Pretty Little Liars: Books vs. Series
Developed by I. Marlene King, Pretty Little Liars (2010–2017) is based on Sara Shepard’s novels. Four friends begin receiving messages from “A,” who knows the secrets they thought vanished with their missing friend Alison.
From Books Adapted
Which books each season covers
Two seasons expand the first four books' mystery
Shepard said the pilot used the story of the first Pretty Little Liars book in one episode. The series then stretches and changes the opening mystery, rather than moving through one book per season.
| Season | Books and original TV stories |
|---|---|
| 1 | Starts with Pretty Little Liars, book 1, then expands the opening mystery from the first four books. |
| 2 | Continues that mystery through its first major answer. The source is the opening four-book story: Pretty Little Liars, Flawless, Perfect and Unbelievable. Characters' fates and the circumstances change. |
| 3 | Begins the TV series' next A mystery, rather than directly adapting book 5, Wicked. |
| 4 | Continues that TV mystery with the book characters and new stories. No single novel supplies the season. |
| 5 | Continues the same TV mystery, leading into the dollhouse story. No single novel supplies the season. |
| 6 | Resolves that mystery in its first half, then makes a five-year jump to begin a new TV story. |
| 7 | Concludes the TV series' A.D. mystery with a different answer from the books. |
| A guide, not an exact match: shows move scenes and storylines between books and seasons. | |
Creator I. Marlene King has identified the first four books as the part the series followed most closely. Books 5–16 have not been adapted as a complete, ordered story; later seasons borrow ideas without telling the same sequence of events. The books continue to Vicious, with their own conclusion.
What changed from the book
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Toby and Mona survive their book endings
Toby dies in Flawless, the second book. The series keeps him alive and builds a continuing role for him. Troian Bellisario said the early question of following his book fate gave way to keeping a character the audience wanted to see.
Mona's fate also changes. She dies in the books, but survives the series' revelation that she is A. Keeping her in Rosewood allows her to take part in the next mystery instead of ending her story with the reveal.
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The final twin twist was created for the TV characters
The final A.D. is Alex Drake, Spencer's previously unseen twin. King described that choice as a tribute to the books' twin story, rather than the same revelation transferred to television.
King and the writers wanted the final antagonist to be played by an existing series regular without making one of the four central friends responsible for tormenting the others. The twin let Troian Bellisario play both Spencer and the person behind the threats.
The books, in order
Details
- Author
- Sara Shepard
- Year
- 2006
- Pages
- 304
- Audiobook length
- 7 hr 5 min
- Narrator
- Cassandra Morris
- Series
- Pretty Little Liars, book 1
Three years after Alison disappears, the four friends she once held together have built separate lives in Rosewood. Aria returns from Iceland, Hanna guards her new popularity, Emily develops feelings for a girl, and Spencer becomes involved with her sister’s boyfriend. Messages signed “A” reveal that someone knows both their present troubles and the things they confided in Alison, making their former friendship impossible to leave behind.
Details
- Author
- Sara Shepard
- Year
- 2007
- Pages
- 352
- Audiobook length
- 8 hr 15 min
- Narrator
- Cassandra Morris
- Series
- Pretty Little Liars, book 2
The discovery of Alison’s body rules out the explanation Aria, Emily, Hanna, and Spencer first gave themselves for the messages from A. Attention turns to an old prank that left another girl seriously injured, while the threats reach into their relationships and families. Keeping quiet once protected the group, but now their shared silence gives someone else the power to decide what gets exposed.
Details
- Author
- Sara Shepard
- Year
- 2007
- Pages
- 298
- Audiobook length
- 7 hr 34 min
- Narrator
- Cassandra Morris
- Series
- Pretty Little Liars, book 3
Spencer’s nomination for a prestigious essay award rests on work she stole from her sister, giving A another way to control her. Meanwhile, Hanna’s friendship with Mona deteriorates, and Emily faces pressure from her family over her sexuality. As the girls’ private crises pull them apart, doubts about the night Alison vanished bring suspicion uncomfortably close to their own circle.
Details
- Author
- Sara Shepard
- Year
- 2008
- Pages
- 368
- Audiobook length
- 8 hr 36 min
- Narrator
- Cassandra Morris
- Series
- Pretty Little Liars, book 4
Hanna survives being hit by a car but cannot remember the discovery that put her in danger. While her friends wait for her memory to return, Emily is sent to relatives in Iowa and Spencer struggles with the possibility that her own missing memories conceal something terrible. Recovering what each of them knows becomes essential to identifying A before another attempt to silence them succeeds.
Details
- Author
- Sara Shepard
- Year
- 2008
- Pages
- 336
- Audiobook length
- 8 hr 24 min
- Narrator
- Cassandra Morris
- Series
- Pretty Little Liars, book 5
With a suspect arrested for Alison’s murder, Hanna, Aria, Emily, and Spencer expect room to recover from the months of threats. Instead, Hanna faces a rivalry at home with her stepsister, Spencer questions her place in her family, and Aria becomes entangled with a man her mother is dating. New messages from A arrive as these problems develop, undermining their belief that the danger has passed.
Details
- Author
- Sara Shepard
- Year
- 2009
- Pages
- 352
- Audiobook length
- 8 hr 44 min
- Narrator
- Cassandra Morris
- Series
- Pretty Little Liars, book 6
A body the girls report to police disappears before anyone can confirm their account, leaving them struggling to be believed. Spencer pursues the possibility of a different family, while Aria’s attraction to Alison’s brother Jason gives her reasons both to approach him and to question his behavior. Messages and clues pull their attention back to Alison’s death, but following them means trusting information supplied by someone already manipulating them.
Details
- Author
- Sara Shepard
- Year
- 2010
- Pages
- 304
- Audiobook length
- 7 hr 14 min
- Narrator
- Cassandra Morris
- Series
- Pretty Little Liars, book 7
After a fire in the woods, the girls insist they have seen someone who should be dead, further damaging their credibility in Rosewood. Their search for an explanation takes them in different directions: Aria turns to a medium, Hanna enters a treatment facility, and Spencer suspects a family secret may be connected to murder. With outsiders dismissing their accounts, they have fewer people to turn to for help.
Details
- Author
- Sara Shepard
- Year
- 2010
- Pages
- 288
- Audiobook length
- 6 hr 48 min
- Narrator
- Cassandra Morris
- Series
- Pretty Little Liars, book 8
An announcement from the DiLaurentis family introduces someone whose resemblance to Alison unsettles the four friends just as they believe the murder has been explained. Getting close to this newcomer offers the comfort of recovering part of their old friendship. It also forces them to reconsider how well they knew Alison and whether the answers they have accepted can account for what is happening now.
Details
- Author
- Sara Shepard
- Year
- 2011
- Pages
- 304
- Series
- Pretty Little Liars, book 9
A year without messages from A has allowed the girls to enter their final year of school believing they can move on. But a shared secret from a trip to Jamaica remains unresolved, alongside new problems involving Hanna’s father’s Senate campaign and Aria’s jealousy of an exchange student staying with Noel. When the threats resume, the girls must confront something they have concealed even while claiming their lives are back on track.
Details
- Author
- Sara Shepard
- Year
- 2011
- Pages
- 368
- Series
- Pretty Little Liars, book 10
Spencer’s fear of exposure centers on Kelsey, a girl she betrayed during a summer academic program who has now reappeared in her life. Emily’s growing closeness to Kelsey makes Spencer’s suspicions harder to discuss without dividing the group. While Hanna becomes involved with the son of her father’s political rival, the friends consider whether admitting their secrets could weaken A’s hold or simply give their tormentor what they want.
Details
- Author
- Sara Shepard
- Year
- 2012
- Pages
- 336
- Series
- Pretty Little Liars, book 11
A visit to Princeton offers Spencer a taste of the future she has worked toward, while Emily reconnects with a former boyfriend whose return makes her hidden past harder to manage. Aria discovers something private about Noel’s father, leaving her unsure what to tell Noel. These attempts to build lives beyond A create new confidences to protect, even as the threat surrounding their trip to Jamaica remains unresolved.
Details
- Author
- Sara Shepard
- Year
- 2012
- Pages
- 352
- Series
- Pretty Little Liars, book 12
A school cruise takes Aria, Hanna, Emily, and Spencer away from Rosewood for spring break, but the messages from A follow them aboard. New companions and romantic distractions offer a temporary escape until reminders of their previous holiday in Jamaica make it difficult to relax. Far from home and surrounded by people they cannot fully trust, the girls have to work out how their stalker is keeping so close.
Details
- Author
- Sara Shepard
- Year
- 2013
- Pages
- 368
- Series
- Pretty Little Liars, book 13
As prom approaches, the girls organize a search for A, setting up a room where they can collect evidence and work through a list of suspects. The plan requires them to investigate people close to them rather than wait for another threatening message. Comparing what they know may finally give them an advantage, but it also tests whether they can put their friendships and relationships under the same scrutiny.
Details
- Author
- Sara Shepard
- Year
- 2013
- Pages
- 336
- Series
- Pretty Little Liars, book 14
The secrets A has collected begin to cost the girls the futures they expected. Spencer loses her place at Princeton, Hanna’s relationship with her campaigning father collapses, and Aria faces the possibility of being forced to leave the country. With their private mistakes becoming public, the four have to pursue their tormentor while dealing with consequences they can no longer hide from the people around them.
Details
- Author
- Sara Shepard
- Year
- 2014
- Pages
- 352
- Series
- Pretty Little Liars, book 15
A movie about the girls’ ordeal gives Hanna an opportunity to act, turning experiences she wants to escape into a possible career. Yet the police’s confidence that the case is resolved does not match what the friends believe about the person still threatening them. As their story becomes public entertainment, they continue looking for evidence that could persuade others the danger is real and unfinished.
Details
- Author
- Sara Shepard
- Year
- 2014
- Pages
- 368
- Series
- Pretty Little Liars, book 16
Accused of murdering Alison, Aria, Emily, Hanna, and Spencer face a trial in a town that has learned to distrust almost everything they say. They insist they have been framed, but proving it requires more than another account of threats nobody else can verify. With prison becoming a real possibility, each must decide whether to keep fighting the case or look for a way out before a verdict is reached.
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