Pretty Little Liars is a young adult fiction novel written by Sara Shepard. It is the first book in the Pretty Little Liars series, which features 16 books, along with seven companion novels. The highly successful series was featured on The New York Times best-seller list and adapted into a television show in 2010. The popular show lasted seven seasons and aired on the Freeform Network. Although Shepard had only written eight books in the series when the first season of the show aired, its success led to the addition of several more books.

Pretty Little Liars follows the story of four former friends—Spencer Hastings, Aria Montgomery, Emily Fields, and Hanna Marin—three years after their best friend and group leader, Alison DiLaurentis, goes missing. The girls have drifted apart and are still struggling to cope with Ali’s disappearance, even after their initial devastation has given way to a sense of relief. Alison knew some of their deepest secrets and insecurities, which now seem to be buried with the passage of time. One of the biggest secrets they carry is The Jenna Thing—a prank gone wrong that blinded a classmate. With Ali gone, they hope it stays a secret forever. The main characters reside and go to school in the wealthy town of Rosewood, Pennsylvania. Rosewood is characterized by superficiality and judgement, as well as mystery and scandals.

Plot Summary

The beginning of Pretty Little Liars describes the night Alison goes missing and introduces Spencer, Aria, Emily, and Hanna. Alison was the glue that bonded the group together and helped give the girls a sense of identity. She was also manipulative and controlling, often bullying them to get what she wanted. She taunted them with their secrets and used them to her advantage. Three years later, the girls are getting ready for the start of the new school year and remain somewhat unsure of themselves. They begin to engage in illicit or defiant behavior. Hanna shoplifts from a fancy jewelry store, which sets the tone for her behavior throughout the rest of the novel. Spencer, Aria, and Emily meet characters who become potential romantic interests. Their blossoming relationships are not straightforward, however, in that Spencer’s crush is on her sister’s boyfriend, Wren; Aria’s is on her teacher, Ezra; and Emily’s is on her female neighbor and classmate, Maya.

Over the course of the next several chapters, Spencer and Aria pursue relationships with their star-crossed lovers, while Emily explores her feelings towards Maya, despite having a boyfriend on the swim team. Emily quits swimming, which has been a major part of her identity. Hanna struggles with the reemergence of her eating disorder and drunkenly crashes her boyfriend’s car after he rejects her at a party. The girls also begin to receive messages from a mysterious individual called A. The messages rehash old secrets about them that only Alison knew, but also refer to their current actions, implying that they are being watched. They wonder if A is somehow Alison, who has either returned to town or is haunting them as a ghost. The messages add anxiety and stress to their lives as they fear being caught and exposed in acts that are often compromising and could hurt those around them.

The book’s rising actions continue to increase in intensity as the book reaches its climax. Spencer’s sister, Melissa, catches her with Wren, and Emily’s boyfriend, Ben, sees her kissing Maya. Hanna is brought into the police station for her drunk driving and Aria’s relationship with Ezra deteriorates when he sees texts in her phone from A. The texts refer to him and he assumes she’s playing a prank on him. Just as the girls are beginning to feel overwhelmed, with Aria and Emily momentarily trying to seek out one another to discuss everything that’s been going on, Alison’s body is discovered. The girls are reunited at her memorial service, where they confide that they’ve all been getting messages from A. They know Alison isn’t the culprit, and the knowledge blows the identity of A wide open. It could now be anyone. The police start to question them, which once again dredges up fears that they could be exposed for The Jenna Thing. Just as they are starting to appreciate being brought together again, they all simultaneously receive a text that claims to know everything, signed from A.