Pretty Little Liars (Pretty Little Liars #1) by Sara Shepard

🌟🌟🌟🌟 out of 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Three years ago, Alison disappeared after a slumber party, not to be seen since. Her friends at the elite Pennsylvania school mourned her, but they also breathed secret sighs of relief. Each of them guarded a secret that only Alison had known. Now they have other dirty little secrets, secrets that could sink them in their gossip-hungry world. When each of them begins receiving anonymous emails and text messages, panic sets in. Are they being betrayed by some one in their circle? Worse yet: Is Alison back? A strong launch for a suspenseful series.

I watched the Pretty Little Liars TV show  before I even thought about reading the books. I wasn't sure if I would enjoy them as much after having them spoiled for me. Someone told me who A is in the books and when I am told such a huge spoiler, I usually don't read the books at all. I decided that I would give it a chance and was surprised to find quite a few differences from the show. This book was just as intriguing and addicting as the show was and I am excited to continue reading the series. 
The books seem to be written for a younger audience but that didn't really bother me all that much. I was surprised that some of the issues that the girls go through in the book were not featured in the show. I would think that it would be a chance to talk about difficult topics and shed light on them. 
I enjoyed the pacing of the book as well as the different points of view of each of the girls. They each had a unique voice that was interesting to read from Spencer who takes on too much in order to outshine her sister to Emily who seems perpetually nervous and tries to follow everyone's rules so she doesn't make waves. I didn't feel as if their voices were as unique in the show so I felt the book was better to highlight their differences from one another.