Reviews - Wanted | The StoryGraph

604 reviews for:

Wanted

Sara Shepard

3.8 AVERAGE

caughtbetweenpages's review

2.5

mysterious fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This series is a wild ride and, if it continues on the trajectory it's been following, by the fourth and final 4-book arc, all of the Liars will have faked their own deaths, have secret hidden twins and/or be adoptees from royal/even wealthier families, and have actually committed murder at some point. As it stands, this arc was entertaining to read and definitely escalated the story post-"Mona as A" in the first arc.
What's a little frustrating with these books, and makes it so I need to binge them quickly in order to keep from DNFing in the middle of an arc, is that none of the characters ever really change. There's marginal improvement to Spencer's selfish power-seeking and moping about being worse than her sister, Hanna's bullying mean-girl behavior, Aria's and Emily's wishy-washy indecisiveness and inability to stand up for themselves (these two are the easiest to read about of the four in the order I've named them, but their lack of character growth just makes them boring rather than sympathetic)... and then they get right back to their standard toxicity, because the batshit plot can't really make a cohesive story if they grow. Now, is it cohesive in the strictest sense anyway? ...well, no, but at least it's entertaining, and since the Liars all kind of suck as people, I can let myself live in the wild nonsense and just feel schaudenfreude instead of the reading experience kind of just feeling bad.

With this arc, I feel like it took a little too long to actually find the identity of A. The entirety of the first book almost, most of the girls didn't even believe there WAS a new A, which, given the premise of the series, made it drag. However, with the introduction of Courthey,

Alison's twin... but also not really? Because this Courtney is the real original Alison? And they got switched at some point

everything went absolutely crazy. Spencer's adoption storyline wasn't of great interest to me, and I didn't love Aria's "uh oh my mom's boyfriend is a predator" storyline either, but the reveals of Hanna's time in rehab were wild, and Emily sneaking into an Amish village was the funniest thing I think I'll ever read.

And okay, considreing the end of this arc, I'm probably going to continue. I'm already halfway there, and I kind of want to see if it's even possible to escalate beyond what's happening here. Probably going to be a while until I'm in the place where this is a series I can allow to give me brainrot again, though.

the_paigemaster's review

5.0

All i could say after reading this novel, was i was confused. I mean i understood everything that happened, but i had to read that letter a few times before it sunk in. I guess i was just disappointed that Ali wasnt really back, and it was kind of messed up. I think Ali should have been in the mental hospital anyway. It was a very good book, and a perfect way to end it, even if it wasnt that happy ending we wanted. Though i know it wont happen, i wish she would do a spin off series on what Ali's new life is like because it would be very interesting to see if she eventually gets away with it all. The only thing i didnt like about these books was all that it left open. What happens with Aria and Ezra? What about Hanna and her dad's relationship? Why did she have to leave Emily ultimately alone? And what about Spencers family? Don't you think her dad would be all messed up because two of his daughters are dead (or presumed dead anyway) I wish we had answers, but the imagination will have to do, at least for now.

dianavinogradova's review

5.0

adventurous lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

impybelle's review

3.0

I don't think it's possible to discuss Wanted without breaking out the spoilers. Mostly because some jackass on the PLL site elsewhere spoiled me. But I am not that cruel.

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Start...now. It all comes down to an evil twin. You probably guessed this before, but it's one thing to guess and another thing to have this confirmed. Ali's twin, Courtney, spent most of her life in various psych wards, only they're the nice, rich varieties.

The summer Ali befriended the Pretty Little Liars, Courtney was home for a few days before being switched to a different facility. The one Hanna later ends up staying in due to A's trickery. C managed to pull the ultimate twin switch that weekend and Ali was sent to the funny farm in C's place.

C, as Ali, befriends people she's sure will not truly question her leadership and dumps anyone who might have known she wasn't really Alison. Because C is crazy, although we're not really given a real diagnosis here, she acts out.

Towards the start of the book, Ali's family reveals Courtney to the world via a press conferance. Only Courtney, remember, is really Ali. Ali convinces her friends that she's the real deal and that she's spent the last few years living her life as Courtney because no one would believe the truth. Her time in the nuthouse has reformed her and she wants to be a better friend to them.

In Spencer's case this means she wants to be the best sister ever. In Hanna's case, she's finally acknowledged as fabulous by the ever fabulous Alison, and Ali also helps get even with Kate. Emily is given hope that Ali really does want to be with her romantically. Only Aria refuses to buy what nu!Ali is selling. Too much weird stuff has happened to just start all over, and this might be the single most realistic thing in this book.

Thing is, the guy who revealed as "Ali's" killer? Has an alibi for the other crimes he supposedly commited. And a picture surfaces of the night Ali disappeared, only the person who took the picture is reflected in the Polaroid. And that person is decidedly female. For a minute we're supposed to believe it's Melissa, but unlike a lot of other fake outs in the series, this one doesn't really ring all that true. Bitchy and hyper-competitive, yes. Capable of that level of psychosis? Yeaaaaaah. Not so much.

And so Ali recreates the night 'she' disappeared. Only now she's going to kill the PLLs because...

Because...

Why, exactly? She's crazy. That's all the motivation we're given. Yeah, sure, Courtney picked absolute losers (one of whom the twins were related to, however) but how does anyone make that a case for murder? Seriously? That's where my big problem with Wanted comes in. It's a hell of a ride until it winds down and you realize that this whole thing was built on top of a really shaky premise. "Girl's twin takes her life. Girl kills twin, spends a year or so stalking twin's "friends" and ultimately attempts to kill them. No real reason given."

The best part of the book is the moment you realize that their Ali was never really Ali at all. The girl they mourned this entire time was actually Crazy Courtney. Poor Court may have been nuttier than fruitcake, but not one single shrine was erected in her honor, and that makes me kind of sad.