1. Who’s that girl?
Of the main foursome – Aria, Emily, Hanna, and Spencer – Aria’s appearance on the show is the closest match to her description in the books. In the novels, Spencer is a blonde, Hanna is a brunette, and Emily has reddish-blonde hair. But the writers and actors on the show have captured the spirit of the characters’ personalities perfectly.
2. Body count
Rosewood has a surprisingly high death rate both on the show and in the books, but just who dies, when, and how varies. For instance, Maya has survived in the books (so far!) while Jenna, Toby, and Mona were not as lucky.
3. Caleb
Sadly, the books don’t feature this sweet, thoughtful, and sexy character. Apart from his dreamy looks, the girls really could have used someone with his tech-savvy skills to deal with their text-messaging stalker! But while Caleb is an invention of the show-writers, don’t worry about Hanna’s social life on the page. She dates a number of guys before finding her perfect match in a very-surprising package – and he’s just as sweet as Caleb!
4. On lockdown
While Spencer ends up inside a mental health institution on the show, in the books it was Hanna who clocked some time as an inpatient when A exposes her bulimia.
5. No Spoby
There’s no Spencer and Toby romance in the books, although Toby does form a connection with one of the other Liars: Emily! They attend a dance together. On the other hand, there’s not much time for Toby to woo any of the Liars, as he meets a tragic end early on. If the screenwriters had been thinking of following that plotline, we’re glad they abandoned it once they witnessed the chemistry between Spencer and Toby!
6. Ezra
Sorry Ezra-fans! In the books, Aria’s relationship with Ezra is not nearly as long-lived as it was on the show because A exposes their clandestine relationship, forcing Ezra to leave town. On the plus side, Ezra’s past isn’t tangled up with Ali’s and he didn’t know who Aria was before coming to town.
7. Secrets, Lies, and Scandals
While the characters on the show get into a fair number of messy situations, some of which they create, in the books the girls have a much more wicked track record: from framing others for drug possession, to leaving the scene of a car accident, to accidentally pushing people off cliffs/balconies/ski lifts, these girls have made some pretty HUGE mistakes. But we love them anyway!
8. Emily’s family
In the series, Emily’s family is much larger (she has two sisters and a brother), and her parents are much less understanding when the truth comes out about Emily’s homosexuality. They even try to “straighten” her out through a church-support group and send her away to live with relatives. Thankfully, they eventually come around to Emily’s sexual orientation, although they still struggle with other aspects of Emily’s life.
9. The N.A.T. club
Jason, Ian, and Garrett’s extracurricular filming club is not present in the books, but considering the three of them were arguing in Ali’s room the night she disappeared on the show, we have a hunch we haven’t heard the last of this club.
10. When Ali died
In the books, Ali disappears from a sleepover at the end of seventh grade and three years pass before her body is discovered and A starts cyber-torturing the girls. On the show, Ali’s only been missing for a year as the girls start their junior year of high school.
11. Team A
As if one stalker isn’t enough, the Liars’ have to contend with a whole team of “A” affiliates! On the show, we still don’t know everyone who’s been a part of the team, but in the books it isn’t until the third arc that we learn “A” is actually two people working together to ruin the girls’ lives.
12. Noel
As recent episodes have hinted, Noel may not be as untrustworthy as the girls thought. In the books, he’s a completely different guy (really, we swear!) and one of our favorite love interests for Aria.
13. Mona off the deep end
While Mona-on-the-show winds up in a mental hospital, she goes off a much more fatal and all-too-real cliff in the books—falling to her death in a struggle with Spencer after she is revealed to be the first “A.”
14. CeCe
In the books, Ali hung out with older girls, but none of them are quite as diabolical—or potentially dangerous—as CeCe.
15. Paige
Emily’s teammate-turned-girlfriend doesn’t exist in the books. Instead, Em’s had some up-and-down relationships – with both guys and girls – as she figures out who she is.
16. Teen Mom
On the show, it seems as though Ali could have been pregnant, which may or may not have been a factor in her disappearance. In the books, it’s Emily who winds up having a baby and then giving her up for adoption.
17. I Know What You Did After Class
In the books, Ali knows all the girls’ deepest secrets, including the fact that Aria’s dad was having an affair with his student, Meredith. But while Ali used that to taunt Aria, she didn’t go so far as to blackmail Mr. Montgomery himself.
18. Sister Act
Ali may only have one brother in both the books and on the show, but in the books she has quite a few other sibling connections. Spencer and Melissa’s dad, Mr. Hastings, turns out to be Ali’s real father (having had an affair with Jessica DiLaurentis years ago), and Ali is a twin! Her identical twin sister, Courtney, is actually the one who was friends with the girls, having swapped places with Ali while home between stints in mental institutions. We don’t know if the show is going in that direction, but we can’t wait to find out!
19. Whatever happened to Darren Wilden
While Wilden is a suspect in the books and does some shady things, he turns out to be a not-so-bad guy who meets a much happier fate than the detective on the show.
20. Ali is Alive!
In both the books and on the show, Ali turns out to be alive. Although in the books the girls kind of wish she wasn’t, since she’s not the Ali they were friends with and the Real Ali is hell-bent on revenge on the Liars. Yes, that’s right, in the novels: Ali is A!
Explore the entire PRETTY LITTLE LIARS series!