Their disagreements were physical, brutal, and downright terrifying at times, which contributes in understanding Spencer's personality and overall family dynamics. Spencer's relationship with her sister, Melissa, took up a large portion of content in the books, and was emphasized to a greater extent. The divorce between Aria's parents was a lot more significant and played into her relationship with her brother, Mike, as well as how she behaved during the series. Marin was less present, her role was essential in understanding Hanna's story-line and why she acted in certain ways. Hanna's mom in the books was nothing like her television counterpart- she was a barely present, careless business mogul who treated her daughter like she did not even exist.Įven though Ms. Instead I'm saying that each family had a much different role and their roles fit in better within the entire context of the series. I'm not saying that the families of each of the girls are irrelevant in the show, because that is not true by any means. The families were more of an integral part of the book series. Although I liked the fact that I could sympathize and relate to the girls in the ABC Family show, to me it just does not fall in line with the premise of this series. In this sense, I think it is much more powerful to have main characters that you dislike in order to get a message across, which author Sara Shepard does stunningly. These girls were not angels, and could not be defended in their actions during certain parts of the series.

Spencer had this sickening need for perfection that drove her to do things some people could never even imagine. Emily was a whiny girl willing to do anything to see Ali again, while Aria's desire for a more exciting life always left her with less than she started with. Hanna was nasty and downright narcissistic in the beginning of the book series. Actually, the books have little to do about Ali- it's all about the negative impact Ali had on their lives, transforming them into the people they are today. I read the books first, and the way I see it, the Liars aren't just called that because of the Ali-related secrets they keep. OK, so I get that this is slightly controversial. The Liars were not very likable at times.

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