Flawless

WTF is wrong with this book. I hate to sound like some book-baning parent, but like... the values in this book are too much. Every other paragraph is name-dropping designer purses and jeans, mixed in with name dropping cigarette brands! On the first few pages it said "Spencer lit another Parliament." It took me a minute to register what a Parliament was, and I used to smoke them for years! It was so out of place in a YA novel. Now, I am a big fan of trashy books, and I really like Gossip Girl which is guilty of some of the same things. The difference, though, is Shepard doesn't seem like a great writer, and is using these gimmicks to bolster her "edge" or whatever. If you want to have teen characters smoke and drink, fine. But I don't show more really think you need to give them suggestions of specific brands to go and seek out. Or, I guess you do, if you don't have anything else to write about. show less

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 show more 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. show less

I was pleasantly surprised with book two in this series. Book one failed on me on a few levels in the romance department. It's far from my favourite things to read; but I appreciate it when it's done well, and the Aria/Ezra, Spencer/Wren relationships just made me gag throughout book one; but what kept me reading into book two was the mystery, and the romance become much more believable and readable, which for me was a big deal.

I applaud the author's ability to create and follow four (five if you include Ali) different but intertwined lives. The relationship between Spencer and Wren has fizzled when she becomes too needy; a flaw in so many girls I knew at that age who dated older guys, Emily's struggle with her sexuality, and Hanna's show more constant battle with her former self as well as parents who seem to have forgotten about her. Add to that the mystery of what the hell happened to Allison and who did it, and you have a great story that had me hungry for more.

The only negative I have, which is minimal, is that the parents sometimes act more childish than the teenagers. When Alison's body is found, Spencer's parents keep ignoring her and treating her like she doesn't exist (her punishment for getting with Wren, her sister's bf), that was just completely unrealistic to me. Her parents are not shown to be closed off at any other points, but are quite attentive and focused on their children, so to have their youngest have to endure the trauma of her former best friend's body finally being found and attending her funeral with her old friends would most certainly cause her parents to act parental.

Too often is seems like these four girls are raising their parents. Hanna's mother sleeps with a cop to keep her daughter's record clear, Aria's keeping her father's affair secret for her father, Emily's parents are racist, and Spencer, well see above. But as with book one going into book two and solving the issues I had with the romance, I hope that in book three this parent/child thing will sort out and become more realistic.

The mystery is fully engaging; and the main reason I continue. Onto book three! show less

My opinions on this book are relatively the same as for the first one in this series. While the writing is juvenile, it is smoother in this book than in the first. The modernization is still jarring, especially when the overall feel of the story is still the same. For example, I remember feeling for Emily a lot growing up, but being a gay woman was viewed differently when this series was originally written (and when I was in middle and high school) than it is now. I feel like placing this story into more recent years changed the impact and relatability of those experiences for me.

A few quick notes:

It was very surprising to me that Toby died so soon in the story. I loved his character in the show. I also much preferred the details of show more the Jenna Thing in the show compared to in the book. The severity of Toby's actions in Flawless makes it much harder to sympathize with him, and I felt like Jenna pressuring Toby in the show brought attention to a reversal of a commonly shown dynamic, which can be uplifting representation for male victims.

The way Aria's mother treated her once the affair was revealed was very disappointing. Instead of showing maturity and responsible parenting, her mother seemed unable to separate her daughter from the deeds of her husband. Aria is a victim of her father's actions as well, having to keep his secret, provide stability for her brother, and then deal with the fallout within her family.

I still enjoy the way that the older men who are dating young girls are portrayed in this book as opposed to the show (primarily Wren in Flawless, but I'm hoping for more of Ezra). Keep showing them as creepy assholes instead of heartthrobs, please!

Writing: 3
Characters: 4
Plot: 2
Setting: 2
Enjoyment: 3 show less

After reading the series as a whole I can say that Flawless is one of my least favorite in the series, but isn't by any means un-enjoyable. It centers very much on two things, The Jenna Thing which I'm glad we FINALLY get to find out about and Foxy (a ritzy fundraiser event). I guess I was just hoping for more plots. I started to get sick of hearing about these two things.

As with the first book the 4 girls deal with their own personal problems but are still being threatened by A. In this book I found Emily's friendship with Toby (Jenna's brother) pretty interesting. Was he someone she could trust or not? This plot created some great suspense especially towards the end of the book.

While this book wasn't one of my favorites in the series show more it laid a lot of groundwork for the upcoming books. show less

I have a confession to make: this series makes me feel very guilty to read. I consider it my guiltiest of guilty pleasures. Why, you ask? (And, please keep in mind, I mean no offense with this review...this is just MY feelings and opinions about this series - I totally feel like if you love it with all your heart, that is great!)

So anyway, why, you ask, is this a guilty pleasure? Because this is THE MOST dramatic, cliquey, high schoolish series I have ever laid eyes on. Based on past experience with books, I should HATE these books with a passion that burns brighter than the sun. Instead, I find myself strangely drawn into the mystery that is "A".

Maybe be it is because I love a good mystery, and this is, admittedly, a well-written, show more twisty mystery...that also happens to be drama-filled and cliquey.

Long story short, I am looking forward to book 3. I may not be able to puzzle out my exact reasons why I enjoy this series, but whatever the reasons, I'm going to enjoy the pleasure I get from this book. I do not support shaming people for their choice of reading materials, so no more doing it to myself...no matter how "guilty" the pleasure! show less

I am officially hooked onto Pretty Little Liars. this book was a fast read, and full of mystery and action. I could not put the book down and I thoroughly loved every second of when I read this book.

I got this book as an uncorrected proof and even this copy had me hooked and loving every second.

Following the girls as they try to figure out what happened to A, and the typical high school soap opera drama kept me amused and hooked. I would suggested into anyone who wants a fast, addicting read. The novel series is a soap opera for teens and makes you connect with the characters almost immediately.

Sara Shepard did an amazing job. The only reason I did not rate this book 5 stars is because I felt like we didn't get much closer to finding show more out about A from the beginning to the end. show less