to spend more time together, it becomes clear that Maya's sexual preferences aren't quite typical. As the girls start to become more than friends, Emily begins receiving texts from A threatening to expose their relationship for what it really is.

And all four of the girls harbor the deepest secret of all -- a secret they promised never to tell. Long ago, Alison caused a devastating accident that caused a neighbor girl to lose her sight forever. If the police ever found out who was really responsible, the girls would all be in deep, deep trouble. With the threat of exposure constantly surrounding them, life for the girls quickly begins to spiral out of control.

Review

Awesome book. A really quick read, and some more mature subject matter. Constant action, and it's never boring. I would definitely recommend this book.

This book is currently available at the Wausau Barnes & Noble.