Addicted to YA discussion

Picked up Pretty Little Liars first thing this morning and read the prologue, "How it All Started". There are so many characters to keep track of.... maybe too many. I have never seen the show, so I didn't have faces to put with the names to keep them straight in my head. Instead, I pulled up the cast list on Google to help with association. (view spoiler)[ Once Alison starts to hypnotize the other girls, the visualization gets jumpy. I assume that is the author's intention. Maybe the girls don't remember what happened, or they don't want to remember. (hide spoiler)]

Chapters 1-4 helped clarify the girls for me a bit more. I have a better sense of who they are and how they have changed. (view spoiler)[ But one detail that seems far fetched to me is how easily these girls are served alcohol. I lived in Pennsylvania for a while, when I was in my mid-twenties, and I was carded all of the time! Yet, Aria goes into a bar for a beer while her brother is at lacrosse try-outs and Hanna has a glass of wine with her new bestie Mona at a cafe in the mall. (hide spoiler)] I might have an easier time accepting the characters as described if they were in college instead of being juniors in high school.

I also have the following predictions: (view spoiler)[ Ezra, from the bar, is going to be a co-worker of Aria’s father. And Spencer is going to have an affair with her sister Melissa’s boyfriend, Wren, while he is living with the family since the townhouse is being remodeled. (hide spoiler)]

its a pretty good book so far

I'm with you, Sunshine. I don't know if I like any of the characters either. If I had to pick one, I would pick Emily. She seems nice and down to earth, she is just (view spoiler)[ struggling with her sexuality. (hide spoiler)] I haven't found any redeeming qualities in any of the other characters. I also wasn't terribly far off with my earlier predictions, which made me smile. Now that I am almost halfway through the book, I too want to know what is going to happen to them and (view spoiler)[ more so, who is leaving the notes! (hide spoiler)]

It is fun reading. It isn't too dark or hard to get through; I am flying through the pages. I can't believe that there are 16 books.... but now you have me hooked and I will have to read them all.

After learning a little more about the other three girls, it becomes a bit easier to sympathize with them. Spencer tries so hard to be the perfect daughter. She is a good student, an athlete, and volunteers, but no matter how well she does, it doesn't feel like enough for her parents. (view spoiler)[ It took almost a perfect score on the PSAT to get her parents' attention, who seem to focus all of their love on her older sister Melissa. (hide spoiler)] Aria is artsy and sensitive; she yearns to find someone like her, which is hard to do in a city like Rosewood. (view spoiler)[ She finds that with her young teacher. The more I learn about him, the more I like the idea of them as a couple. (hide spoiler)] I am still not a fan of Hanna, but I understand why she is how she is. She feels abandoned by her father and her mother enables her. She just wants to be loved. (view spoiler)[ When she is in the woods with Sean, and tries to seduce him, you realize that she thinks that if she can only be pretty enough and confident enough, then she will be loved. (hide spoiler)] It is heartbreaking.

I finished and there are so many questions! (view spoiler)[ Who killed Alison? Who is A and how do they know all the secrets? What did they do to Jenna? (hide spoiler)] I already requested a hold from the library for book #2 - Flawless.

Sunshine wrote: "One thing I don't like about this series: the endless product name dropping. OMG it gets old real fast lol"

This book is brought to you by Chanel, Burberry, and Pandora. Lol.

Sunshine wrote: "I finished the book tonight! Sorry, it took me this long. I enjoyed the book and am all ready to check out Flawless! Thanks for reading with me :)"

I loved reading with you! I was able to pick up Flawless from the library yesterday. If you would like, we can continue this thread with the entire series. Interested?

I started reading Flawless tonight. Like you would expect of a television series, the beginning of the book seems to be a recap of highlights from the first book. By chapter 6, you have learned a few more scandalous details: 1) Aria (view spoiler)[ and her brother, Mike, see their father in a bar holding hands with Meredith, the student with whom he previously had an affair. (hide spoiler)] 2) Spencer (view spoiler)[ is still seeing Wren, which I don't blame her for one bit, especially after the way her family is treating her. It is one thing for them to be disappointed in her, it is a completely other thing to disown her! (hide spoiler)] And 3) Hanna's (view spoiler)[ dad shows up. I'm sorry but he hasn't been in her life for the last for 4 years, so what makes him think that he can just show up and solve all of her problems? Maybe if he would have been present in her life, she wouldn't have the issues that she does. (hide spoiler)]

Sunshine wrote: "TY for reading this w/me."

It's my pleasure. I am really enjoying the series. I love how easy it is to read and how the story keeps me on the edge of my seat, waiting for the next twist!

Regarding Spencer's (view spoiler)[ relationship with Wren, I was extremely disappointed with how it ended. I did enjoy the way it ended, giving her a taste of her own medicine, with her sister Melissa 'stealing' him back; however, it would have been even better, in my opinion, had the author drawn out their relationship, her sneaking around with Wren behind her family's back, a bit longer. (hide spoiler)].