Book Number 72

The Novel: Flawless

The Author: Sara Shepard

Synopsis (Taken from the author's web page):

In the exclusive town of Rosewood, Pennsylvania, where the sweetest smiles hide the darkest secrets, four pretty little liars—Spencer, Aria, Emily, and Hanna—have been very bad girls. . . .
Spencer stole her sister's boyfriend. Aria is brokenhearted over her English teacher. Emily likes her new friend Maya . . . as much more than a friend. And Hanna's obsession with looking flawless is literally making her sick. But the most horrible secret of all is something so scandalous it could destroy their perfect little lives.
And someone named "A" is threatening to do just that.
At first they thought A was Alison, their friend who vanished three years ago . . . but then Alison turned up dead. So could A be Melissa, Spencer's ultracompetitive sister? Or Maya, who wants Emily all to herself? What about Toby, the mysterious guy who left town right after Alison went missing?
One thing's for certain: A's got the dirt to bury them all alive, and with every crumpled note, wicked IM, and vindictive text message A sends, the girls get a little closer to losing it all.

Link: http://http://sarashepardbooks.com/
My Thoughts:
Meh. Again another teen angsty filled book. But, like the first in this series, the novel isn't too bad...once you get past the teen angst BS.
I like the idea behind this book. The characters each being tormented by one person "A". I'm intrigued enough to carry on with this series (I need to know who "A" is).
The idea is great, and it holds up enough for me to continue to read the series, even with the annoying teenager attitudes....Although it doesn't stop the parent in me thinking that these girls need some major "tough love" and a serious grounding or loss of privileges......OH MAN, I'm turning into my mother.......

I give "Flawless" a rating of 2.75 out of 5.

OK, I was so not like these girls when I was a teenager. I'm hoping that these novels aren't a sign of the times and an accurate example of current teenage behaviour. This cannot be what I have to look forward to when Little Miss becomes a teen...Right?

Book Number 70

The Novel: The Visibles
The Author: Sara Shepard



Synopsis (Taken from the author's web page):


When introduced to the concept that DNA defines who we are and forever ties us to our relatives, Summer Davis clings to the idea like a life raft, allowing her to feel connected to her beautiful, aloof mother, who abruptly abandoned the family. Summer's father responds to their loss by descending into mental illness, haunted by a lifelong burning secret and abetted by a series of letters that he writes to make sense of his feelings. As Summer deals with her father's illness, her brother's indifference, and her own relationships from adolescence to adulthood, she begins to question the role of genetics and whether she is powerless to escape her family's legacy of despair. But when she decides to put off a science career in New York City to take care of her great-aunt Stella, bedrock of the family and bastion of country wisdom, irreverent insight, and Sinatra memorabilia, Summer begins to learn that her biography doesn't have to define her-and that her future, like her DNA, belongs to her alone.

Link:http://sarashepardbooks.com/index.php
My Thoughts:
I liked this novel better than Sara Shepard's YA novels (The Pretty Little Liars series). This novel has the right elements to entertain me without the teen bullshit that her other novels are saturated with.
Summer Davis is a character that is believable and I couldn't help but feel for her and her situation. The character faces many challenges through her journey and I was immediately sucked in.
The building suspense kept me entertained, although the characters inability to progress at points (her independence) left me frustrated...which was exactly how it was intended to come across.

I give " The Visibles" a rating of 3.5 out of 5.

All in all I enjoyed this novel and I look forward to any other non YA novels that this Author may produce in the future.

Book Number 58

Time to catch up with my blogging. Hopefully I remember what I though about these next 5 books, because it's been awhile since I've read them....

The Novel: Pretty Little Liars
The Author: Sara Shepard
Link: http://www.prettylittleliars.com/series.vm

Pretty Little Liars is the first in a series of Young Adult novels. It's full of young "angsty" teen girls who all have secrets. It's pretty interesting once you get past the teen angst and focus on the plot. I enjoyed this novel and it brought me back to my high school days....although, I can't remember being that superficial, and I really didn't get into the whole party scene....
This novel went by fast. It was entertaining and fast paced. It was nice having the story told from several point of views.
This novel was very "high-schoolish" so as an adult it was hard to completely relate, but it was fun to think back to my past. ((and as a parent it has me freaked about about when my daughter will reach the teen years...it's not going to be fun))

I give "Pretty Little Liars" a rating of 3 out of 5.

I'm going to continue on with the series as I have to know who the antagonist is. I can get past all the teen angst and enjoy the story. And this novel helped me think of several discussions I need to have with Little Miss before she gets to that age when "kids know everything and parents know nothing"