A review by crystalstarrlight
Unbelievable by Sara Shepard

5.0

"There's a lot you can't tell about people, looking in from the outside"

After the explosive events of the last book, a LOT is happening. Emily has a one way ticket to Iowa. Aria is still homeless, waiting in the hospital with her ex-friend, Hanna, as Hanna struggles in a coma. And Spencer is shaken by what she did to her sister. The girls just wait; will Hanna remember who "A" is? Will they ever be free of "A"'s grip?

I came roaring into this one straight off Book 3. I just had to find out what happened next, after the events of Book 3 left me dangling. And Book 4 did not disappoint; the end to this story arc is edge-of-your-seat madness.

This review, however, is probably going to be extremely boring. I don't want to give away TOO many spoilers, so I can't go into much detail about what happens. As for the conclusion, for the big reveal of "A" and Ali's killer...well, that DEFINITELY can't be revealed.

Also, a lot of the compliments I had for the previous book remain. Characters are great, writing is great, pacing is great, the story is interesting in that soap-opera-y, over dramatic way, and so on and so forth. So instead of breaking down each and blathering on and on about them, I'll just bring out the highlights of the final book to the story arc.

Each girl continues to be unique, to have her own problems, and come to her own (sometimes false) conclusions. Aria, Spencer, Hanna, and Emily start to learn that maybe they need to try to work together and find out who "A" is. The little tendrils of friendship, from Aria in the waiting room of the hospital, worried for her friend, Hanna, to Spencer helping Mona plan Hanna's vigil, begin to show how these girls aren't so different, how they could really be friends again if they tried. It is when they work together that the mystery is revealed. It is when they stop hiding things that their lives begin to go back to normal.

What I adored most was how each girl had some sort of satisfying resolution to her story. From home life, to new friendships, to breaking down the walls between family, each girl doesn't end the story as messed up as they began.

However, that doesn't mean they are 100% cured. After the events of this book, I want to know what happens to Emily/Maya (after, of course, smacking Emily around for how she treated Maya). I also am not sure if Hanna will be back together with the adorkable Lucas. And there is the hint that a new "A" will be popping up, thus why this series is longer than 4 books.

I definitely have plans to continue this series...only, I need a break. Reading the first four Pretty Little Liars books nearly straight through is threatening to make me PLL'ed out. So I'll take a break with a few other books, before continuing my PLL marathon!

Dialogue/Sexual Situations/Violence:
These books are surprisingly clean when it comes to language. I've read some teen books where they drop the f-bomb more than adult books, but no so with PLL. There are a few b--ches, but that is as strong as they get.
Hanna and Lucas make out; Emily goes to a party where the teenagers do a lot of "exploring" and "grinding". Mona hires hot males to carry Hanna to her party and to do all the serving.
There is a scuffle at the end of the book with "A" that ends up in a death. Also, Ali's killer is revealed.
As with the other books in the PLL series, I would recommend this to mature teens, 16+.