Crushed

Pretty Little Liars #13

by Sara Shepard

WHY TELL THE TRUTH WHEN LIES ARE SO MUCH PRETTIER?

Now that they know A isn't working alone, the pretty little liars have decided to act. Hanna is playing nurse to one of A's victims. Emily's digging into Ali's past at the mental hospital. Spencer hires a private eye to stalk her stalker. And when Aria's dark secret from Iceland finally comes to light, she discovers that the one person she's trying to protect from the truth may have known it all along.

Aww, how sweet - the liars think they can track me and my helper down. Too bad for them we're always ten steps ahead. And our next move is going to crush them completely.

- A

Genres: Young Adult, Mystery, Fiction, Contemporary, Thriller, Romance, Chick Lit

344 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 4, 2013

About the author

Sara Shepard graduated from NYU and has an MFA from Brooklyn College. She has lived in New York City, Brooklyn, Tucson, Arizona, Philadelphia, and now lives in Pittsburgh, PA. Sara's Pretty Little Liars novels were inspired by her upbringing in Philadelphia's Main Line.

Reviews

[Laura Newcombe]

Can't wait for book #56, Geriatric, wherein "A" tries to mow down the girls at the retirement home on her motorized scooter! I think it'll be the best one yet.

[Leesh · Rating 4 out of 5]

It seems no ones approving this book. They think that Sara should end the series and that its getting ridiculous, I disagree. Sara is my favourite author, and this is the best series! Even if its still dragging on, I i find it still extremely thrilling. I'm in totally support of Sara writing as many more of these books as she pleases and Im really looking forward to reading this book!

[Veronica Alvarez · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh surprise surprise we see (again) another flashback which we literally had no idea, and (again) they're not THAT innocent specially Aria this girl is getting in my nerves like she literally cheated on Noel and in the epilogue we see a new characters and of course now is relevant to the series Olaf
Spencer:
We first see about she and her boyfriend breaking up, meh not a big deal BUT! her boyfriend is really smart and OMG! He has a offer to go to Columbia (the freaking country) and study there and HE'S THINKING ABOUT IT! OMG! he's in freaking Princeton I don't know about you but there's no way NO WAY! that Princeton is in any way better than Columbia (THE FREAKING COUNTRY) I was really upset about this because if you just something there's no way someone would do that and he's really excited about this oh boy! (Sara) please do your research oh btw he's studying something about like biology and that, in freaking Columbia nonononono
And then they literally break up inside her house and she received a message from A, and I'm like she doesn't even think how would she know about their break up? She's to be really close do something girl!

Hanna:
Hanna get to be a participant to be prom queen and she got the nerve of questioning her! crown? IN FRONT OF EVERYONE! She would never do something like that and I didn't like that Sara is changing characters' decisions that we all know they would never she's literally expression er feelings (fears) in front of ever FOR A REALLY LONG TIME?
And OMG! Casey who? I know right out of nowhere "being so gorgeous and "to run to May Queen"? WTF? Solo unnecessary drama and I absolutely hate it!
We have a couple of cute scenes from Hanna being good towards Kyla which I really enjoyed them she really wants to help her but then Sara! Just blow it off and I didn't like that like finally we have someone who wants to be good and you do this nono just no
At prom night Hanna is so desperate to go to prom with Mike (who is not showing up to her house) she's like OMG! What am I going to do? Knowing she's the freaking prom queen! Queen! Go alone!! That must be the least of your problems

Aria:
At some point they said that perhaps Noel it could in some way related to A (Hanna is really supporting this idea) and Aria goes nuts like really NUTS towards Hanna (who knows who much pain is to discover that please just stop) even tough Hanna said that Mike could be (her boyfriend) but Aria just couldn't handle it and then she said "If my relationship ends of this, it's your fault"
She still have this "perfect idea" of how amazing is Noel and then she thinks "Noel didn't want to kiss her, she just made it look like he did" oh no we all know what really happened girl WAKE THE FUCK UP!
And the award goes to:
She has the audacity to tell Hanna " it would be easier if Noel and I broke up Then you continue your witch hunt guilt free", and " She wanted to scream at them aren't we fiends? Don't you care about me" ...

Emily:
She still has her "assumptions" ( I'm not so sure though) like omg if that dog runs everything's going to be fine Um...no?
Shit happens and Emily has the opportunity to literally ask anything (important) and the first question that he asked is if Alison had a boyfriend, I repeat, if Alison had a boyfriend and she's so desperate to know this girl? WTF? U could literally asked who's A? But nonononono
Emily's mom giving her phone number and she freaked out haha did you really think it was going to work? C'mon girl
At prom night there's a scene that she has to dance and uh how's going to dance? She's so shy she's literally terrified because of it, and out of nowhere she just feels the music and kind of described her as someone really good at dancing like really? And everyone EVERYONE said "Go, Emily, Go Emily" I just lost it *mic drops*

In this book the author is constantly remind us what happened the last book and sometimes her descriptions tend to be really long and unnecessary
Again since the beginning we know what going to happened at the end which is prom
The characters development please work with that, they changed numbers for...? Like oh no is this what they are really thinking?
And the final omg! She has a partner WTF? I knew haha it is way to obvious I really thought they knew like THINK GIRLS THINK
At the end of the day I think this is a "bridge" book therefore for me I'm not going to rank it until I finish the series because it has those vibes from the first books (which are really good)

[Geraldine O'Hagan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Back on the merry-go-round for Sara Shepard’s 13th time telling the same story. Four revolutions in, and not one of the characters has realised they should just get off their painted horse and go home. Nothing’s gonna change.

We open with Shepard trying to warn me to take heed and go no further: “Have you ever gotten a bad vibe that something terrible was about to happen . . . only to have it come true?”. Stupidly I continue to read anyway, despite Shepard’s admission that continuing the series at this point is beyond ridiculous, and as a consequence am treated to what may be one of the worst prologues yet, although competition is stiff. This time we flashback to Aria, Hanna, Noel & Mike’s trip to Iceland, during which Noel was behaving weirdly (smoking a joint and looking a bit sweaty), so Aria decided to rob a priceless Van Gogh painting with a boy she met about 3 hours previously. As usual the police arrive and our PLL escapes but leaves her accomplice to face the music, meaning that the’s a new potential A. Why the police don’t catch Olaf the art thief when he’s left his jeep outside the crime-scene is unexplained. We also hear Noel muttering “I love you A” as he falls asleep in Aria’s arms, but since A#3 is unlikely to actually be called ‘A’, and since ‘A’ happens to be Aria’s initial, I’m not sure how this works as a sinister clue.

Back in the present, Spencer begins the book by immediately being dumped by her boyfriend, who is moving to Columbia / no longer needed for the plot. A#3 knows about this within 3 seconds of the event, which surely narrows the suspects down considerably? She also hears for the first time about her stepfather’s panic room, which will therefore be relevant 3 chapters later. Hanna is considering running for the prestigious title of May Queen, encouraged by 20 half-naked boys turning up at a restaurant with a message of support written on their chests. This would presumably make the restaurant a little crowded, but luckily everyone is too busy looking at the schoolboys’ “rock-hard abs” to complain. Hanna agrees because she is an airhead who cares about this type of shit, even though winning for some reason entails getting your photo taken in a graveyard, which will inevitably lead to summat supposedly creepy happening. Seconds after this decision old character Chassey Bledsoe suddenly reappears looking sexy/expensively dressed, and Hanna develops a burning hatred of her as potential competition. Then she gets a text from A#3 warning her not to compete, which I suppose means she’ll soon suspect Chassey. (How do you pronounce that? Chase-Sea? Chassis?”). Meanwhile Emily is in a lesbian clothes-shop (which is definitely an actual thing) tragically called Grrl Power, with her mother. She gets the same message as all the other characters, from an FBI agent who has suddenly decided to start investigating the Tabitha murder after eons of time and 3 autopsies. Nothing else is happening because she’s Emily. Finally, Aria is wondering how she’s turned from supercool hipster to lacrosse groupie overnight. The answer is that she is shockingly superficial, but she doesn’t work that out. Biggest event in her life is that the prom theme is reminiscent of the stolen Van Gogh. She might actually have beaten Emily for dullness this time, which is impressive. Also, every event from the previous books is rehashed in case I’d forgotten how stupid everything is.

Setup over, we move on with what exists of the story. The PLLs meet with the FBI Agent, who can barely be bothered to question them. Then they formulate a plan to meet in the aforementioned panic room to discuss who A#3 is, which is necessary because the entire rest of the world is bugged. Hanna drives to the meeting place straight from school in her own car, but takes time to change into an all-black secret-mission outfit. The meeting leads them to conclude that A#3 is Alison, which is a pretty exciting idea I’ve not heard before. In order to explain how she could possibly have done all the things she did, they also conclude that she has a secret financial backer / lover, although how she could possibly have had time to form such a relationship I do not know. Noel is of course a suspect, as is pretty much everyone else in the series other than Mike, as he is too stupid even for the PLLs to suspect. This seems odd, as stupidity would be the main reason for everything that has happened so far, and consequently Mike is my prime suspect. Then they scatter like a bunch of headless chickens to “investigate” by hanging around in a variety of locations, asking stupid questions and staring.

Emily heads to the local teen-girl mental institute, and 15 minutes later has signed out random lunatic Iris on the strength that she’s totally gonna tell summat about Ali, just not yet. Apparently the institute will keep an underage girl locked up for four years straight, but let her out the moment another underage girl with no ID asks if it’s okay. Aria keeps obsessing over the art thing until suddenly she finds out that Olaf has gone missing, and A#3 points her to the painting, rolled up in her cupboard. Why she doesn’t take it to the police I don’t know. Spencer resorts to googling for answers, and finds out that Ali’s surname used to be Day-DiLaurentis, even though no-one’s ever mentioned that before, which means that her family situation is about to become yet more complicated. Hanna volunteers at the hospital to question Graham from the cruise, but as he’s in a coma it’s not a very fruitful line of inquiry.
Meanwhile people keep talking about the way boys smell, catching glimpses of what could be Ali but probably isn’t, and saying the phrase “button-down” a lot, even though shirt is a lot shorter

Iris keeps dragging her story-line out by feeding Emily tit-bits about a mystery man in love with Ali, whilst filling in her time doing bad-girl stuff like pot-smoking and shoplifting. Aria keeps droning on and on about the painting thing. Spencer gets involved with an internet conspiracy theory blogger, which seems like a good plan to her for some reason. She then immediately develops a crush on him, sight unseen, since he has spoken to her and is also theoretically male. He believes that Ali escaped the fire she is supposed to have died in, and that he may be able to trace her via the huge amount of medical supplies she would have needed to source privately in order to recover. Fortunately there is only one chemist in the area, and only one customer has ever bought a large amount of bandages from it. Also, a recent pharmaceutical theft from the Rosewood clinic was obviously committed in order to source medical supplies for Ali, as there is no other reason to steal drugs. None of this makes the slightest sense. Hanna once again makes an instant friend, this time a burn-victim called Kyla, whose face is completely obscured by bandages. Which is normal and no cause for alarm. Shepard keeps retconning the story, trying to make sense of the whole Ali-was-Courtney-was-Ali-killed-Courtney thing via some previously unmentioned memories that suddenly surface, and references to ancient dead-end suspects like “Billy Ford”. Also, Spencer seems to be suddenly obsessed with coconut water, which I assume is trendy for this exact nanosecond.

In the pre-prom section of the novel Noel and Hanna are voted Prom King and Queen, surprisingly beating a boy we’ve never heard of and a girl who has had 5 lines in 13 books. After this shocking development both Hanna and Aria’s boyfriends break up with them for no reason, in the manner of arseholes. This leaves all 4 girls dateless on prom might, which I’m supposed to be arsed about. It’d obviously a big deal for Spencer though, as she invites her secret conspiracy-blog friend to be her date (Just before getting nearly killed by a bowling ball and a severed deer’s head. Don’t ask.) Meanwhile Emily takes a lunatic who used to be best friends with Ali to the secret site of their anti-Ali meetings, and all the girls try and get out of a second meeting with the FBI agent by ignoring her texts and hoping she’ll go away. Generally speaking, they aren’t very good at this whole covert investigation thing.
Meanwhile Hanna’s new friend with the hidden face cheers her up with pictorial evidence of her sexual harassment and stalking of a hospital nurse, and tells her a story about being burned by sulphuric acid. Hanna responds by giving her Ali’s catchphrase. She is in no way suspicious of anything untoward. Also the hints that Noel is the culprit escalate as we move toward the inevitable “the girls accuse the wrong person during a social event” finale. Plus Emily breaks into the house of a schizophrenic in the company of an escaped mental patient, and finds a picture of Ali along with the accomplice’s arm. She then finally realises that Iris would prefer not to go back to the mental home she’s been trapped in for four years. This brief break in her self-involvement soon ends when she concludes that the best thing to do is to invite Iris to prom with her, purely for the reason that otherwise she won’t let Emily go.

Prom night eventually arrives. Emily and her date get ready at a different venue from the others, because her date’s a girl. Chase says he has a video of Ali from last week, but he won’t show it to Spencer until after the first dance, because otherwise it would ruin the date. Watching the video in the middle of the date however will be fine. Then, all of a sudden, Spencer decides that Chase is the accomplice (whilst trapped in a car with him – as in every other book), escapes, and runs off into the middle of nowhere like an idiot. Hanna still hasn’t got a date, and starts smelling her father, which is weird since that’s what the girls do whenever they’re sexually attracted to someone. Luckily the creepiness is ended when Mike turns up after all. Then Hanna suddenly gives her crown to Chassey, since good winners are also losers or summat, and she and Mike run off to the clinic where Graham is coming out of his coma at the most dramatic time possible, in order to facilitate the “running around in the dark like idiots, when they’re meant to be at a party” part of the dénouement. Graham promptly dies, making the whole thing pointless. Meanwhile Emily’s long-lost girlfriend surprises her in a way that is stupid, convoluted and doesn’t make sense. She is then accosted by the FBI agent, who has come to prom because it’s the only way to get in touch with 4 teenage girls whose addresses, school location, phone numbers and e-mails she has.

The PLLs end up on their own with the suspect in the graveyard mentioned in the first chapter, because they are idiots and that’s how Shepard’s one plotline works. They hit Noel with a prom sceptre whilst he is trying to explain and then let him escape, because they never learn anything. Then we cut to Spencer having an Ali dream that doesn’t make sense. Although neither does the new Noel/Ali backstory, so I guess sense isn’t what we’re going for. Also they now know that the FCI agent is aware of a stolen painting in one of their houses, and panic that she will find it. Nobody thinks to just move the painting out of the house, because, as mentioned, they are dumb as rocks. Then Chase runs the old “blind date who sent his brother instead because he’s not good-looking” story. I would have preferred to find out that Chase has been in drag as Chassey Bledsoe for the entire book, which is why she looks different and has started talking, but sadly Shepard didn’t think of that. Spencer is flattered to hear that New Chase has been stalking her for years, and forgives him. Also Iris returns to her prison, because her storyline’s over. Then it turns out that Real Kyla has been dead all along. Then who was the girl with the bandaged face? How will I ever guess? Then it turns out that Aria’s painting is an obvious fake, meaning that a great deal of our time has been wasted by Aria not thinking to actually look at summat she’s been obsessing about for the whole book. The A sends several stupid and annoying rhyming texts which tell us absolutely nothing, and sends the PLLs to Noel, who is tied up in a chair and apparently dead, whilst gloating that he isn’t A#3. Although they thought he was an accomplice rather than A anyway, so even the closing threats don’t make any sense.

Finally there’s a little afterword in which A#3 gloats about how long the PLLs took to realise that they now have two enemies, working together. Although since Shepard only just came up with the idea it seems a bit unfair. It’s signed ‘A&A’, which means that we now 2 distinct suspects identified with the same code name, which is confusing and stupid. Once again I’ve learn nothing and Shepard has done nothing but muddy the waters by making her convoluted storyline yet more unintelligible and nonsensical. Cheers for that.


Stupidest Names
Olaf Gundersson (or Gayloff, as Noel calls him behind his back. That’ll show him.)
Jasmine Fuji
Brant Fogelnest (male)
Penny Dietz
Reeve Donahue (female)
Chase and Curtis
Kyla Kennedy
Tripp Maxwell
Angelica Anderson
Ryan Crenshaw (female)
Becky Yee
Greta Eggertsdottir

Worst Display of Fact Checking

“She didn’t even realize Icelandic policemen carried guns.”

Because they don’t’?

Most Flattering Summary of an Entire Country
Iceland

“It was light all the time. The bathrooms smelled like rotten eggs. The food was crappy”.

Plus

”how weird the milk tasted, how the backyard hot tub was probably full of bacteria, how uncomfortable the [hotel] duvet felt”

Mysterious Acronyms
GPA
Lax
JV

Most Unreasonable Judgement of a Girl’s Appearance

“Riley’s startlingly red hair and vampire-pale skin—definitely not May Queen material”

I understand that tanning is everything in Rosewood, but since when is red-hair automatically a deformity?


Most Ambitious Hope
Hanna on the May Queen thing

“If she won, her legacy at Rosewood would be that of a beautiful girl wearing the May Queen crown—not the girl who’d been tortured by A.”

I dunno. I think people will probably remember the thing with the stalking and the living-dead girl that was made into a TV movie slightly better than who was Prom Queen that year.

Most Pathetic Thing Happening at School This Term

“Rosewood Day took its decor chairperson job seriously—those who were interested had to fill out a ten-page application with design ideas and sketches months in advance, and many applicants even included digital portfolios and personal videos explaining why they should be chosen”

Seriously?

Most Embarrassing Display of Stupidity
Noel confusing the words “holocaust” and “hologram”.

Least Self-Aware Remark
Aria calling someone’s attitude bourgeois.

Weirdest School Location
The journalism barn.

Worst Cover Story
Emily, explaining away the lunatic she’s moved into her family home:

“I told my parents she’s a low-income student from inner-city Philadelphia who’s going through some tough times at home right now, and I’m doing this as an outreach program through Rosewood Day. Amazingly, they bought it.”

Amazing indeed. “Don’t worry mum and dad. It’s just a poor person I’m fostering for a week.”

Oddest Outfit

a button-down polo, and a down vest that made him look rugged and tough.”

So, a polo shirt with a buttonable collar and a waistcoat made from duck feathers? I assume that either I’m misunderstanding this or Spencer’s idea of a “rugged and tough” outift is closer to my idea of a “lunatic’s clothing choice”.

Paragraph Most Difficult to Take at Face-Value Rather Than as Satire

“She hung up and eyed her prom queen crown and scepter—she carried them with her everywhere. Tears pricked her eyes. She was not going to ruin her makeup, though. A future prom queen needed to look good even when she was cleaning up pee.”

Stupidest Assumption

when Emily was younger, she’d assumed that nothing bad happened to people who had this much money.

Most Confusing Physical Attribute

“freshman-fifteen, beer-drinking arms”

What? Are we talking in code now?

Conclusion: nothing happened, nothing to say, no one cares.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crushed by Sara Shepard
book 13 in the Pretty Little Liars series

Actual Rating: 4.98/5 stars (because it's not quite as good as the 8th book, but it's so up there

I loved this book. From the moment I picked it up, I knew it was going to be amazing, and I was not let down!
It was a big step up from the last 4 books in the series, this book felt more like the older PLL books, yet with elements of the newer ones woven in also, which I loved so much.

The story lines were all so enjoyable in this instalment:
Emily: I loved the whole Emily and Iris bucket list/ali details storyline
Aria: I feel like Aria didn't get many chapters in this book, but it was certainly revolved around her and her issues, and around Noel also (if you've read this one, you know what I'm talking about)
Hanna: I loved Hanna working at the burn clinic, and absolutely loved the character of Kyla sigh, I hope we find out more of what happened there in the next book, which I'm sure we will
Spencer: I think Spencers storylines have really declined in terms of enjoyment recently in the series, however in this book, I started to enjoy her again! thank goodness The whole 'Chase' thing was so fun and interesting.

There were so many times in this book were I was theorising, and I did guess what would be in the shed at the end, but many things I did not guess, which was just sooo thrilling to read about once some answers were given!

The ending was amazing, and Sara Shepard is just purely brilliant in the conniving way she writes A, and the way that her books can make you so creeped out and enthralled. and too scared to sleep

Can't believe I only have 3, yes 3, books left in this amazing series... I am so ready but not to find out what the heck is going down. cries because it's almost over Never thought I'd say that with a 16 book series!

Order of PLL books from fav to least fav (so far)
1. Wanted
2. Crushed
3. Wicked
4. Burned
5. Killer
6. Pretty Little Liars
7. Twisted
8. Unbelievable
9. Ruthless
10. Heartless
11. Flawless
12. Stunning
13. Perfect

[Tylah Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

i actually hate how much i enjoy these books

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

OK people if ur so annoyed that there is another book coming out why are you on here and checking out the book! And why did you all mark it to read? Honestly if you don't want to read it which u all do cause u took the time to comment and check the book out SHUT UP cause I guarantee ur all gonna buy this book I keen how else would u know there would be another pretty little liar book if u didn't read the last book! Sara Shepard is my idol her books are AMAZING and have a good plot she inspires me to become a author. She makes reading interesting I hope her book never stop. And if you want it to end ur not a true pretty little liars fan so go away. The books are better then the series.

[Nadia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Edit (After Reading):
Well, is it just me, or was this book as predictable as the last few? I finished it last night, and I was rolling my eyes with every page. Yeah, yeah, "A" is always a step ahead. Yeah, yeah, the girls are ready to come clean but something stops them. Yeah, yeah, all the girls have an obvious "A" suspect that they are 100% sure of, but it turns out not to be that person. The whole book was "Yeah, yeah, something I've read before." To be honest, I knew it would be Noel, dead in the shed, as soon as I saw the note. Oh my gosh. End this already. END THIS. Every book is the same, this was no different. And the whole "A-team" thing is helping drag out the series more. I mean, the girls are in their senior year, near the end of it. Is is gonna go more after that? College? Doesn't seem like a good idea to me. Sigh.

Before Reading:
What. What. What.
ANOTHER FREAKING BOOK. WHAT.
Another book I will have to read, since I need to know how this series ends, but please, Sara Shepard. WHY? Why does she feel the need to write more? Can we have some closure, for once? A real, definite ending?
While I was reading the 12th book, I was under the impression that it was the last one. I was so happy. It was time for Pretty Little Liars to end. The girls need to move on, live their lives. Hopefully happy lives. Then I finished it, realized that "A" was not revealed, and came to the conclusion that there would be more. Obviously. And now, I checked online, and voila! I find Crushed, the upcoming new installment in the Pretty Little Liars series. And there will be a 14th, too, but apparently Sara Shepard "promised" on her twitter account that 14 will be the last one.
Yeah, riiiiiiiiight.

[Anushka · Rating 3 out of 5]

I swear to God, this woman is capable of writing a brain-storming YA-thriller and I have no idea why she settles for this . Sara Shepard should have ended this series at 8th book as well as her The Lying Games at 4th and tried her hand at something else. I’m sure she’d have been great at it.
Even people who haven’t read PLL are sick of a new book popping up every 4 months! There is a limit, you know.

So, books 9 to 11 were total shit -1-star worthy, 12th was semi-shit as was this (13th) one. Why only semi-shit, you ask?
Because, there were some awesome twists even I couldn't figure out till the end and despite the utter dumbness the lead characters showed, they had really juicy secrets stashed away in their closets. I don’t know how it is possible that after reading 13 freaking books I couldn't figure it out and when the secret really was out in the open, it managed to shock me so much. So that’s a point to you, Ms. Shepard.
By the looks of it and the rumors I’ve heard that this time this series is going to end after 14th book. For real. For really, really, real. Not the past suggestions that 8th was going to be last ...oh no, wait, 10th is…then, suddenly - woman, are you shitting me? There are two more? But this time it seems like the author has made up her mind. For real. (About time!) So this makes Crushed a pre-finale book and with the loose ends that are left open, I think the last book is going to be worth the trouble we all have been through. Or at least, I hope so.

But I sincerely wish that Sara Shepard puts an end to this monstrosity. The previous set of books (9-12) were so poor that it seemed liked she had no attachment to the characters and was writing away because she had a gun pointed at her head to do so. This book was definitely better but it doesn't mean I want more of this. To be honest, the books in themselves are good but when put together in a series, they just don’t work. They are all too similar and I’m sick and tired of reading the same stuff for the past 13 books! The girls keep getting away after committing hideous crimes, ‘A’ stalking them like Edward stalked Bella-just not with the same intentions and the 4 of them behaving like bunch of bimbos and accusing everything that moves of being A. I am so done with this repetitive plot. As I’ve been reading this series for so long, you’d expect me to be sad about being coming to an end. No, I am really not. I am not the least bit sad, in fact I’m glad that Sara Shepard will now have time to write something of her choice and not by force plus, the fact that I won’t have read about these four snotty good-for-nothing dunderheads anymore doesn’t hurt either.

[Iso M · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG THE COVER!!! CANT WAIT FOR THIS BOOK!!!


04/03/2013

I can't wait for JUNE 4th

[Susana · Rating 1 out of 5]

YOU HAVE SERIOUSLY GOT TO BE KIDDING ME. By the 10th book, I said to myself "I'm going to read till the 20th book" and i think i might just have to keep that promise. It's seriously annoying to see more books come out in a series that should have ended ages ago.The "Pretty Little Liars" series isn't even that good, it's JUST okay. Some say it's because of the tv show that Shepard is writing more books-whatever the reason PLEASE STOP MAKING HER WRITE MORE BOOKS! Not only is the series becoming more annoying for the readers but imagine poor Shepard to have to come up with new stories for each character successfully (sure she is gaining a lot of money, but this too comes with a price). Nu'ff said.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess I should preface this by saying that Crushed is a definite improvement over the last installment, which truly crashed and burned (heh, get it, because the title of the last book is......oh, never mind).

That being said, it's still light years away from its former glory. With a series like this, it's best to know when to end it at that strategic point where (a) your audience hasn't caught onto your storytelling tricks but (b) you've dragged it out long enough to still make a nice profit off of it (because, hey, authors have bills to pay, too). Starting a couple books ago, I've noticed that I've pretty much figured out Sara Shepard's writing technique so well that I could probably write the next book for her. I mean, really, the whole "oh-no-Noel-is-A" thing was ridiculous (and haven't we seen it like three times before already?). If Shepard spends an entire book making the audience believe that he is working with Ali (or whoever A is supposed to be), it's only natural that the "cliffhanger" ending will be that surprise! he isn't A at all. Tune in next time for another $18 installment.

The shenanigans that these girls keep getting themselves into are making them so unsympathetic it's insane. Hanna's "well-thought-out" plan to dump her unconscious friend on the side of the road in Burned was groan-inducing enough, but Aria's whole van Gogh debacle was just ridiculous - IF YOU'VE SPENT THE LAST YEAR BEING TORMENTED BY TWO ANONYMOUS STALKERS, HAVE EVERYONE AROUND YOU DROP LIKE FLIES, AND HAVE YET ANOTHER STALKER ON THE WAR PATH TO KILL YOU, WHY WOULD YOU GET YOURSELF INTO STUPID SHIT LIKE STEALING A PRICELESS PAINTING TO IMPRESS A BOY *deep breath*

The one saving grace of this book is that they finally decided after thirteen (thirteen) novels that it might be a good idea to all get burner phones. Bravo, girls. Bravo.

[Ivonne · Rating 5 out of 5]

!!! MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS !!!


In 2010 I became quite obsessed with Pretty Little Liars. I lived in the States back then and heard about this new show coming out on TV, so I watched the first episode, was hooked already, found out that it was based on a series of books by Sara Shepard, went to my local book store, bought the first book and fell in love with it right away. I finished it in one sitting and went back to that same book store the same night to get book number two because I was so thrilled and hooked and excited I couldn't wait to continue with the series.

The show pretty quickly became my favorite TV show ever and also my former best friend who lived in Long Island back then became so obsessed with it that we spent all day reading the books and talking and discussing on the phone who A could be. We had the most insane theories ever but we had the time of our lives.

I bought the next book whenever a new one was published but for whatever reason I stopped at some point. I also stopped watching the show. Not because I didn't like it anymore, there were just so many other books I wanted to read and other shows that I wanted to watch so badly that I obviously forgot all about Pretty Little Liars. So I went back to watching the show last week and fell head over heels in love with it all over again. I ordered book number 13 immediately and finished it in only two days. And now that I finished it there's this one question that keeps popping up in my mind: why on earth have I waited so long to continue with the series?

Since I'm only now on Season 5, Episode 6 I still have no idea who A is and I swear this book was just as exciting and thrilling as all the other books; I'd even go that far to say that it's one of my favorites so far. It was brilliant. Obviously there's a lot of hating going on. People think that there are too many books, that the plots are becoming annoying and the characters irritating but you know what? If you don't like it, just don't read it. It's not like anyone forces you to read it right?

There have been so many twists and turns throughout the series, it's unbelievable. I was convinced that Noel had something to do with it; he seemed like the perfect A to me but after that freaking unexpected twist at the end I was shocked and left speechless. Okay well I have to admit, after the incident at the graveyard I wasn't so sure anymore that Noel was A, I mean it was just kinda weird and Noel seemed somewhat suprised and I even felt a little bit sorry for him that Aria wouldn't listen to what he had to say. That's one thing about our favorite pretty little liars I don't like much: whenever they think they know who A is, they are stubborn as hell and refuse to listen to what people might have to say. They just don't care and then BOOM they are wrong again because something else comes up - like it did this time in the end of the book.

I still have absolutely no idea who A could be, it could basically be everyone. I remember that time while reading the first three books that I thought it was Aria. How stupid of me haha Now I think that maybe Sean could have something to do with it even though he didn't appear much in this book. Or maybe Mike? But that would be too obvious, wouldn't it? Also I don't think that he could do something like that to his sister AND his girlfriend. And he didn't have much to do with Ali in the first place right? Actually, when I think about it, I believe maybe it's someone who's been with us from the very beginning. Well it could be at least. As we all know, things are never as they seem in Rosewood.

I still have so many questions that are still unanswered for example why did Tabitha behave so much like Ali in Jamaica? Who was she really? What's the truth behind Noel's and Ali's relationship? Is he still in love with her? Does he know that she's still alive? Is he in contact with her? Is he really in love with Aria or was all of that just show? Was it really Ali pretendig to be Kyla at the burn clinic? Is Noel dead or did he survive? Who killed Graham? And the most important question of all: WHO IS A?

I am so excited to find out the truth about all the secrets and lies. I just ordered book number 14 because I don't want to wait that long again to find out what happens next. I need to know who A is and I'm sure that whatever happens, I will be blown away.

[Jenn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sigh...

Now back on dry land the girls are stuck in a limbo of figuring out who A is. They decide that it's time to stop playing the victim and begin figuring out who A is once and for all. And it's about damn time they show any sort of backbone in this series because my word, they just seem content to do horrible things and get blackmailed for them. Once again they are back in the news. Word of their hijacking a life boat and sailing away from land is now being seen as a suicide pact (sure, why not), meanwhile the mystery of who set the bomb on the boat is still going on. But A is not done with them yet.

Hanna gets nominated for prom queen but A refuses to let her campaign (the horror!). Spencer hooks up with a private investigator (of sorts) to hunt down A, but he's hiding secrets of his own (and BWAHAHAHAHHAHA when it's revealed). Emily is pining for Jordan still and bonding with Iris, a mental patient who knows about Ali. And Aria is convinced Noel is A and is acting like a creeper around him. Again, communication and common sense is completely lacking.

And while there's no doubt that Ali is pretty much still alive, her motives make no sense especially to the extreme that everything is being taken to. There's more murder, more attempts on lives, and all around fuckery. I am glad I watched the show first because I probably wouldn't have touched it after reading these.

Soooo close to being done. And why do you ask am I still reading these if I dislike them so much? Well, for one, I can't stop a series once I start. My brain won't shut it off and I need to know how it ends. Also, they're just so ridiculous that I need to see what more ridiculous ideas the author comes up with. And yeah, I'm waiting for the giant A reveal as well. So now onto book 14 of 16.

[Daryn Ellison]

OMG i thought that Burned would be the last book and then i looked on here today and saw that she has another one i was happy yet mad how many books is she going to write i just want to solve the mystery already. And the bad thing is they'll probally be more since she is writing a novella too. So excited to thought!!!

[Kat · Rating 1 out of 5]

Second last one, second last one, second last one. This will all be over soon! But until I get there, I must suffer through a story I know all too well.

This time around, the big secret is what happened to Aria in Iceland. On a parent-free vacation with Aria, Hanna and their boyfriends Noel and Mike (Aria's little brother), things don't go as planned. Noel hates it, despite having planned the whole trip. Mike hates it as much as he did the 3 years his family lived there, Hanna's bored and Aria is annoyed her friends don't get the culture. Cut to underage kids getting drunk in a bar, Aria meets a guy named Olaf who knows about art, they make out in an alley, Olaf reveals there is a Van Gough painting sketch thing hidden in a house nearby, and he and Aria want to liberate it for the world. Cue breaking in, Aria tumbling out a window, the police being called (to which Aria remarks she didn't know the Icelandic police carried guns, despite the fact she did live there for three years), Hanna coming to the rescue on a moped, and Olaf disappears with the painting into the night.

There are things I've learned to just take hand in hand with a Sara Shepard book, like her namedropping fashion labels, and the fact that she picks the most stereotypical things about a place and uses it in her book. They are in Reykjavik, Iceland's capital city. Partying at a club nearby was Bjork, arguably Iceland's most - if not only - famous musical export, and the first guy Aria meets is named Olaf, which seems just like Sara chose the first vaguely Norwegian/Russian sounding name she could come up with.

Anyway, that's our lead-in mystery for book 13. As we're introduced to the gang again we're reminded of all their past indiscretions. Emily and her baby drama, Spencer and her drug drama, Hanna and her car drama, Aria and her i-killed-tabitha-oh-wait-no-i-didnt drama. We're also reminded of the massive explosion on the cruise the girls took in the last book where they came into possession of a locket that they claim proves they were with Tabitha the night she was killed and I still DON'T KNOW HOW THIS IS!?!?! Was she wearing it when Aria shoved her off the cliff?

Hanna's world is immediately taken over by the upcoming prom for which she decides after quick convincing from her boyfriend and his lacrosse buddies taking off their shirts and displaying HANNA! written on their chests, that she will run for Prom Queen. Sorry, May Queen in Rosewood :S

Hanna wasn't that into the idea, she wants to lay low, but its May Queen! DUH! And everyone thinks she's a shoe-in, even her step-sister Kate who has always been awful to her but over the last month has changed and even offers to help Hanna in her campaign for Queen.

Then wouldn't you know it, a former nerd who was away from school with shingles for a month has returned and transformed into a total hottie! Jimmy Choos and all! This nobody we've never met, Chassey Bledsoe, gains immediate hate from Hanna when someone suggests Chassey should run for Queen. "QUEEN IS MY THING!" Hanna declares. I guess she's right, for the last minute it had been her thing. She herself mentions
that she hadn't taken it seriously with her crazy year. Anyway, cut to later and the nominees for May King are Noel Kahn and some guy named Joseph, and nominees for Queen are Hanna and Chassey. I know, WTF, right? What were the chances? Oh, and the Prom theme is Starry Night, relevant only because that's the painting Aria and Olaf were stealing in Iceland.

An FBI agent, given the painfully racist name of Jasmine Fuji, comes to talk to the girls about Tabitha's death. Why didn't they just have her walk in tiny steps, have chopsticks in her hair and wear a kimono? Wait, maybe I'm being racist now... Whoever she is, I have her pegged as a possible new A as I do with some random girl named Cassie whom AliCourtney bragged about becoming the new BFF of before she died. And I also suspect friend of Noels', James Freed, because he's often mentioned but rarely has any dialogue.

Finally, after twelve books, the girls seem to have reached the conclusion that A has a helper. So they make a little hideout for themselves in Spencer's soon-to-be step-father's display home panic room. There are cameras inside that show the whole house/grounds, and yet when Hanna looks at a camera she swears she sees someone jump behind a bush. How would they know Hanna had turned at that second? Its a video camera.

The point of this panic room discussion is that the girls decide to go off the grid. Toss their cell phones, only talk in the panic room, carry disposable cells and keep their numbers private. Keep off the internet unless its school related, and not to share important information electronically.

Doesn't take too long until one of our beloved gang does something impossibly stupid. This time around, it's Emily first. She goes to The Preserve (the mental hospital where AliCourtney stayed and Hanna spent some time) to talk to Iris, AliCourtney's former roommate. Iris claims she has loads of info on Ali and will only reveal it once Emily breaks her out. At least it didn't go down the whole break her out at night and hide from security guards thing I expected. Iris has been telling the staff her grandmother is sick, so Emily poses as Iris's cousin who has arrived to take her to visit Nana for a few days. And boom, Iris - who has been confined to a mental hospital for 4 years - is released.

Once in Emily's car, she brings out a list of 50 things she wants to do before she tells Emily anything about Ali. These things are terribly important, like "pretend-hump the dinosaurs at the Franklin Institute". So, yay! Emily released a whackjob and is now going to drive her around and do inane things without even questioning whether or not this is a good idea! Remember, Emily is still besotted with Ali, so any information on her Emily would die for. I'm guessing this will go off without a hitch and Iris will happily return to the mental
hospital after three days of freedom.

We're given two bits of information I'm not sure have ever been mentioned in the past twelve books. 1, school news is televised and beamed into classrooms in the morning. I don't recall this ever happening before, but I'm happy to be proved wrong. And 2, Noel dated Ali. I'm pretty sure this was never mentioned as its a pretty big deal, although it's not treated as such. It's a tossaway comment by someone unimportant. Maybe it was mentioned before, but I sure as hell can't pinpoint it.

Anyway, whilst this apparently daily ritual of school news being televised, Aria is seething that her friends but Noel's name down on a list of possible A's. Never mind the fact they also put Mike, Aria's little brother, on that list as well. Then with shock, Aria is picked as Prom Decor Chairwoman - her worst nightmare since the theme is Starry Night, the painting she stole. Things get worse for Aria when she gets home from school and finds a newspaper article on her bed saying her beloved Olaf has disappeared and is presumed murdered. The article goes on to say the painting he stole is now missing, but I don't remember him being charged or even identified for stealing this painting (which from what I can gather is an original sketch or something. It's able to be rolled up) in the first place. Anyway, A has apparently smuggled this stolen painting in a post 9/11 America all the way into Rosewood and into Aria's cupboard. I already forsee the answer to her problem, use the painting as a "fake" for the prom.

Completely disregarding their promise to stay off the grid for their own safety, Spencer goes online and searches for conspiracy theories about Ali's death. The first blog she finds, she contacts the blogger stating very clearly she is "connected to the Alison DiLaurentis case". Way to stay off the grid, Spencer. Oh, I should mention Reefer made a brief appearance to tell Spencer he got a 2 year internship somewhere and was leaving that night, so he's gone and Spencer is free and clear to latch onto the next guy she sees, which she does.

Hanna goes to volunteer at the burn clinic because Graham is being treated there, he's the guy who dated Tabitha and chased Aria on the cruise ship before it blew up and he got burned. Whilst there, Hanna befriends a girl named Kyla who is bandaged from head to toe, but she's wearing fashionable, designer socks so Hanna likes her. Hanna even plans to give her a makeover once she's out of hospital.

Meanwhile, Emily's stupid parents believe Emily's story that Iris is a low income student from intercity Philadelphia whose going through some tough times at home right now and Emily is helping her through an outreach program through Rosewood Day. Rich people helping poor people, awww how nice.

Things shockingly start to go awry when it doesn't seem to matter how many things on Iris's list Emily helps her complete, she won't divulge any Ali info. Also Emily notices Iris is getting awfully chummy with her mummy and begins to wonder if aiding a mental patient to break out of a hospital wasn't a smart idea.

Emily's story is leading the pack as the most pointless and arbitrary. Even after stealing stuff from SAKS Iris only answers one of Emily's questions (Yes, Ali DID have a secret a boyfriend) and says the rest will come "all in good time". Yay.

Spencer meets up with the blogger, Chase, and wastes no time divulging most of what she knows about Ali as well as bonding with him over his apparent similar situation of being stalked at his all-boys high school. Smart, Princeton-going Spencer seems to be forgetting the number one rule of chatting online - don't trust anyone you talk to. But they flirt a little, so bing! This is Spencer's new boytoy since Reefer dared leave her.

Emily is still knocking things off Iris's To Do list for very little Ali info, and Emily even reveals to Iris that Ali killed Courtney, a fact she didn't know. These girls are supremely stupid. They tell these secrets to whoever they meet and are shocked when it comes back to haunt them.

Nothing much happens next. Hanna is crowned May Queen despite not campaigning at all after being nominated, Aria and Noel break up again because she tells him about Olaf. Then Aria finds a note from Ali in Noel's wallet, and since Noel is the frontrunner for being A's helper now, this only cements that. Going off earlier books this would be a sure sign that he wasn't actually helping A, but since its the second last one maybe we're getting some final details. Although I fear the final page of the last book will have another mysterious A text message on it.

Spencer is now totally in love with her blogger-boy, Chase. They've met twice, both times Spencer has worn a blonde wig (even though she's already blonde. TV Spencer isn't, Book Spencer is) and gone by the name Britney Spears to keep herself undercover. Doesn't last long, on only her second face to face meeting with Chase she removes her wig and tells her who she is and her past with Ali and her friends. And, since he was a victim of stalking when he was younger, she even considers them kindred spirits and asks him to prom with her. She appears to have completely forgotten about Reefer, and I'm quite happy to join her.

Emily's pointless storyline with Iris continues as they follow more items on Iris's to do list, one of which being 'Find Tripp', a boy who was at the mental hospital with both Ali and Iris at the same time (what kind of mental institution is co-ed? Not a good one, probably explains why it's so easy for patients to get in and out). Anyway, Tripp no longer lives at home and after waiting for his mother to leave, Emily adds breaking and entering to her list of crimes as she and Iris search for some memory of her and Tripp's relationship. She finds nothing, but Emily finds an old cell phone with a photo of Ali on it from a day when her secret boyfriend visited. The secret BF is in the photo, but his face is obscured. Then Iris confesses she doesn't know the boyfriend's name which doesn't seem to bother Emily who then invites Iris to go to prom with her.

Oh, I should mention Emily broke the whole lockdown thing to send out a twitter message to Jordan (the random girl from the last book who stole boats and made out with Emily once so now they're in love) to say that she wished she could go to prom with her, Jordan eventually replied that she would be there with a surprise. This could only be a good thing, right Em?

It's finally prom night. Spencer is drinking champagne in a limo with Chase (isn't it against the law to serve alcohol to minors?) and some random news report comes on the radio about Tabitha Clark. Chase notes that Spencer in Jamaica at the time Tabitha died, and Spencer is floored because that is the one secret she didn't tell him. Then suddenly she realizes she is a complete moron for trusting the first blog she found online, taking a stranger at his word on everything and telling him all about Ali, so she high tails it out of the limo.

Hanna has a change of heart at the prom and gives her May Queen crown to Chassey, the girl who actually worked for it, but then ditches prom soon after when she gets a call from a nurse at the burn clinic that Graham is awake and talking. Why Hanna, a volunteer, gets this privilege, I don't know, but she does and she drags Mike along with her.

Aria and Noel are back together in time for prom, and again no one seems to give a crap about underage drinking because Noel orders a whiskey at the bar with no trouble. Aria's all mopey and silent because she's Aria, then Noel tells her if they broke up again he would be so devastated he might die and then he gives her a bracelet. Aria then decides she's going to tell Noel everything about the painting/Tabitha/Ali/whatever, and where's the best place Aria can think do do this? A graveyard!

Annoying writing technique - Sara has a penchant for saying "(character name) licked her/his lips." before they respond to a question. Its weird, and it happens way too frequently each book!

Hanna kills Graham. Poor kid's been in a coma for weeks and when he finally starts coming out of it she interrogates him about the cruise ship, he reacts poorly and dies.

Emily's "surprise" from Jordan is completely stupid. Apparently, from all the way in the Caribbean, Jordan managed to get in touch with whoever hired the fortune teller for the prom, then managed to get them to alter the stamp they give customers so they don't come back for a second reading so that the stamp reads JR (Jordan's initials) and some place called Bonaire. Emily Googles Bonaire and finds that it's a place in the Caribbean, she scrolls through some photos and randomly finds one of a movie theater with I Miss You, Emily on the sign instead of movie titles. I almost tore this stupid book in half.

Iris sees a photo of Noel at the prom and claims that he is the secret boyfriend Ali had because he's wearing the same gold watch as is in the picture of him and Ali where his face can't be seen. Dunno why no one noticed this before, maybe it's a special occasion watch used only for prom and visiting people at a mental hospital.

That agent Fuji is still bustling around being not very good at her job at all. She finally reveals she's looking for stolen artwork by cornering Emily at prom and following up lines of questioning with "You better not be lying." She fits right into Rosewood, that one.

Spencer arrives at the prom and gets all the intel on Noel from Emily and Hanna, making her think that Chase (whom she ditched in the limo) isn't A after all, and OMG, Aria is alone with Noel! In a graveyard! Chapter 30 now, maybe Noel is A? But doubtful. The girls flood Aria's phone with messages that they have definite proof that Noel is Ali's secret boyfriend, which is totally untrue. Iris claimed it was Noel she saw, but who is Iris? A stranger. How is her word definite? And then Hanna claims Graham said Noel's name before he died, which he didn't. He started to say "N." So at best, it's a possibility that Noel is the guy. Nothing definite. But who cares? Aria's busy disturbing graves by touching headstones.

Aria confronts Noel, he admits yes he did know Tabitha and doesn't know whether or not Ali is alive, but he did love her. Aria tells Noel she hates him and then when he tries to calm her down one of the other girls hits him over the head. He runs off thinking they're all nuts, and Aria's heart is shattered into a million pieces. She'll get over it, I'm sure.

Spencer gets another weird plot twist when some guy with horrible facial scars shows up on her door claiming to be Chase. It's revealed the hottie Spencer's been hooking up with is actually Curtis, Chase's brother. When real!Chase (oi, this is tiring) first saw how gorgeous Spencer was, he sent his hot brother in to pretend to be him. But it was real!Chase who Spence was talking to online, and then both brothers fell in love with her. Real!Chase claims he's had a crush on Spencer since he saw her in People. He also admits to frequently Googling her, and stalking her Facebook. Spencer, of course, is utterly touched by this. And upon saying he will discontinue his blog, Spencer tells him not to because they might need him. SHE might need him, she almost adds. This random stranger who stalked her and lied to her. Yes, she needs him. Spencer needs to die or get a good slap in the mouth. SOON. If this book series ends with all four of these morons alive, I'll be even more furious than I am now.

Oh, and Aria didn't even think to use the painting in cupboard at the prom. Idiot girl. Just toss it away with all the other Starry Night themed stuff and it would be gone for good. Or anonymously hand it into the police two towns over, send it back to where it's supposed to be, leave it at a museum, burn it, bury it, shred it, toss it in the ocean, but don't hang onto it.

So, the day after prom Hanna goes to work a shift at the burn clinic and realizes Kyla isn't Kyla. The staff found Kyla's body days ago, and the person Hanna's been bonding with wasn't Kyla at all. It was A. But then Hanna finds a note from Kyla in her pocket that says the proof she needs is in a shed at the school, and her questions will be answered. Hanna calls the cops and the other girls, they go to the shed and..... Noel's body is inside. Well, it doesn't confirm he's dead, I suppose he could be in a coma for the next book but I'm hoping he's dead. He's pointless. But I don't see how this is proof of anything or the answer to any sort of question.

Book ends, and now it's confirmed there are two A's. Ali and Courtney both still alive? I have a feeling we'll never find out. Oh, and by the way, the painting turned out to be a fake.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am probably the oldest person in the world that has finished this book, narrowly likely beating a bored 15 year old.

I had to read this as soon as it came out, because I was SO sure this book wouldn't let the cock-tease continue one second longer. I have no shame - I love these books, but the past few have been getting on my nerves (you can read my other reviews) because frustratingly nothing seemed to happen, and it was always clear that the girls were dead wrong about who the most recent person they decided was A was.

This one was better, though, because I did feel like we found out more stuff. Ok, a lot of the stuff actually raised more questions than answered them, making me increasingly panicky that Sara Shepard doesn't have her shit figured out completely and is making it up as she goes along (I watched LOST until the very end, it's not my first time at the rodeo and I can somewhat recognize the signs).

So the girls all decide that Noel is A, and then they find Noel dead in a shedwhich I totally saw coming. Then A texts them joyfully revealing that s/he was one step ahead of them the whole time, like always. Well, I thought A was Noel for the past 3 books, so it turns out A was one step ahead of me, too. I think I know who it is now, though. Maybe.

Anyway, this book did include more interesting events than the last one, Iris, Ali's friend from the mental hospital, came back into the picture, and it finally occurred to the girls that since A seems to know everything that happens to them, their houses are probably bugged and their computers aren't safe. Of course, they don't actually look for the bugs, but still. They concoct a plan to only talk about everything inside a panic room, which seems legit. They also come to the shocking conclusion that Ali must have had helped because "she isn't strong enough to drag those bodies all over the place herself," that's brilliant, Sherlock. Even with help, obviously the extent to which A is able to manipulate their lives is very unrealistic (obviously) but its entertaining so I'm fine with suspending my disbelief. Also, I'm still hoping there's a ghost involved.

Also, very cool incident at the burn clinic.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes! Finally! THIS is the PLL book that I've been waiting for!

I absolutely hated the last book and haven't been enjoying this third and final arc as much as the first two. I was skeptical about Crushed and didn't even know if I was going to read it, that's how much I despised Burned. But I'm so glad I gave it a chance!

The thing I like most about Crushed is that the PLLs finally sit down together and try to figure everything all out. This is something I've been waiting for both in the book and television series - instead of waiting around for the other shoe to drop, the girls are actually pro-active. At one point, the police get involved(!). It's magnificent.

Really, it was nice seeing the girls not go down their typical story lines: Spencer's not dealing with her atrocious family, Hanna's not obsessed with popularity and/or being thin (despite what the description on the back of the book may lead you to believe). Emily is still mooning over someone she can't have, but her interactions with another character were surprisingly likeable. Aria's mostly still being Aria and obsessing over secrets, but I didn't mind it. There's enough new material to look over the typical Aria stuff, and you can definitely sympathize with what she's going through.

It's not all perfect - some of the twists you can see coming a mile away and as usual, there are some plotholes that are glossed over. But this is such an improvement over the last, waste-of-paper book that I don't even care. I really enjoyed reading it, I was completely caught up in it and best of all, it moved the story forward! I'm looking forward to the final instalment and if it's half as satisfying as this book has been, I'll be sad to see the series end.

[Hayley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm giving this book 2 stars because I am SUPER pissed off at Sara Shepard right now. One, because this series should've ended a long time ago. Two, WHAT THE HELL?! NOEL?!! I kind of don't even care what happens in the last book now. Noel was pretty much the only "stable" things aria had in her life. Now that Sara ruined it, my only hope are this: Ali had BETTER still be alive and I hope to God that Aria gets to her first and kills that bitch. I am seriously so angry. I don't even care who the other A is. All I want is for Ali to be dead, for the girls to be the ones to kill her( preferably slowly and painfully) and for aria and Noel to be together forever. JUST LET ME HAVE MY WAY FOR ONCE.

Feelings aside, this book was relatively the same as all the other books. Everyone is a suspect, A is playing more mind games, and just when you think you have it all figured out, yet another character is killed off. Or three. I will say that at least the girls weren't AS stupid in this book as they are in all the others. They have finally decided that enough is enough, and they are going to end this madness once and for all. For the readers sake, I truly hope this happens in what is suppose to be the final book, Deadly.

Sigh. Of COURSE I'm going to read the last one, but it better be a good one, and it had better be the last one. As someone who has been reading this series since junior high and is now a college student, I just want some closure.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

**spoilers below**

To start, I have to say that this series has gone on long enough. I honestly should have stopped myself at book four, there was an out and I stupidly didn't take it.

However, this book had its bright sides. It was a fun and suspenseful read but not amazing. I guess I don't expect much now just because this is what, the 13th book? THE 13TH!

Aria was my favourite character and I love her and Noel as a couple. And I'm thankful Aria stood by his side... well most of the book. But come on does there really need to be another A? This is getting old. Ali's Pretty Little Lies gives the reader all the answers. Once you read that, all the stuff happening in these books isn't so important cause, wouldn't you know it, the groups lead is wrong. Again.

The series was good, but slowly I'm losing my ability to sit by and read it. This series better end really soon or I'm just going to have to give up on it.

[Aly Grande · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was honestly perfect. Sara Shepard set a lovely trap for her readers yet again! When I finally thought I had ALL the answers, Shepard turned everything around again throughout the last parts of the book. After a few flops (Twisted through Burned were almost unbearable), the series is definitely taking an exciting turn. I can't even wait for Deadly, which is coming out in December. I already have a few theories about who Ali's accomplice is, since it's definitely not Noel. He may have admitted to loving Ali, but I don't think his love went as deep as Aria and the others may have thought at first. I think Ali's/Iris's boyfriend at the Preserve, Tripp, is her accomplice, who was also Nick Maxwell from Ali's Pretty Little Lies. In that book, I think Nick got close to Courtney because real Ali asked him to, but soon he started falling for Courtney instead. This probably worried Ali that Nick was going to fall in love with Courtney and stop being Ali's accomplice, which can explain why Ali said "I thought you wouldn't make it" at the end of the book. If you put these pieces together, it makes sense that Tripp/Nick is helping Ali, and Noel and Ali had this thing, but he definitely isn't crazy enough to kill people. And he's not good enough of an actor to pretend to be in love with Aria. So in this book, Alison set up the liars again... especially Aria. Ali's everywhere, but nowhere. She saw and heard everything the girls did and said in Mr. Pennythistle's panic room. Although my senses strongly point at Tripp/Nick being Alison's accomplice, Sara Shepard COULD be setting up her readers again... maybe Deadly will reveal even more secrets, and the accomplice will be someone we never expected... who knows anymore? And Ali is DEFINITELY alive. That's something we now know for sure.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of my favorite ones in the series. So we find out a lot of things in this book, but there's still so much mystery left. I knew right form the first few pages based on a couple of hints that Noel would be the suspect of that book, but of course, it wasn't him, as always.

My theory from Ali's Pretty Little Lies was that Ali's helper was Tripp, who was also Nick Maxwell. In this book, Iris tells Emily that Tripp was HER boyfriend, and when they go visit him, the mailbox at his house says MAXWELL on it. So I figured from the last book that he was also someone they know, since it would be stupid if the second A turned out to be someone they don't even know. It couldn't have been Noel, because Courtney would have known Noel, so he couldn't be Nick.

I'm not sure who I think it is right now, but I'm sure there are tons of hints in here that I can find after re-reading it. My favorite parts of this one was probably the Hanna storyline and the Emily and Iris friendship. I was surprised by how much I actually liked Iris. Aria always bores me and Spencer's was kind of predictable.

I wish people would stop complaining about there being so many books. If it annoys you so much, stop reading them. But wait...you can't do that, because you're just as addicted as I am! Can't wait for Deadly in December!

[Miguel Nava · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.8!!!
Estas niñas me quieren sacar de quicio. A veces hacen decisiones tontas y me tienen gritandoles a la pantalla de mi Kindle. La situacion de Aria me gusto en este libro, es entendible y casi a lo que le paso a Hanna con Mona. Debo admitir que lo de Emily me parecía tonto al principio pero hacia buena dinámica con Iris y GRACIAS! por no hacerlo romance. Sin duda lo mas interesante era la parte de Hanna y ese final OMG!!! However, Spencer 🙄🙄 que necesidad hay de "enamorarse" con alguien quien apenas conoces, pero bueno, al menos las 4 consiguieron un aliado. Si tiene situaciones medio sillies pero los ultimo capítulos me los devore de tanto suspenso y misterio que había. Me urge saber ya quien es A.

[emerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

“If a little voice in your head is telling you something is up, maybe you should listen.”

Overall Thoughts

If you're a fan of show like I am, then I recommend picking up the series. There are a lot of answers in the books that the show doesn't give you. Which I found both awesome and frustrating. I wish the tv series followed the books more closely but I do feel like the books story is better and makes a lot more sense. Not the best written series and the characters can be childish but very easy and enjoyable to read.

Until Next Time,
Emerald BookWorm

[Dodajeek_books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bardzo szybko mi się ją czytało , podczas maratonu Zaksiążkowanych z moją mejor amiga , przeczytałem wtedy połowę książki, skończyłbym ją odrazu , gdyby nie natłok nauki i stresu związanego z moimi maturami.
Super jest wrócić do czegoś co się zna i kocha . A ja kocham bardzo tą serię .

Poznajemy tutaj losy z poprzednich tomów , super jest tutaj zrobione , to , że przypominane nam są wątki z przeszłości. I love it.

Dziewczyny są w klasie maturalnej , będą mieć bal maturalny , a to trochę w odniesieniu do mnie , bo ja skończyłem klasę maturalną .
Dziewczyny myślały , że odpędziły się od A, ale się myliły , nowe tajemnice , sekrety, wątki towarzyszą dziewczyną .

Zakończenie dwa razy czytałem , bo nie mogłem w to uwierzyć , co tam się zadziało , tutaj mamy odniesienie do serialu , w związku z Noelem.
Przyjaciółki poddane są próbie zaufania sobie nawzajem i każda ma jakieś zadanie w dowiedzeniu się czegoś o A .

[Lora :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dude so much happened omg

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sara Shepard is an amazing author who has managed to keep the story going and still keep it just as on edge as the last. For anyone who has a problem with it, go away. You're obviously not dedicated fans anyways. After reading Ali's Pretty Little Lies, I am even more addicted. So, Sara keep on rocking the Pretty Little Liars series because they truly are great books!

[Callie Huffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insane

[britt britt · Rating 3 out of 5]

it’s gotten to the point where even i’m questioning if i know who A is (i’ve seen the show)

[Gavin Hetherington]

I read all 18 books in the Pretty Little Liars series for a video project, check out the 2-hour video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/KKRwaHcAmfE