Enjoy this guest post by one of our teen volunteers, Emily!
Hey guys! It’s Emily again! Today I’m going to talk
about Ally Carter and her two series, The Heist Society and The Gallagher
Girls. Sadly, Ally Carter’s books really only appeal to girls, because the main
topic is teenage girl power. They’re fantastic books nonetheless, and I’d
highly recommend them to anyone.
Her first series, the Gallagher
Girls, is about an all-girl spy academy. It features Cammie, the daughter of
the head of the school and her friends. The girls get into trouble everywhere
they go, and it’s always full of adventure. I really liked this book because
Cammie, despite being a top secret spy, is a very relatable character. She
tends to blend in and not be noticed. People even call her the Chameleon. She
also gets into very common problems, such as not knowing how to act around
boys, being grounded, cramming for tests, and having problems with teachers. Cammie
and her band of teenage spies solve crimes, defeat bad guys, all the while
having to study and do homework. The girls are constantly being assessed by
their teachers, and freaking out about it—another thing everyone can
understand. I loved these books. They were packed with action. I never knew
what was going to happen next, and I was always routing for Cammie. Plus, they
have the best titles. For example: I’d
Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You, Don’t Judge a Girl by Her Cover, and Only the Good Spy Young. This series is supposedly finished, but
I’d love it if Ally Carter continued the series, because I can never get enough
of Cammie and her friends. I haven’t described the other main characters,
because I don’t want to spoil all the surprises. Trust me though, you’ll love
them all. I can’t even pick a favorite out of the four kick-butt spies.
In contrast to Cammie, a spy on the
side of the government, Kat is a thief. She’s like Cammie in many ways, but has
her own personality too. She’s also a teenager filling a role meant for a much
older person, and she also bands together with a team to save the day—even if
that means stealing something. These books are just as enticing as the
Gallagher Girls books. You’ll feel for Kat as she struggles with people
doubting her, trying to keep her family together, and getting in trouble.
Despite the fact that day-to-day problems have been taken out of context and
thrown into the world of thieves, you’ll still feel like you’ve been there.
Kat’s uncle tells her not to get involved with a big crime boss because she’s
just a child. She’s the only girl in a world of male thieves. She breaks rules
and goes at things alone, then realizes she should have called for backup. Kat
gets into tangles and gets out of them too. She makes new friends, new enemies,
and somehow always manages to steal something. I loved Kat as a character. She had so many
flaws that would make her unlikable. She was jealous, a control freak, and
always worrying. But I still loved her, because she always realized what she
had done wrong in the end. She’s also one of the most forgiving characters,
probably because she makes so many mistakes herself. Kat’s family is just as
loveable. You’ll feel just as infatuated with them.
These books are just as good as the
Gallagher Girls, with a different main plot line. Kat and her gang break laws,
steal things, and over all avoid attracting the government’s attention. Cammie
and her girls are the law. I have to say, if Ally Carter ever wrote a cross
over, I would buy it the day it came out, because I honestly don’t know who
would win. Kat is fierce, sneaky, and not afraid to break the rules. Cammie is
clever, strong, and knows how to work around the rules. These two girls are
fantastic characters. It’s a shame these books aren’t more male-accessible,
because they really are amazing. They have original plot lines, schemes you
won’t understand until they’re explained, and plot twists you won’t see coming.
I highly recommend both series, for the characters and the plot.
