Sara Shepard

So I *think* this may be the modern equivalent of a Sweet Valley Twins book. These girls are seventh-graders, at least at the beginning of the story. But boy have the themes changed from what I recall! Alongside the familiar petty squabbling, social bullying, and intermittent backstabbing that seem to be the hallmarks of feminine adolescence, there are: student/teacher affairs (oddly the legal implications of a high school teacher having an intimate relationship with an underage girl are show more never addressed), extramarital affairs (of parents, witnessed by children), murder, incest (well, if you consider stepbrother/stepsister to be incest... otherwise it's just molestation), bulimia, and lesbianism. It's soap opera all the way, in book form, but with disturbingly young characters. However, the hint of mystery is very well done (I seriously can NOT figure out how the author is going to explain it) and the book ends on something of a cliffhanger, which unfortunately sent me immediately in search of the next installation. I'm a little ashamed of myself, but this is book was like a potato chip -- once you have one, you're going to keep eating them regardless of how bad they are for you. show less

Title: Reputation
Author: Sara Shepard
Format: Audiobook

Quick Take: Told in multiple points of view, a story of intrigue, sabotage and secrets follows a tight-knit college community as it is rocked to its core when a hacker dumps 40,000 people’s emails onto an easily searchable database, which results in murder.

Thoughts: I adore Sara Shepard and I love a good mystery with trashy wealthy folks, so I was already intrigued by Reputation. And I was not disappointed. Some aspects and events were show more predicatable but there were many twists and added tidbits that made up for that. Towards the end, I thought I finally cracked who did it (because everybody was shady and had motive, so I was going back and forth on my suspects list). But it turned out I was close but wrong, which was actually kind of refreshing! Can't wait for more from Shepard!

Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars show less

3.75 Stars — THE ELIZAS is a dual narrative featuring Eliza, a young author who’s about to have her first novel published, and Dot, the main character in her book. Eliza is a troubled individual, both her past and present self. I found her irritating at times, but I understood her current paranoia. When she’s pulled from the bottom of a swimming pool yet again, her family is convinced it’s another suicide attempt, but Eliza thinks she was pushed in. Whose story is to be believed?

And show more then there’s Dot. This is a book within a book, as chapters from Eliza’s novel THE DOTS alternate with her own. I enjoyed this set up quite a bit, because it added to the overall madness of the situation. After a while it was hard to tell who was real and who was the character. Though some parts were a bit far-fetched, it was still a fun and strange read, especially if you love unreliable narrators.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. show less

First, I don't think this is a prequel.

I don't think this book should be read until you are at atleast book 8 or 9 in the series! Not before!

And, honestly, since I am that far in the series, this book just made me mad. It's the first Pretty Little Liars book that has left me this frustrated and angry when I was done. I've gone through some crazy plots, a lot of finger pointing and I've really gotten to know these characters.

I feel like this book just tried to tell me what I know is a show more lie

"Ali" was not a nice person. We know that through EVERY book up until now. She's manipulative, evil incarnate and just tried to own everyone through sheer willpower. She was cruel and willing to sell secrets for top dollar - and used everything she could to try to control everyone.

There is no way a book trying to convince me she really just had a rough childhood would excuse her madness

This book did, however, reveal some secrets - so it was very good for that, and well worth the frustration just for a glimpse into the last few days of that time.

Now I can't wait for the next one! show less