Pretty Little Liars #1

By: Sara Shepard

Narrated by: Cassandra Morris

Length: 7 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's Summary

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. And 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 and the naughty girls they are now. And guess what? I'm telling.

Listen to more Pretty Little Liars.

©2006 Alloy Entertainment and Sara Shepard (P)2010 HarperCollins Publishers

You have to kind of get used to it

The woman, or should I say young lady who narrates this book has a slightly annoying voice, nothing too bad but she reminded me a little of Melanie Griffith. Her voice is very high pitched and she sounds like she would have been in school with the girls in the novel. If you haven't guessed by now, I am not a teenager but I love the series on ABC Family and I wanted to read or listen to the books. I will probably get the next in the series just because the books are very good and after awhile, you forget about the voice and get into the book itself. The book is a good one, it may be a little too much for a child under about 14, but I think that they are excellently written and I didn't get bored with them. There is some strong language; I only say that because my friend asked me that question after I finished it, her daughter is fifteen.

13 of 13 people found this review helpful

If you love the Show, You will Love the Book

I didn't even know there was a book series until recently and I am excited to read all of the books since I enjoy the show so much. There seem to be a lot of differences between the tv show and the books but not in a bad way. The book is a little more raunchy and the girls are portrayed a little more promiscuously than on the show, but overall you will love it!

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

shallow gossip at its best, and I’m loving it :)

I have just finished book 5 of the Pretty Little Liars series and have already downloaded the 6th book to start soon. I am 26 so I am not a teenager, who is the audience I think these books were aimed at, but I love them anyways. These books have been like a great gossip magazine for me, you know the kinds you love to read but hide from everyone else. The people in these books never learn from their mistakes, are rich spoiled brats, and you find the parents just as bad as the kids (most of the time) but yet you can’t wait to see what will happen next. The story revolves around four girls in high school who are being tormented with secrets from their past by the mysteries “A”. I can’t explain why I like these books I just do they pull you in. Don’t expect some huge deep story line these are shallow gossip at its best, and I’m loving them.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

A is for...

I felt pretty mixed about this audiobook all the way to the end. That said, I can see how it 's appealing to the teen audience and how some people may really enjoy this series.

For those that don't know, this series follows the lives of Spencer, Emily, Hannah and Aria. They're basically a group of rich, spoiled, pretty...liars! I likened them to the group from Mean Girls, but the Pretty Little Liars are definitely a much darker group of girls with secrets that are harmful to all around. The story does keep your interest and you'll most likely want to continue on in the series to see what happens as the story becomes more tangled and you become more attached to the characters.

As for the narrator, the voice is a little surprising at first. I don't really know what I was expecting, but I do know I wasn't expecting it to be that high. Definitely listen to the sample first before you purchase the audiobook so you can get an idea of what to expect. That said, the story pulls you in and so you quickly get used to the narration.

I knew some of the content from the shows, but I was actually surprised by the amount of strong language and sexual situations in this book and felt it should be mentioned somewhere in this review.

Overall, I think this is a pretty good book, I can see why it became so popular and I'll probably give the second book in the series a listen. After all... I need to find out the identity of "A"!

7 of 8 people found this review helpful

Sticking to the tv show.

Any additional comments?

I like the TV show very much. I thought I'd like to get in to the full length story, but the narrator's little girl voice was just too much for me. Yes I know the book is for teens, but come on. You could have done better than that!

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

AMAZING!!!!

I started watching the television series and then found out there were books, I knew I had to read them. I was a little worried because I'm in my early twenties and this is a YA series, but I didn't feel like it was dumbed down or watered down. I was hooked after the first book, couldn't even wait for my next credit, I ended up buying all of the audio books. I highly recommend this series!

7 of 8 people found this review helpful

Amazing Book!!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes! I would deffinetly reccomend this book to anyone who liked clique novels but also a bit of creepy mystery.

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

Doesn't need to be in the Young Readers category

It was difficult for me to focus on the actual story line due to the fact that I was constantly thinking, "OMG my 12 year old daughter read this!" While she reads above her grade level, I do feel the content of these books exceed the limits of acceptable for young readers. SOME sexual content is one thing, but stories about YOUNG teens having sexual relations with men should not be promoted as acceptable for young readers. I normally try to listen to books before my daughters read them, but my 12 yr old is an avid reader, and I honestly just can't keep up. There should be some sort of rating system, such as for TV & movies, so that the parents that are concerned about what their kids read can have a "heads-up" on the content. I'm not saying the book/series is bad, just not appropriate for young teens/pre-teens. The story line of group of teen girls and their secrets sparks the reader's interest (of any age) and the mystery of what happened and will happen keeps you reading, even through the alarming sexual content.

12 of 17 people found this review helpful

Narrator ruined it for me

I really had a hard time with this narrator, it honestly kinda ruined the book for me. I really liked the story line however. That said, this is about teenagers and the narrator does sound like a teenager so maybe that is relatable to teenagers who listen to this book. For me as an adult it was a negative.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

is this stuff real?

Would you try another book from Sara Shepard and/or Cassandra Morris?

I listened to this book becuz it was a best seller. My initial thought was'how on earth could this have made that list?' I didnt like the jumping back and forth between 6th grade and juniors in high school. I thought it made the book confusing as to which age level it is appropriate for. The dirty language didn't seem appropriate for either age group. The high pitched monotone of the reader because very monotonous and definitely took away from the possibilities of the read. The dragging out of the Jenna thing was almost painful. I wanted to scream ENOUGH ALREADY! Now i find out...the exact same mysterious continue in the second, third.. will the reader be required to purchase the entire collection to find out the identity of A?

What could Sara Shepard have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Stick to one age group...better story line...real people dont act this way.

What three words best describe Cassandra Morris’s performance?

She didn't have a lot to work with. Her voice will be great with the right book.

Did Pretty Little Liars #1 inspire you to do anything?

Not to read anymore of the series

1 of 1 people found this review helpful