Relationships

One of the primary themes running through the novel is relationships. The novel focuses in on several different types of relationships including friendship, romantic relationship and family relationships. The novel reveals that even relationships in the same family can differ from person to person. For example, Spencer always feels as if she is an outsider in her own family. This leads Spencer to finding out that her parents had to plan her birth, including hiring a surrogate to carry Spencer, while her older sister turns out to be from an unplanned pregnancy that caused Mrs. Hastings to drop out of law school.

Friendship is another type of relationship the novel tackles. While Ali, Emily, Spencer, Hanna and Aria are supposed to be best friends, sometimes it seems as if their friendship is superficial. Ali was popular and a trendsetter, so her choosing the girls to be in her...