I am a sucker for “young adult” series such as Harry Potter, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and Twilight, so when I saw the Pretty Little Liars books I had to pick them up and check them out (er, voraciously complete them).

Premise: Junior High group of friends in affluent suburban Pennsylvania is traumatized when their leader, Alison, goes missing at a sleepover.  Fast forward to high school and someone calling themselves ’A’ who knows all of the group’s secrets AND what happened to Alison, begins stalking said group of friends.

I admit it, I’m addicted.  Sara Shepard does a fantastic job of building up each of the characters with a) motive, b) likability, and c) secrets and flaws.  The story is written in present-day, but flashbacks to times with Alison give hints into her disappearance and the circumstances that led up to it. 

Is Alison ‘A’?  Could she have been alive this whole time?  And if Alison isn’t ‘A’, how does A know all of their secrets and why is A stalking them?  We find this out over the series, which so far includes Pretty Little Liars, Flawless, Perfect, Unbelievable, Wicked, and the soon-to-come Killer.  I’ve read the first four and I can tell you that I’m going to rush to get Wicked after the ending in Unbelievable.

Verdict?  If you liked the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants books, the Pretty Little Liars series will not disappoint!