In my opinion, this is the best book in the series. This is where we start to feel compassion (kind of?) for Ali-Courtney, and we start to figure out why still-alive-Ali is so pissed at these 4 liars.

Of course, it was interesting to 'see' into the mind of a popular girl, and it makes me a little more compassionate towards the popular girls who treated me poorly in middle school. Everyone's just trying to figure things out, and it's hard...and holding a giant secret like that is...wow. I hope Shepard write a version for still-alive-Ali - though in some cases, I'm not sure if she can.

I'd recommend not starting with this book in the series, but maybe reading it after book 7 or so.

See my review on pll #1.

This is the book while the topics are interesting and real for teens, I feel like Shepard's writing has gone a little downhill here. My speculations are that A is a little obvious in this (third arc?) series, but I'm curious as to what Shepard will do in the remaining books.

We thought it might be so, and now we know it's true.

I felt this book was the most unrealistic, (but again, this is kind of the point) but I still finished the book and I'm excited for the next release. So it can't be that bad. ;)

I found Nick's (I think that's his name?) everywhere-ness to be a little over-the-top...but still deliciously creepy.

Nonetheless, I'm excited about the next book. I do hope that the next book will be the last and the book after will be some sort of companion piece, like book 0. I wonder if she'd write one from "real Ali"'s perspective? I don't know how she wouldn't.

John Green knows what cancer is like, and he nails it from a teen perspective.

Some might compare this book to A Walk to Remember. Don't let that scare you. This is a better plot and better written. He takes the cheesiness factor away in the first few pages as we get to know Hazel.

I'm always impressed when a writer writes from the perspective of a different gender. He does this very well. Granted, his character is more of a tomboy (in some ways), but the female voice is great.

However, I am a soulless animal, because I did not cry at the end of this book. Because of my own experiences with cancer, I saw what was going to happen. "I lit up like a Christmas tree" sums it up. That's exactly what it's like.

And the chart Hazel makes in Amsterdam. You guys. I'm such a girl, I can't even. Or odd.

I'm looking forward to reading more by Green.

Pairings: As I lay dying,

Cute. Fluffy. Easy. Very different than the movie.

Quentin, a band-geek wannabe, happens to live next door to the ever-fabulous Margo. After a spontaneous adventure in the dark, Quentin learns a tiny bit more about the way Margo works, leaving more mystery than anything. After she disappears, Quentin sees signs that maybe she left clues just for him.

Green absolutely nails the teen psyche once again - the "not caring about popularity and friends" while deeply caring about popularity and friends. While this book moves a little more slowly than his others, the suspense kept me interested, and I wanted to know what had happened.

I prefer open-ended endings, and I felt it was appropriate in this story - it makes sense that we don't know what ultimately happens to Margo in the end. We know her plans, but like we've seen on the night she and Quentin explored, we don't know how it will actually pan out.

Green's use of literature and the idea of a Paper Town is incredible - though I imagine some might find this a weakness. He understands the written word deeply, and it's always a pleasure to read and watch how the classics can affect a person. Great thoughts for a book discussion.

I'm curious as to whether some readers might've found Quentin's drive to find Margo an obsession. I think it gets close, but ultimately, I think he just wants to find her for her own safety. Quentin is 'the good guy', and that's why he gets that way.

My only critique was the spontaneous road trip. I just didn't find it believable, but I understand that for the story arc, the road trip had to be sudden and a sacrifice for the suspense. This was the next appropriate sacrifice after prom.

Comparisons: Perks of being a Wallflower, The Fault in our Stars

I thought I had written a review for this already. I read it several years ago. I read this series because several of my teens got really into it. ;)

Basically - just about everything you want to happen happens in this last book. We see all the girls' reactions to such serious pressure (which I'm not sure is realistic, but definitely believable for their characters and their wealthy setting). Ali receives the ultimate sentence - she goes to jail, the girls get their justice, AND to top it all off, she's perceived as ugly–though we feel a little sorry for her at the end, it's just the justice we want for this girl.

Vicious reads differently than Shepard's other books (more courtroom setting than you might think, but no legal fiction) and it a little "out there" (the wedding was not believable to me), but it's still definitely written in Shepard's endearing-for-teens style. Pure fluff, and it was great. ;)

There's a lot to be skeptical about in this book, but it's a fun read with a satisfying ending.