Post by Charlynn on Jun 7, 2011 18:50:57 GMT -5
Flawless: A Pretty Little Liars Novel
As the second book in this series picks up, the girls' lives are still complicatedly messy. In fact, Aria, Emily, Spencer, and Hanna are juggling so many secrets and lies, it's amazing that the four of them manage to keep it together for as long as they actually do.
First, there is Aria. Now that I am through two books in this series, I can safely admit that, of the four girls, she is my favorite... so far. Desperately trying to keep her family together, Aria struggles with hiding the fact that her father not only had an affair before the Montgomery's moved to Iceland but also that he appears to have picked up right where he left off when they relocated. To add pressure on top of pressure, her little brother finds out, too, so she feels like she not only has the responsibility of preventing her parents from splitting up but also the responsibility of protecting her only sibling. Yes, in order to do this, she lies, sneaks around, and keeps secrets, but no child should ever be put in this type of situation, and for her father to do that to her is disgusting. In fact, of all the girls, Aria's secrets concerning her family are the least selfish. One could even go so far as to say that they are commendable. To further support her character, even after she meets her father's mistress, she struggles with the fact that, if they had met in another way, she could have liked the older woman. Despite her hatred for the situation, Aria could not automatically hate the person breaking up her parents' marriage. Then, in the middle of all this family drama, there's also boy trouble for Aria, too. First, there are her lingering issues with her English teacher/end-of-summer fling, and there's also a new guy in her life as well, one who just so happens to be Hanna's ex-boyfriend, Sean.
Next, I would rank Emily as my second favorite of the four girls. Once more, her secrets and lies do not tend to come from a malicious or selfish place. Really, Emily's issues boil down to the fact that she is confused about her sexuality. While she is attracted to Maya – her new friend, she doesn't want to be gay. She's afraid of facing the harassment. Despite the fact that she used to dish it out like the best of them during the fab-five period of her life, she is no longer so confrontational and rude and recognizes the mistakes she made by allowing Alison and her feelings for her former best friend to influence her. Things only become more complicated for Emily when her ex-boyfriend Ben starts to taunt her about kissing Maya, only for a former neighbor and one of the kids she, Alison, Hanna, Aria, and Spencer used to tease – Toby – to come to her rescue. The two of them become friends, but the relationship quickly becomes disastrous.
My third favorite would be Spencer. Although I cannot as easily excuse away her mistakes, I can see where they originate from and why she makes them. Constantly compared to the older sister her parents deem practically perfect, Spencer, despite her many amazing attributes, has self-esteem issues when it comes to the competition she shares with Melissa, her sister. So, yes, this would lead her to stress over grades and could cause her to do something dishonest in her scholastic endeavors, and, yes, it is understandable that she would latch onto someone – Wren – who would show her any positive attention and seemingly choose her over her sister, unlike her parents. However, pressure or no pressure, you don't steal your sister's old high school essays and revamp them as your own. I never tolerate plagiarism and feel that Spencer deserves all the consequences coming her way because of her actions. And you never steal your sister's boyfriend either... no matter how cute, sophisticated, smart, or charming he appears to be and no matter how rotten of a sister yours is. There's a code, and Spencer broke that blatantly. Then, to further mar my opinion of her, Spencer used a nice, intelligent, and respectful boy (at least two of the three traits Wren did not possess) who clearly had legitimate feelings for her to perpetuate her joke of a relationship with her sister's former flame. Though she did not maliciously set out to hurt this other guy – Andrew, that's exactly what she ended up doing – hurting him.
Finally, there's Hanna. While I can feel sorry for her situation – her mother is a workaholic who doesn't seem to want to be a parent, and her father chose a new family over her, there comes a point where all the excuses in the world just stop being good enough, just stop working, and, for me, that's the case with Hanna. Yes, life dealt her a bum hand, but move on and get past it already. She's completely selfish, and her only interests are superficial. She's purposefully mean to others – probably in an effort to make her feel better about herself, she puts others down, and she has no visible traits of merit. I do think that there could be substance underneath her layers upon layers of lies, conceit, and poor self-esteem, but she's had so many chances already to stand up and be a better person and, instead, she just seems to become worse and worse... as emphasized by her actions at the burn clinic, her treatment of Aria after she learns her former friend is dating her ex, and her continued body image issues. Now, Hanna certainly adds an entertaining element to the story, but it's definitely not a sympathetic one.
But this is just the beginning of Flawless. Not only are the girls each dealing with their own personal issues, but one of the secrets from their past is revealed. About a year before Alison went missing, during a sleepover, Alison suggested and the others eventually agreed to shoot a firework into their strange neighbor, Toby's, treehouse. Even though Alison claimed it was supposed to be an innocent prank, Toby's sister got severely injured – burned and blinded. However, by blackmailing Toby, Alison protected them, and Toby took the blame. It's revealed, though, that Alison might have been jealous of Jenna – the sister's – looks, and, if so, knowing Alison's personality, it wouldn't be a stretch to wonder if her actions really were so accidental. To further complicate matters, Toby returns to Rosewood, opening up all the old wounds for the girls and making them fear that he is 'A.'
By the end of this second novel, there's another death, and some of the girls' most closely guarded secrets are revealed. Others aren't, though, so there's plenty of fodder for 'A' to continue haunting them. Plus, knowing Aria, Emily, Spencer, and Hanna's penchant for lying and keeping secrets, I'm sure there are others from their past for 'A' to exploit and even more in the making to come. Also, don't forget about Alison's murder. It still has not yet been solved.
Juicy, isn't it?
As the second book in this series picks up, the girls' lives are still complicatedly messy. In fact, Aria, Emily, Spencer, and Hanna are juggling so many secrets and lies, it's amazing that the four of them manage to keep it together for as long as they actually do.
First, there is Aria. Now that I am through two books in this series, I can safely admit that, of the four girls, she is my favorite... so far. Desperately trying to keep her family together, Aria struggles with hiding the fact that her father not only had an affair before the Montgomery's moved to Iceland but also that he appears to have picked up right where he left off when they relocated. To add pressure on top of pressure, her little brother finds out, too, so she feels like she not only has the responsibility of preventing her parents from splitting up but also the responsibility of protecting her only sibling. Yes, in order to do this, she lies, sneaks around, and keeps secrets, but no child should ever be put in this type of situation, and for her father to do that to her is disgusting. In fact, of all the girls, Aria's secrets concerning her family are the least selfish. One could even go so far as to say that they are commendable. To further support her character, even after she meets her father's mistress, she struggles with the fact that, if they had met in another way, she could have liked the older woman. Despite her hatred for the situation, Aria could not automatically hate the person breaking up her parents' marriage. Then, in the middle of all this family drama, there's also boy trouble for Aria, too. First, there are her lingering issues with her English teacher/end-of-summer fling, and there's also a new guy in her life as well, one who just so happens to be Hanna's ex-boyfriend, Sean.
Next, I would rank Emily as my second favorite of the four girls. Once more, her secrets and lies do not tend to come from a malicious or selfish place. Really, Emily's issues boil down to the fact that she is confused about her sexuality. While she is attracted to Maya – her new friend, she doesn't want to be gay. She's afraid of facing the harassment. Despite the fact that she used to dish it out like the best of them during the fab-five period of her life, she is no longer so confrontational and rude and recognizes the mistakes she made by allowing Alison and her feelings for her former best friend to influence her. Things only become more complicated for Emily when her ex-boyfriend Ben starts to taunt her about kissing Maya, only for a former neighbor and one of the kids she, Alison, Hanna, Aria, and Spencer used to tease – Toby – to come to her rescue. The two of them become friends, but the relationship quickly becomes disastrous.
My third favorite would be Spencer. Although I cannot as easily excuse away her mistakes, I can see where they originate from and why she makes them. Constantly compared to the older sister her parents deem practically perfect, Spencer, despite her many amazing attributes, has self-esteem issues when it comes to the competition she shares with Melissa, her sister. So, yes, this would lead her to stress over grades and could cause her to do something dishonest in her scholastic endeavors, and, yes, it is understandable that she would latch onto someone – Wren – who would show her any positive attention and seemingly choose her over her sister, unlike her parents. However, pressure or no pressure, you don't steal your sister's old high school essays and revamp them as your own. I never tolerate plagiarism and feel that Spencer deserves all the consequences coming her way because of her actions. And you never steal your sister's boyfriend either... no matter how cute, sophisticated, smart, or charming he appears to be and no matter how rotten of a sister yours is. There's a code, and Spencer broke that blatantly. Then, to further mar my opinion of her, Spencer used a nice, intelligent, and respectful boy (at least two of the three traits Wren did not possess) who clearly had legitimate feelings for her to perpetuate her joke of a relationship with her sister's former flame. Though she did not maliciously set out to hurt this other guy – Andrew, that's exactly what she ended up doing – hurting him.
Finally, there's Hanna. While I can feel sorry for her situation – her mother is a workaholic who doesn't seem to want to be a parent, and her father chose a new family over her, there comes a point where all the excuses in the world just stop being good enough, just stop working, and, for me, that's the case with Hanna. Yes, life dealt her a bum hand, but move on and get past it already. She's completely selfish, and her only interests are superficial. She's purposefully mean to others – probably in an effort to make her feel better about herself, she puts others down, and she has no visible traits of merit. I do think that there could be substance underneath her layers upon layers of lies, conceit, and poor self-esteem, but she's had so many chances already to stand up and be a better person and, instead, she just seems to become worse and worse... as emphasized by her actions at the burn clinic, her treatment of Aria after she learns her former friend is dating her ex, and her continued body image issues. Now, Hanna certainly adds an entertaining element to the story, but it's definitely not a sympathetic one.
But this is just the beginning of Flawless. Not only are the girls each dealing with their own personal issues, but one of the secrets from their past is revealed. About a year before Alison went missing, during a sleepover, Alison suggested and the others eventually agreed to shoot a firework into their strange neighbor, Toby's, treehouse. Even though Alison claimed it was supposed to be an innocent prank, Toby's sister got severely injured – burned and blinded. However, by blackmailing Toby, Alison protected them, and Toby took the blame. It's revealed, though, that Alison might have been jealous of Jenna – the sister's – looks, and, if so, knowing Alison's personality, it wouldn't be a stretch to wonder if her actions really were so accidental. To further complicate matters, Toby returns to Rosewood, opening up all the old wounds for the girls and making them fear that he is 'A.'
By the end of this second novel, there's another death, and some of the girls' most closely guarded secrets are revealed. Others aren't, though, so there's plenty of fodder for 'A' to continue haunting them. Plus, knowing Aria, Emily, Spencer, and Hanna's penchant for lying and keeping secrets, I'm sure there are others from their past for 'A' to exploit and even more in the making to come. Also, don't forget about Alison's murder. It still has not yet been solved.
Juicy, isn't it?