Character Analysis
(Avoiding Spoilers)
Grew Up… in Rosewood, Pennsylvania. The Hastings household – comprised of parents Veronica and Peter, along with Spencer and her sister Melissa – has always been as competitive as they are wealthy. Spencer had an affluent childhood but was always (and remains) in competition with her older sister Melissa. Spencer’s upbringing was certainly supportive, with her parents always driving her to do her best, but wasn’t exactly loving, with harsh repercussions and punishments for poor performances or un-Hastings-like actions. When Spencer was in middle school, she made fast friends with Alison, Aria, Emily, and Hanna – until Alison’s disappearance split the foursome for good.
Living… in Rosewood with her parents and, unfortunately, Melissa and her fiancé, Wren. After spending months renovating a barn on her parent’s sprawling estate, Melissa announced that she’s moving back home and will need the barn for privacy with her fiancé. Spencer was furious because her parents promised her the barn, but naturally her folks sided with the “perfect” Melissa.
Profession… sophomore at Rosewood Academy. Spencer is very dedicated to her schoolwork and her extracurricular activities, which include the field hockey and decathlon teams. She also frequently does charity work and community service. Spencer has always been a straight-A student and tends to put too much on her plate at once, like holding a job while simultaneously juggling school, community service, and extracurriculars.
Interests… field hockey, politics, her grades, competing, and winning.
Relationship Status… single. Spencer would probably say that she’s just too busy to have a boyfriend. She also tends to attract boys who aren’t good for her – for instance, her sister’s fiancé. Wren flirts shamelessly with Spencer, and Spencer doesn’t exactly stop him when he offers to massage her sore muscles after field hockey practice. Yet another secret that Spencer’s forced to keep!
Challenge… maintaining her perfect life and keeping her secrets. Sometimes balancing it all is just too much for Spencer, and she’s had her handful of moments in which it appears the gleaming tower of accomplishments she’s accumulated will fall. And Spencer’s no newbie when it comes to secrets. Ever since they found Alison’s body, Spencer has been accruing a lot more secrets than usual…
Personality… competitive, driven, and smart. Spencer is an overachiever in every sense of the word and in every aspect of her life. When she wasn’t competing with Melissa for their parents’ attention, she was competing with Alison in academics, field hockey, and boys. One could even say that Spencer’s competitive edge might drive her to do some things she may regret.
Get to Know her in...
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In Pretty Little Liars, everything seemed to be going perfectly with the group of best friends—Alison, Aria, Emily, Spencer, and Hanna. But after Alison and Aria caught Aria's father cheating on her mom with his student, Alison constantly threatened Aria with the secret. After Alison mysteriously disappears, the truth becomes impossible to uncover.
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Now that Hanna, Spencer, Emily, and Aria are rid of "A," the stalker who terrorized them for months, they're free to go back to their pretty little lives. Too bad there's a new A in town. And this A refuses to let them forget about Rosewood's darkest secret: the murder of their best friend Alison DiLaurentis. The girls dig deeper for the truth—but someone wants to bury them alive.
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For years scandal has rocked Rosewood, Pennsylvania—and high school seniors Aria, Emily, Hanna, and Spencer have always been at the center of the drama. They've lost friends, been targeted by a ruthless stalker named A, and narrowly escaped death. And it's not over yet. Aria's love life is on the fritz. Emily's exploring her wild side. Hanna's kissing the enemy. And someone from Spencer's past—someone she never thought she'd see again—is back to haunt her.But none of that compares to what happened last spring break. It's their darkest secret yet and guess who found out? Now A is determined to make them pay for their crime, and the only thing scarier than A is the fear that maybe, just maybe, they deserve what's coming to them.
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Some lies are too big to forgive or forget. Emily's reconnecting with an old flame, one baby step at a time, but is she headed toward true love or another bundle of heartache? Spencer's learning about the highs and lows of campus life on a trip to Princeton. Aria's seeing a whole new side to Noel's dad—and it could drive a wedge between her and Noel. And, for better or worse, Hanna's getting in touch with her inner A. Moving on is hard to do, isn't it, ladies? But with a past this ugly, these girls don't deserve a future. Don't worry, soon I'll have enough ammo to end these pretty little liars once and for all.
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Four very pretty liars can't escape their ugly past.The liars are off on a spring break cruise, but they're never far from trouble. Emily's smooching a stowaway. Aria's treasure-hunting partner is a little too interested in her booty. Spencer's going overboard trying to land a new boy. And a blast—or rather, a crash—from Hanna's past could mean rough waters ahead for everyone.The liars thought this cruise would be the perfect getaway, but I'm here to make sure they don't get away with anything. And now that we're out on the open water, I'll just have to bury them all at sea.
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Why tell the truth when lies are so much prettier?
Now that they know A isn't working alone, the pretty little liars have decided to act. Hanna is playing nurse to one of A's victims. Emily's digging into Ali's past at the mental hospital. Spencer hires a private eye to stalk her stalker. And when Aria's dark secret from Iceland finally comes to light, she discovers that the one person she's trying to protect from the truth may have known it all along.
Aww, how sweet—the liars think they can track me and my helper down. Too bad for them we're always ten steps ahead. And our next move is going to crush them completely.
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In Rosewood, news vans lurk outside gated drives and FBI agents are knocking on every mansion door—and it's all because four very pretty liars simply don't know how to be good. Spencer, Hanna, Emily, and Aria have been keeping killer secrets for an entire year . . . things that could land them in jail if A ever told. And now A has.
One by one, the girls' worst deeds come out, and their worlds come crashing down around them. Spencer gets kicked out of Princeton. Hanna gets kicked out of her dad's campaign—and his heart. Emily gets kicked to the curb. And Aria may get kicked out of the country.
The girls are the lowest they've ever been. They've lost everything. But A's not done yet. If A's deadly plan succeeds, the liars will have told their last lie. . . .
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Once a liar, always a liar
The Rosewood police think they've finally caught the notorious stalker and murderer known as A. But Hanna, Aria, Emily, and Spencer know that the real A is still out there—and as long as I'm on the loose, they have to watch their backs.
Hanna is offered the role of a lifetime—in a movie about her life. Aria's paintings go viral, until her fine art escalates to the art of war. Spencer starts an antibullying blog but finds that her homepage is as dangerous as her home life. And Emily goes behind bars to reconnect with the girl who stole her heart.
Who knew I'd be so hard to track down? But these girls are always ten steps behind me, and pretty soon they'll give me just what I need to ruin them—once and for all.
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Four little liars,
One not-so-pretty ending.
Aria, Spencer, Hanna, and Emily are on trial for killing Alison DiLaurentis. They know they’ve been framed, but no one else believes that Alison is still out there, laughing as the girls go down for murder. Aria tries to run away from it all but finds that life on the lam is even harder than life as a liar. Spencer gets in touch with someone who can help her disappear—but when a guy from her past reemerges, Spencer wonders what she’s really running from. Hanna decides that she’ll hear wedding bells chime before she serves time. And in the face of prison, Emily does something truly drastic—something that will change her friends’ lives forever.
Still looking for me? These little liars must have forgotten that I’m writing this story . . . and I don’t think they’re going to like how it ends.
And don’t miss the perfectionists, a wicked series from Sara Shepard!
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Before there was A, there was Alison DiLaurentis. Boys wanted to date her, girls wanted to be her, and somebody wanted her dead. . . .
It's the end of seventh grade, and Alison DiLaurentis and her friends are the girls of Rosewood Day. Ali runs her clique with an iron fist, and she's got enough dirt on Hanna, Emily, Aria, and Spencer to keep them in line. But Ali's hiding a dark secret of her own, something so huge it would destroy everything if it ever got out. She's desperate to keep the perfect life she's worked so hard to build, but in Rosewood deadly secrets have deadly consequences. . . .
Set in the weeks leading up to Ali's murder, this special Pretty Little Liars tale is told by the prettiest little liar of all: Ali herself. For the first time ever, we see how the mystery began . . . and how Alison DiLaurentis's life ended.
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Rewind to junior year in Rosewood, Pennsylvania, to a winter break no one has ever heard about. . . .
Fat snowflakes fall onto manicured lawns, quilted stockings hang over marble fireplaces, and everyone is at peace, especially Hanna, Emily, Aria, and Spencer. Now that Alison’s murderer is in jail and A is dead, they can finally relax. Little do they know there’s a new A in town. . . .
Rule number one of being an effective stalker: Get to know your prey. So I watch these liars day and night, keeping an eye on the trouble they get into, the messes they make, and the secrets they keep. Hanna’s desperate for a very personal session with her gym trainer. Emily is number one on Santa’s naughty list. Aria’s old flame from Iceland is about to land her in hot water. And Spencer’s resorting to some backhanded tactics to get what she wants.
What happens on holiday break stays on holiday break—right? But guess what. I saw. And now I’m telling.
Taking place between Unbelievable and Wicked, Pretty Little Secrets is a very special Pretty Little Liars tale revealing the liars’ never-before-seen misadventures over their junior-year winter break.
