A Reader's Ramble- Twisted

For this Reader's Ramble I will be reviewing Pretty Little Liars #9- Twisted by Sara Shepard.

 "It’s been a year since the torturous notes from A stopped and the mystery of Alison DiLaurentis’s disappearance was finally put to rest. Now seniors in high school, Aria, Spencer, Hanna and Emily are older, but they’re not any wiser. The Pretty Little Liars have more secrets than ever - twisted secrets that could destroy the perfect lives they’ve worked so hard to rebuild. 
Aria’s jealous of her boyfriend’s new exchange student. Spencer’s getting a little too cozy with her soon-to-be-stepbrother. Hanna’s one scandalous photo away from ruining her dad’s Senate campaign. And Emily will do anything to get a swim scholarship.

Worst of all: Last spring break in Jamaica, they did something unforgivable. The girls are desperate to forget that fateful night, but they should know better than anyone that all secrets wash ashore … eventually."

Muawhahahaha.. HAHAHHAHA 

That was weird.

Anyways.... This book is going to be tough to review, sorta. Considering this is the 9th book in the series and most of you haven't read them. I am hoping this critique will influence you to read the Pretty Little Liars Series. For those of you who haven't read the first book, here is the pitch-

"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?" 

HAHAHAH... That pitch makes me laugh, now that I know everything.. So this will be kind of a review of the series.

Plot- This book had one of the best story lines out of the eight other books. There was so much going on and so many exciting things happening to the girls, it keeps you hooked all the way through! I mean, being the PLL lover I am, it hooked me from the first line. The mysterious "A" is back and better than ever, I have a feeling I know who it is, but Sara Shepard wouldn't want people to know, so there's probably a huge twist involved like the other eight novels.

Those who aren't familiar with "A"- A blackmails the four main characters, Spencer, Aria, Hanna, and Emily and threatens to tell their secrets to the world and get them in major trouble.

And in this story, the secret A is hanging over their heads is really serious, and if anyone found out the girls would go to jail. 

Their other secrets were just ehh.. but this one in Twisted is major.

I mean, in the first eight books, the A mystery is just so twisted and interesting. You'd never expect what happens. It was such a shock to me that I had to read it over twice just to make sure I wasn't crazy. The mystery is that insane and gripping.

Overall, Sara Shepard just creates such an interesting and juicy story that many teenage girls can relate to.

These books just have so many mouth-dropping moments. I remember reading these and being so shocked and some points and my mouth just literally dropping. These books are the most drama filled and exciting novels out there. I mean there's friend, family, and boy drama, but this drama is just so entertaining and juicy!

Setting- Rosewood Pennsylvania. The setting is perfect for this series of books. In this town, everyone tries to act perfect. They try to act like a happy and beautiful little town where all rich kids live, but really it is far from perfect. So many things have happened in Rosewood that it makes it the opposite of that. It's just amazing.

Theme- It's hard to put a theme with this novel. I'd say a theme throughout this whole series is everything is not what it seems, or never keep too many secrets, it just backfires.   "A" makes sure of that... hehehe.....

Characters- Over the course of these nine novels, the four girls Aria, Spencer, Hanna, and Emily have really grown on me. They are really relate-able girls in society.

Aria Montgomery- In the book series, Aria is described as gorgeous, tall and lean with long blue-black hair, ice blue eyes and an angular face. Aria is artsy and imaginative, with hipster style, and a passion for knitting and writing. She is also described as Rosewood's 'weird girl'."   I like Aria. She is one of my favorites. Her personality is just really cool and sincere. Lucy Hale (in the picture) plays Aria on the TV show. That is exactly how I imagined Aria. 

Spencer Hastings - an extremely wealthy, smart, and competitive girl. She is running for valedictorian, on the field hockey team, and plays tennis at a Country Club. She lives with her father, mother, and "perfect" older sister, Melissa. Spencer is jealous of Melissa for having everything she wanted, and they have a huge rivalry. Spencer was best friends with Alison DiLaurentis, and was the closest to Alison in their group although they sometimes had conflicts. She was the only one who could ever stand up to Alison, and they got in huge fights but always made up. Alison told Spencer she had a secret boyfriend, but wouldn't say who. At the sleepover the night before she disappeared, Spencer got up because she heard Alison scream.    I like Spencer as well. Her character is really relate-able and so are her problems and secrets. She is played by Troian Bellisario. This is how I imagined her in the books. 

Hanna Marin- Hanna Marin was an overweight girl who was extremely loyal to Alison, but was verbally abused and embarrassed by her. After Alison's disappearance, she distanced herself from the other girls. She became best friends with another popular outsider, a girl named Mona. They made themselves over during the summer and became gorgeous, skinny and popular, and Hanna took Alison's place as the most popular girl at Rosewood in her absence. Hanna used to shoplift for attention from her absent father, but gave it up after her mother was forced to sleep with the detective to clear Hanna's name. When her ex-boyfriend, Sean, did not want to have sex with her due to his celibacy oath (which she interpreted as him rejecting her) a distraught Hanna crashed his car into a tree, later working at a dentist's office to pay off the repairs. In the mid-season finale Hanna was hit by a car as she ran to tell the girls who "A" is. I do like Hanna, but her bad girl attitude kind of annoys me. She would be my third favorite. She is played by Ashley Benson, this is exactly how I imagined her in the books.

Emily Fields-Emily was a friend of Alison DiLaurentis, and sometimes attracted to her. Emily was dating a guy named Ben Cooganbefore she realized her true feelings were for girls. She secretly went out with Maya St. Germain (her neighbor who's currently living in Ali's former home) for a while before her parents found out and forced her to go to Tree Tops, a rehabilitation center for gays. Emily finds out even her counselor can't hide her true self and decides to give Maya a chance. Her parents find out and she is forced to go live with her aunt and uncle in Iowa. During her stay in Iowa, Emily meets a girl named Trista, who seems to like her, and hangs out with her. When she runs away from her aunt and uncle's, house her parents say on the news they want her back and she returns home. Later in the series she meets up with Trista at a dance and almost kisses her which Mona witnesses. However, she begins to date Isaac, revealing she is bisexual.  I do like Emily, her personality is similiar to mine. (Not the Lesbian personality, but her innocence and kind heart.) She is played by Shay Mitchell in the show, however that is nowhere near how I imagined her in the books.

Alison DiLaurentis- Alison was, in one word, perfect. Boys wanted to kiss her, and girls—even older ones—wanted to be her. Blonde and beautiful, Ali even persuaded four little liars—Aria, Emily, Hanna and Spencer—to tell her all of their darkest secrets. And the spell Ali cast over them remained, until she disappeared the summer after seventh grade. Ali's disappearance left the liars without their best friend, but it also released them from the secrets that only Ali knew. Or did it? In Rosewood, things aren't always what they seem, especially when you're a pretty little liar.  Oh Ali, my favorite of them all. She's crazy and evil but I don't care, she is amazing. She is played by Sasha Pieterse in the show, that is exactly how I imagined her in the books.

There are many other characters in these novels, and many of them are killed. I'd tell you which ones but what would be the fun in that?

These are the Liars from the show.. and here are the Liars from the books...

So Sara Shepard imagined these girls very differently from the show versions. 

All in all, the characters are just amazing. Love everything about them.

Overall- This is my favorite series of all time. Even though this is the ninth book, it NEVER gets boring! These characters and the plot can keep me entertained for hours on end. There is so much drama and suspense. I've never read a more mouth-dropping or eye-popping book series in my life. It is just so insane. The mysteries Sara Shepard creates will drive you crazy until you know the truth. Like when one of the girl's gets a text message from A, you can almost feel your spine tingling along with them. It's so scary.

Overall these are the best books ever and you all need to read this series. If you are a teenage girl, you will most likely love this series.

DO NOT WATCH THE SHOW! If you read the books, stay away from it! They change so much in the show and it makes me SO ANGRY! Now that I started watching it I can't stop.. but it still makes me so mad. They should have left good enough alone!

I was so happy when I found out there was going to be a 9th book. I was so sad when I finished the 8th. But now I don't have to be sad anymore! There are going to be 12 books! I have to wait until December 6th for the next one though! GRR!

If you didn't guess, this gets 5/5 stars. The whole series gets 5/5 stars. I recommend it to everyone out there!

"But here's the question that's on all of our minds: Just how long will Hanna, Emily, Aria, and Spencer be able to keep what they did in Jamaica under warps? Or I guess the real question is: How long will I let them?  

Stick with me, kids. It's about to get so good.....-A"