Dear Diary: January 2019

Tajuk : The Burning Wire

Penulis : Jeffery Deaver

Tahun terbit : 2010

Sinopsis :

The weapon is invisible and omnipresent. Without it, modern society grinds to a halt. It is electricity. The killer harnesses and steers huge arc flashes with voltage so high and heat so searing that steel melts and victims are set afire.

When the first explosion occurs in broad daylight, reducing a city bus to a pile of molten, shrapnel-riddled metal, officials fear terrorism. Rhyme, a world class forensic criminologist known for his successful apprehension of the most devious criminals, is immediately tapped for the investigation. Long a quadriplegic, he assembles NYPD detective Amelia Sachs and Rin Pulaski as his eyes, ears and legs on crime sites, and FBI agent Fred Dellray as his undercover man on the street.

As the attacks continue across the city at a sickening pace, and terrifying demand letters begin appearing, the team works desperately against time and with maddeningly little forensic evidence to try to find the killer. Or is it killers..?

Meanwhile, Rhyme is consulting on high-profile investigation in Mexico with a coveted quarry in his crosshairs: the hired killer known as the Watchmaker, one of the few criminals to have eluded Rhyme's net.

Juggling two massive investigations against a cruel ticking clock takes a toll on Rhyme's health. Soon Rhyme is fighting on yet another front-and his determination to work despite his physical limitations threatens to drive away his closest allies he needs them most.

Ulasan :

Kali pertama aku baca buku Deaver. Aku tahu dia penulis yang tulisannya seperti 'Alex Cross' dan sewaktu dengannya. Yang bagusnya jenis tulisan yang banyak bab ialah kita baca tak mengantuk sangat.

Tapi entah kenapa aku mengantuk aje. Permulaan bab macam boring. Ini buku yang ke sembilan watak Rhyme memang patutlah aku blur sikit. Topik electricity. Apa yang aku ingat zaman aku study dulu ia berkadar terus. Apa benda yang berkadar terus tu aku dah tak ingat. Apa yang penting jangan gatal tangan basahkan tangan lepas tu pegang suis dan sewaktu dengannya.

Gilalah memang nasib Rhyme hebat sangat dapat setelkan 2 kes dalam satu masa. Gila tak hebat. Cuma dia kena duduk dekat kerusi roda di ofis je lah. Mungkin aku nak kena cari first volume cerita Rhyme. Aku nak tahu kehebatan dia. Tapi sempat jugak aku scroll dekat goodreads yang cara Rhyme selesaikan masalah sama je.

Seperti yang aku cakap tadi, lepas separuh buku tu barulah aku hilang mengantuk kejap. Memang aku rasa pelik jugak mula-mula dia dah terus boleh tahu suspek. Terima kasih kepada teknologi. Dan lepas daripada itu mulalah insiden yang meragukan.

3.5🌟/ 5

Tajuk : Angel of the Dark

Penulis : Tilly Bagshawe

Tahun terbit : 2012

Sinopsis :

When an elderly mult-milionaire is found brutally murdered in Hollywood, and his young wife raped and beaten, the police assume the motive is robbery. Unable to find the perpetrators, the case is soon closed.

A decade later, in different cities around the globe, three almost identical killings take place. In all cases the victim is an elderly male, wealthy, and newly married. Again his wife is found severely injured at the scene.

At first it is thought they might be copycat killings, but it soon becomes clear that this is one deadly female killer. Code named the Angel of Death by the police, is sehe avenging some long-forgotten misdeed, or does she have other motives?

Ulasan :

Aku sorang yang bagi 5 🌟 dalam goodreads. Haha. Nampak sangat ke? Entah kenapa aku minat sangat mungkin aku terbayangkan Criminal Mind + Law and Order.

Aku bagi 5 bintang bukan sebab cerita ni perfect sangat. Ada je kecacatan sana sini sikit. Tapi boleh dikatakan ia page-turner. Kenapa Tilly menggunakan Sidney Sheldon? Aku tak tahu. Adakah ini buku yang tak dapat disiapkan oleh Sheldon? Tapi pada aku, kalau dia imitating penulis asal dan tak hilangkan suspen pada aku ok saja.

Mana nak cari crime yang perfect sangatkan. Ada juga beberapa scene yang aku confuse sikit macam scene Matt di drug dan tinggal di rumah adik perempuannya. Dia boleh pulak seludup laptop Sophie? Begitu mudah pulak tanpa diketahui oleh Detektif Liu dan Sophie sendiri.

Overall buku Bagshawe boleh dibaca lagi.

Tajuk : The Gates of Ivory

Penulis : Margaret Drabble

Sinopsis :

In London, psychiatrist Liz Headleand receives an unexpexcted package. Included in its contents are old newspaper clippings, postcards, a human finger bone, and scraps of manuscript and notebooks. She recognizes the handwriting as that of her friend, the Booker Prize-winning novelist, Stephen Cox, who has been travelling in the East. Initially alarmed by the suggestion of Stephen's death, then intrigued, Liz attempts to piece together some meaning from the parcel's random and ominous contents.

She gradually enlists the help of other friends, including: Stephen's literary executor, the high-powered, hard-edged Hattie Osborne; teacher Alix Bowen, concerned with her husband's illness and still involved in her friendship with a man behind bars; art historian Esther Breuer, who has recently come back from Italy and found, as Hattie eventually does, a surprising new love. This is Drabble calls it, 'The Good Time.'

'The Bad Time' lurks across the Cambodian border, waiting for Stephen Cox, a restless, idealistic traveller from the prosperous West. We gradually learn of Stephen's difficult pilgrimage, first to Bangkok, where he meets the decadent Miss Porntip and a charismatic photographer from England, Konstantin Vassiliou. From Bangkok through the horrific refugee camps, then Saigon, Hanoi, and closer to the terrible world of Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge, at last into Cambodia.

Finally Liz decides to go properly in search of the man who might once have been her lover, leading to the novel's powerful conclusion.

Ulasan :

Kali pertama aku baca tulisan Drabble. Memang berbaloi. 461 muka surat saja tapi aku habiskan dalam seminggu lebih. Bukan sebab tak bagus tapi sebaliknya.

Bila tengok review dekat Goodreads baru tahu ini adalah karya trilogi. Emmm...tapi tak payah gelisah sebab Drabble akan bagi hint seimbas lalu jadi takdelah rasa ketinggalan kereta api.

Setiap helai adalah naratif watak utama. Ramai jugak. Liz, Stephen, Hattie, Alix, Esther, Konstantin. Tapi tidak meleret.

Maknanya memang sesuai dengan jiwa aku. Cuma aku kena cari bacaan ringkas tentang Pol Pot, Khmer Rouge dan sewaktu dengannya. Kalau sekadar tengok cerita Rambo dengan Chuck Norris tak boleh pakai sangat. Ada juga terselit Malaysia tapi hanya catatan yang tak penting.

4.5 🌟/ 5

Tajuk : When The Monster Dies

Penulis : Kate Pullinger

Tahun terbit : 1990

Sinopsis :

By the end of the afternoon, Mary Rose has dug up enough garden to reveal the remains of a Roman bath lurking in her back yard. But, because of her precariousp position as squatter in her home, Mary covers up the remains of history in order to maintain her stability in the present.

In modern day London, Mary and her friends struggle to survive in a gigantic city where housing is impossible and traditional industry has declined almost to extinction. But as life around them dwindles, this add group manages to eke out a viable, albeit strange, existence isolated by race, class and politics.

They are all outsiders attempting to see what is changing beneath the terse exteriors of Britain - living in London where the past is always present an the future is uncertain.

Ulasan :

Aku tercari-cari juga di mana pengakhiran Mary's discovery. Tapi dia cuma timbuskan semula tanpa apa-apa yang perlu dibuat.

Selain dari itu, kisah ini berkisar tentang kawan-kawannya yang lain mengharungi sikap racist penduduk sekitar London.

Penceritaannya menarik. Tapi macam ada sesuatu yang tak kena. Ruth Randall kata breathless. Biar betul?

Aku beri 2🌟/ 5

Tajuk : Rintihan Terpendam (The Silent Cry)

Penulis : Kenzaburo Oe

Penerbit : Institut Terjemahan Negara Malaysia Berhad

Tahun terbit : 2006

Sinopsis :

Novel ini menelusuri gelora hubungan antara dua beradik yang kembali ke tanah leluhur mereka di sebuah desa di barat Jepun. Tatkala si abang cuba menyelami maksud tragedi yang menimpa rakannya yang membunuh diri dan bayinya yang dilahirkan cacat, si adik pula berusaha melancarkan pemberontakan yang membabitkan belia desa.

Gambaran penulis tentang perjuangan dua beradik ini dalam usaha menyelamatkan budaya dan ekonomi setempat yang kian kucar-kacir akibat penjarahan usahawan Korea yang digelar 'Maharaja Pasar Raya' begitu terkesan sehingga ke hari ini, sama seperti ketika novel ini diterbitkan buat kali pertama pada 1967.

Ulasan :

Entah kenapa bila aku baca Oe, aku teringatkan Murakami. Sepatutnya aku baca Oe dulu kan. Tulisan Oe boleh saja kita baca sekali lalu. Tapi kalau kita fahamkan apa permasalahan dan emosi watak memang cerita ini berat. Seminggu juga aku habiskan.

Aku tak ada masalah dengan watak Mitsu. Dia tertekan. Kawan dia mati. Anak dia cacat. Tapi kalau kita tengok keseluruhannya penyakit mental ini boleh diwarisi. Macam kalau kita berdiri di bangunan tinggi, rasa gayat dalam diri tu buat kita jatuh kan? Macam tu lah Mitsu, dia hampir jadi gila dan bila dia ingat dengan balik ke daerah asalnya dia dapat release tension, dia silap.

Adik dia, Takashi, selepas menyertai road tour pementasan di Amerika dan selepas mengalami mild siflis (adake?), dia pun cuba berjinak-jinak menyemai semangat penduduk kampung untuk memberontak menghapuskan seorang Korea yang kebetulannya adalah pengusaha pasar raya.

Aku rasa scene ini adalah sindiran Jepun-Korea. Mungkin aku kena cari bahan bacaan tahun 1860. Gitu. Gigih tak? Rasa macam buat tesis tak?

Taka merasakan yang dia perlu menjadi pemimpin kepada anak muda mula diserang rasa insecure. Klimaks cerita tepat. Matinya watak Taka selepas bunuh diri, Mitsu pula menemui kebenaran tentang perjuangan moyangnya tapi dengan cara slow motionnya.

Aku beri 4 🌟/ 5

R E A D

In the time you spend on social media each year, you could read 200 books

By Charles ChuJanuary 29, 2017

Better Humans

Somebody once asked Warren Buffett about his secret to success. Buffett pointed to a stack of books and said,

Read 500 pages like this every day. That’s how knowledge works. It builds up, like compound interest. All of you can do it, but I guarantee not many of you will…

When I first found this quote of Buffett’s two years ago, something was wrong.

It was Dec. 2014. I’d found my dream job. Some days, I would be there, sitting at my dream job, and I would think, “My god what if I’m still here in 40 years? I don’t want to die like this…”

Something wasn’t right. I’d followed the prescription. Good grades. Leadership. Recommendations. College. Dream Job. I was a winner. I’d finished the race. Here I was in the land of dreams. But something was terribly, terribly wrong.

Every day, from my dream job desk, I looked out into their eyes. Empty, empty eyes.

There were no answers.

In January of 2015, I found Buffett’s quote. I decided to read. I was going to read and read and read and never stop until I got some damn answers.

I didn’t quite make 500 pages a day, but, in these last two years, I’ve read over 400 books cover to cover. That decision to start reading was one of the most important decisions in my life.

Books gave me the courage to travel. Books gave me the conviction to quit my job. Books gave me role models and heroes and meaning in a world where I had none.

I want to say reading 200 books a year is an amazing thing. But the truth is, it’s not. Anybody can do it.

All it takes is some simple math and the right tools.

1. Do not quit before you start

When average Joe hears the advice “Read 500 pages like this every day,” his snap reaction is to say, “No way! That’s impossible!”

Joe will then go on to make up reasons to justify his belief without doing any deep thinking at all. These might include “I’m too busy,” “I’m not smart enough,” or “Books just aren’t for me.”

But what if we go a little deeper? For example, what does it actually take to read 200 books a year? Two years ago, I stopped to do the simple math. Here’s what I found: Reading 200 books a year isn’t hard at all.

It’s just like Buffett says. Anyone can do it, but most people won’t.

2. Do the simple math

How much time does it take to read 200 books a year?

First, let’s look at two quick statistics:

The average American reads 200–400 words per minute (Since you’re on Medium, I’m going to assume you read 400 wpm like me)Typical non-fiction books have ~50,000 words

Now, all we need are some quick calculations…

200 books * 50,000 words/book = 10 million words10 million words/400 wpm = 25,000 minutes25,000 minutes/60 = 417 hours

That’s all there is to it. To read 200 books, simply spend 417 hours a year reading.

I know, I know. If your brain is like mine, it probably saw “417 hours” and immediately tried to shut off. Most people only work 40 hours a week! How can we possibly read for 417 hours?

Don’t let your monkey brain turn you away yet. Let’s do a quick reframe for what 417 hours really means…

3. Find the time

Wowsers, 417 hours. That sure feels like a lot. But what does 417 hours really mean? Let’s try to get some more perspective.

Here’s how much time a single American spends on social media and TV in a year:

608 hours on social media1642 hours on TV

Wow. That’s 2250 hours a year spent on TRASH. If those hours were spent reading instead, you could be reading over 1,000 books a year!

Here’s the simple truth behind reading a lot of books: It’s not that hard. We have all the time we need. The scary part—the part we all ignore—is that we are too addicted, too weak, and too distracted to do what we all know is important…

All it takes to start reading a lot more is to take “empty time” spent Twitter-stalking celebrities or watching Desperate Housewives and convert some of it to reading time.

The theory is simple. It’s the execution that’s hard.

4. Execute

We all know reading is important. We all know we should do more of it. But we don’t. The main reason this happens is a failure to execute.

I’m not so perfect at it yet, but here are some tactics that have helped me get results.

I. Use environmental design

If you were quitting cocaine, would you keep it lying around the house? Of course not. Media is designed to be addictive. Moving away from media addiction can be as difficult as quitting drugs.

The biggest bang-for-buck changes here are environmental.

If you want to read, make sure (1) you remove all distractions from your environment and (2) you make books as easy to access as possible.

As an example, here’s my immediate environment:

CHARLES CHU

I travel a lot. That doesn’t stop me from reading. The picture on the left is of my “bookshelf” in Thailand. I try to keep books everywhere so I can just pick one up and start reading.

The picture on the right is my smartphone desktop. Notice there are only two apps. One of them—the Kindle app—is for reading. The other is for habits… Which brings me to my next point.

II. Upload habits

Willpower is not a good tool for lifestyle change. It always fails you when you need it most. Instead of relying on strength of mind, build a fortress of habits—these are what will keep you resilient in tough times.

If you’re not familiar with habit science, my favorite book on the subject is Tynan’s Superhuman by Habit. It’s infinitely practical, and practical is all I care about.

Getting good at habit formation took me years. Many of the mistakes I made were avoidable. If I could go back, I’d find a habit coach. Here’s how I see it. One game-changing idea from a good book is worth thousands of dollars. If a coach helps you read ONE more good book a year, you already get your money’s worth.

(A shout out to Cherry Jeffs and Nathan Sudds, two coaches who have helped me out a lot.)

III. Go multi-medium

When it comes to reading, be a jack of all trades, not a specialist.

If your goal is to read more, you can’t be picky about where you read or what mediums you use. I read paper books. I read on my phone. I listen to audiobooks. And I do these things everywhere—on park benches, in buses, in the toilet… Wherever I can.

Make your reading opportunistic. If you have a chance, take it. If you don’t have a chance, find one.

I read a book one day and my whole life was changed.

— Orhan Pamuk

If I hadn’t started reading, perhaps I’d still be at my dream job. Perhaps I’d still be at my desk, taking peeks at the clock and wondering if that was how I was going to die…

If you’re looking for answers, give reading a try. You may find much, much more than what you were looking for.

This post originally appeared at Better Humans. Want more? Charles publishes The Open Circle, a free weekly newsletter to over 10,000 readers where he deconstructs high-achievers and shares exclusive lessons from his own learning experiments.

P/S: Rasa terus bersemangat nak membaca. Ke tak?

Sumber

20 Perkara Tentang Aria (or others)

Pretty Little Liars: 20 Things That Don’t Make Sense About Aria Montgomery

BY ANNABELLE EIRTH – ON JAN 07, 2019 IN LISTS

Pretty Little Liars is over now but there are still many unanswered questions and moments fans return to, wondering how it even happened. The show is filled with skilled manipulators and liars. One of the most skilled would have to be Aria Montgomery. She lied about being unfaithful, secret romances, joined the A-team and did some blackmailing of her own. However, there are a few things about this character that don’t always make sense in the grand scheme of this dramatic teen show.

Aria’s relationships are, by far, the most debated out of all the characters of the show and her decisions are often the most in question. She makes a lot of moves out of desperation and over the years it’s become clear that she certainly has a dark side.

Whether it was the writers making an odd choice about where to take her epic romance with ex-teacher, now husband Ezra Fitz, or a hypocritical decision or simply her lack of resolve in certain matters, there are times when this fan-favorite appears to not make any sense to the audience. Over the years going from being loved to being hated by audiences on repeat, to even being suspected of being the show’s real villain. It’s no wonder Aria often leaves you wondering what she’s doing and why. This makes her one of the most dramatic and deliciously complicated characters of the show.

And so, to de-tangle some of the confusion, here are 20 Things That Don’t Make Sense About Aria Montgomery.

20 NOT CONTINUING WITH MARTIAL ARTS

Given her prior experiences it should be no surprise that at least one of the Liars decided to get some self-defense under their belt. Aria finally got herself some lessons at the beginning of season 4 under the instruction of Jake, who she started dating, seemingly ending her martial arts career.

By season 4 Aria had been blackmailed, drugged, attacked, even locked in a box with a body about to be pushed out of a train. The only suggestion that she continued or training, or at least remembers it, is in 7x13 when she puts Sydney’s arm in a lock. So here’s hoping the time gap was filled with at least a little training.

19 ARIA’S ADMISSIONS LETTER TO TALMADGE

Mid-college application panic Aria discovers that she has sent in an application to a college that has Jackie on the admissions board. That would be Ezra’s ex-fiancé that she blackmailed under the influence of A in season 2. Despite the warnings from Emily, Aria wrote and sent in a scathing letter to Jackie about Ezra robbing her of her high-school experience.

Given her history with A and the revealing of that relationship during Ezra’s employment at Rosewood High could send the person she loves to prison, it seems strange that she’d even be willing to risk it. Regardless, it ended up being the catalyst for the couple’s longest break-up at the end of season 5.

18 LETTING HOLDEN PUT HIMSELF IN DANGER

In season 2 Aria’s old childhood friend, Holden, returns to Rosewood High. Aria finds out that Holden is seriously into Tang Soo Do (a Korean martial art), competing in tournaments and training. On its own, no problem. The fact that Holden has an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) makes it another matter entirely.

Since the doctor decided not to operate the AAA is likely to be small and at low risk of rupture. Still, trauma to the chest is definitely not a safe way to go, and could cause the AAA to burst, resulting in Holden’s untimely passing. She keeps this to herself and continues her secret rendezvous with Ezra using Holden’s ‘dates’ as a cover.

17 WHEN SHE TOLD EZRA TO TAKE THE JOB AT ROSEWOOD

At the end of season 3, Ezra is offered his position at Rosewood High once again, after being railroaded by Aria’s father when their relationship originally came out. Finally, these two are out in the open and taking this job would effectively nuke their relationship, yet Aria gives him the go ahead.

Given the ramifications of teacher-student relationships and the ever-constant threat of A, throwing Ezra back into the frying pan is a huge risk. Aria’s nightmare of a daydream of A sending photos of them to the school and Ezra being escorted away in handcuffs at the beginning of season 4 means she’s certainly aware of the risk, yet she told him anyway.

16 ARIA FORGIVING SPENCER AFTER SHE TOOK MALCOLM

The Liars are no strangers to trauma but when Toby is revealed as a member of the A-team to Spencer on their one-year anniversary and later assumed gone when she finds a body believed to be him, that’s the breaking point for Spencer. While in Radley, Mona tells her that Toby is still alive. Desperate, she joins the team and takes Malcolm, leaving him at the carnival for a panicked Aria to find.

When Spencer reveals her identity by sending Hanna a photo for Malcolm to identify her, the secret is out. No anger from Aria about taking Ezra’s son for her plan, just an offer of help. Ironically, when the situation is reversed years later Spencer does not show Aria the same immediate forgiveness.

15 ARIA’S BROTHER DATING MONA

Tormenting someone you care about is not normally met with affection and romance and yet, that’s exactly what happened in season 4 with Aria’s younger brother Mike and the original A, Mona Vaanderwal. After Mona and Mike meet in a counseling discussion group they both find they have a lot in common and begin a romantic relationship.

Mona steadily earns forgiveness from the Liars across the seasons, but clearly being this close makes Aria deeply uncomfortable. Mike doesn’t know the full extent of the pain Mona inflicted on his sister and her friend, and, whilst the Liars know there were mental issues involved, it doesn’t evaporate the entire year filled with fear caused by Mona.

14 KISSING EZRA’S BROTHER

Over the seasons it is no secret that Aria has an unfortunate habit of kissing all the wrong people. In season 3 that included Ezra’s brother Wesley, who kissed Aria after a day of helping her with her photography. Aria had been missing Ezra and clearly, Wesley had a lot in common with both Ezra and Aria.

The two got on well and Wesley became a reminder of Ezra and the easier moments before the Malcolm bomb dropped. Whilst Wesley definitely initiated the kiss, Aria still went along with it for a moment before realizing exactly what she was doing and the consequences if she continued.

13 ARIA’S FLIRTATION WITH JASON

The Liars have distrusted Jason (Allison’s brother) from the beginning of season 1. So when Aria begins to cultivate an odd friendship with him, that becomes a flirtation, it’s a bit odd for the Liars. Jason ends up being innocent of some of the things her friends accuse but even beginning this strange dynamic, which ended up leading to a kiss, while she was still with Ezra was self-destructive and uncharacteristic for someone so untrusting.

In fact, discovering this outside romantic threat is exactly what prompted Ezra to reveal his relationship with Aria to her parents. Naturally, this did not go as hoped, further divided her parents and sneaking around once again.

12 ARIA DATING NOEL

Aria’s short stint dating her old crush Noel, was just uncomfortable to watch. Clearly, her feelings for Ezra were as strong as ever, and the fantasy of popular guy Noel that Aria had at the age of fifteen, was clearly not everything she dreamed. Aria was already beyond her years and just experienced a mature, like-minded relationship.

To then back-peddle into something that made her visibly unhappy was simply frustrating. She clearly still had feelings and the relationship had no clear ending, simply changing when Aria forgave Ezra who was then blackmailed by Noel. This revealed his rather slimy characteristics and made him the new suspect one for the role of A.

11 ARIA DATING JAKE

Aria has a single session with Jake, only a little while after her separation from Ezra and kisses him in the middle of her very first defense class. It seemed like Aria might have needed some single-time this season, but she traded up to instantly begin a new romantic entanglement. This was once again a short on-off romance but often there was simply no shared interest.

The show painted them as incompatible very early on so when they got together it didn’t make much sense. Eventually, the chemistry that fuelled the relationship was over-shadowed by her romance with Ezra and the relationship ended when she chose Ezra.

10 ARIA AND LIAM

Aria’s family life has felt the full weight of the destruction of being unfaithful. Her father was unfaithful to her mother with his student when she was in high school and it resulted in her parent’s separation and eventual divorce. Let alone the drama with Zach while he was engaged to Ella Montgomery. Aria is definitely aware that her interactions with Ezra so far have been hurting Liam.

The road to Ezra and Aria returning to their couple status was long in sight so the audience was unsurprised, but one can’t help but feel for her current boyfriend (another ‘secret’ relationship at her job) who put his trust in Aria while she worked closely with her ex.

9 NOT TELLING EZRA ABOUT HIS ‘SON’

Of all the bomb-shells to not tell your partner, the fact they have a child they don’t know about is definitely not one anyone would want to have to deal with. Aria struggles with the knowledge after Maggie (Malcolm’s mother) requests time to figure out a way to take care of it herself.

Aria chooses to respect Maggie’s wishes and says nothing so Maggie can do it herself, until Spencer ruins it by giving away the secret. Unfortunately, it’s a no-win situation for Aria, but given how lies have been their biggest issue, you’d think she’d find a way to let him know she had a secret, but it just wasn’t hers to tell.

8 NOT COMING FORWARD TO THE POLICE ABOUT SHANA

Not coming forward about crimes has almost ruined the Liars multiple times, and they even devise a plan to tell the police about Shana and eventually confesses to Ezra. It was clear self-defense but she said nothing. This could potentially be the next blackmail arranged by A and could be much worse if she doesn't turn herself in and explain the situation.

Especially given the sudden re-appearance to Rosewood by Alison and the police’s prior knowledge of A from the experience with Mona. Surprisingly the police did not connect the girls to the crime. Instead, Shana’s passing remains unsolved and Aria will continue to be haunted by her passing for the rest of her life.

7 LYING TO THE POLICE ABOUT SEEING ANDREW IN THE DOLLHOUSE

Aria and all the Liars have been falsely accused and framed multiple times. So when Aria, fresh out of the Dollhouse and traumatized, identifies someone she didn’t see (Andrew), it is beyond hypocritical. Lying has become natural to Aria, that much is clear, but a lie like this has consequences for her, for the case and for someone innocent.

It was a desperate act, but given every lie that had Aria or one of her friends sitting in a police interrogation room falsely accused, one might think she’d tell the truth so that they can be certain they have the real torturer behind bars. Still, she owned up and recanted her statement, facing her mistake.

6 NOT TELLING THE GIRLS SHE JOINED THE A-TEAM

Aria is not the first Liar to trade up for the A-team in desperation for a loved one, but she had no plan to tell the girls, unlike Spencer. Given she knew about Spencer’s previous plan it’s surprising that she doesn’t find a way to tip them off. Still, if someone had ammunition that could get your fiancé locked away in prison because of something you did then it’s expected you would do whatever it took.

It was a desperate situation and Aria, with everything on the line did what she thought she had to. Still, this is hardly the first A nightmare and after all these years it’s surprising she doesn’t use the resources of her own team.

5 GOING UNDERCOVER TO MEET EZRA’S HIGH SCHOOL EX

Pretending to be an Undergraduate teacher’s assistant called Amy, Aria decides to infiltrate a school to have a chat with Ezra’s high school ex. Ezra’s mother paid off Maggie to end a pregnancy when she was eighteen. This event was a catalyst to their break-up and Ezra changing his entire plan.

Changing his last name to Fitz and changing his college plan to Hollis. Needing to find out more Aria snooped, stalked and met with the ex. Thereby discovering that perhaps the pregnancy didn’t end the way Ezra thought it had. Clearly, Aria has picked up a skill or two from A, this all blows up when Maggie ‘randomly’ decides to check in on Ezra.

4 LYING TO EZRA ABOUT NOT BEING ABLE TO HAVE CHILDREN

The Liars can’t seem to kick old habits, so when Aria finds out she can’t have kids she doesn’t tell Ezra right away. In desperation to hear a different answer, she seeks multiple opinions before telling Ezra. While others would likely do the same, this couple has weathered storms that would break pretty much anyone else.

So when she finally reveals her devastating secret to Ezra before their wedding but initially omits the part about getting multiple opinions that breach of trust couldn’t come at a worse time. Ezra forgives her and has no issue with her inability to have children in the traditional sense, but it’s still another lie this far into the story.

3 NOT TELLING HER MOTHER ABOUT HER FATHER’S LIES

Of all the secrets to keep, this is probably her biggest. Aria and her mother, Ella, are certainly close and Aria’s sense of family was very dependent on their traditional little unit of four. This is completely shattered when she sees her father having a relationship with his college student, Meredith. Her father asks her to keep this private and, to keep the family together, she agrees.

It’s something she clearly struggles with but she keeps the secret for over a year before A takes it out of her hands. This is a huge breach of trust for her mother and leaves the mess even bigger than it would have been had Aria or her father came clean.

2 DATING HER TEACHER

After her father had a relationship with a student himself, Aria got into her own teacher-student relationship. Although she didn’t know Ezra was going to be her teacher when she met him, she still found out almost instantly after starting their romance.

Ezra initially tried to stop the relationship once he realized his error but Aria pushed forward with her feelings until she eventually succeeded and the two began their forbidden relationship. Still, it’s no secret that a relationship between a student and a teacher is a problem and even beginning to pursue that relationship was not the wisest decision. Aria is a highly intelligent person and pursuing those feelings given the stakes seems unlikely.

ARIA TAKING EZRA BACK

‘Ezria’ was Aria’s main plotline and the over-arching epic love story of the show. The writers still continued this after the biggest reveal that completely and utterly destroyed Aria’s trust. It is revealed he knew who she was when they started dating, approaching her, knowing she was under-age and having previously dated Alison.

He decided he would do anything for the story and was using the information from Aria to write a book about Alison’s passing. Aside from being way out of character for Ezra, Aria actually takes Ezra back. Realistically, jumping in front of a bullet or not, no one would ever step back into a relationship built on that much betrayal.

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Is there anything else about Aria from Pretty Little Liars that doesn't make sense? Let us know in the comments!

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P/S:

Bukan Aria saja yang ada 20 perkara yang tak masuk akal. Pada aku watak Mona dan Spencer pun agak confusing jugak. Aku rasa sepatutnya Episod finale tak perlu sampai 8. Nampak sangat fufu.

Terlalu try hard sangat nak menambahkan kemisteriannya. Dengan watak Alison yang sudah hilang taringnya aku rasa aku bagi 3 🌟/ 5.

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