Heartless (Pretty Little Liars Series #7) »

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

In picturesque Rosewood, Pennsylvania, neighbors gossip over picket fences, and gleaming SUVs sit in every crushed-granite driveway. But recently, friendly smiles have been replaced with suspicious glares and accusatory whispers and it's all because Hanna, Aria, Emily, and Spencer just can't keep their mouths shut. . . .

First they claimed they found a dead body in the woods behind Spencer's house, only to have it vanish without a trace. Then when the same woods went up in flames, they swore they saw someone who's supposed to be dead rise from the ashes. And even after all that, the pretty little liars are still playing with fire.

Hanna's trading in her Dior trench for a straitjacket. Aria's trying to contact the dead. Emily's dumped her boyfriend and is skipping town . . . again. And Spencer thinks someone in her family has gotten away with murder.

The friends insist they're telling the truth about what they saw, but all of Rosewood thinks they're simply out for attention and nobody likes a girl who cries wolf. So when the big bad killer comes after the girls, will anyone believe them . . . or will they be the next to disappear?

VOYA

Heartless is book seven in the Pretty Little Liars (PLL) series, which is now being made into a television series on the ABC Family network. PLL is the story of four friends - Emily, Aria, Hanna and Spencer - who are dealing with the disappearance and death of Alison DiLaurentis. Each of the girls has secrets they want to keep, including the fact that someone named "A" keeps texting them and threatening to tell all. In Heartless, the four girls awaken at Spencer's house after a fire has been set. The girls insist that they have seen Ali alive. Emily is sent on a mission to Amish country where she learns that a girl named Leah was also killed, possibly by the police officer investigating them for Alison's death. The girls seek the help of a medium while Hanna is sent to a clinic to deal with her eating disorder; here, another possible suspect is identified. Ultimately, all four girls end up arrested and in jail for Ali's murder, only to realize that "A" has been trying to turn them against each other. When another girl is murdered, a new suspect emerges and the girls are released from jail—still unsure of the identity of the text-messaging "A". Pretty Little Liars is Desperate Housewives for teens, with a little Queen Bees and Wannabees thrown in. There are a lot of characters and twists and turns to keep track of, but the mystery is interesting and will keep teens invested. Fans of the series will want to read this newest title; but new readers should start with book one. Reviewer: Karen Jensen