Series Sunday: The Gallagher Girls Series by Ally Carter

Round Two!

Titles: I'd Tell You I Love You But Then I'd Have to Kill You, Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy, Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover, Only the Good Spy Young, Out of Sight Out of Time, United We Spy; Double-Crossed (Crossover Novella)
Author: Ally Carter
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Series: Gallagher Girls
Review: Five Stars

I can't believe I forgot to review this earlier! The Gallagher Girls series is one of the BEST in the world! Teenage Girls + Spies + Geniuses + Boys + Covert Operations + Explosions = Pure Awesomeness! The books are riddled with facts that might be useless to the average person, but are super interesting none the less. I'm serious when I say I've learned a ton from these books. The Gallagher Girls are amazing. Something to say now, from an outsiders point of view, I'd Tell You I Love You But Then I'd Have to Kill You (LYKY) has almost nothing to do with the rest of the series. And overall, it doesn't. But there are about two lines in there that catapult the main character from regular spy prodigy, to not-so-regular spy prodigy. The devil is in the details, as they say.

The main character is Cammie, The Chameleon, Morgan. She's far from ordinary, yet she's what's known as a real pavement artist. Cam can blend in in just about any scenario. Her parents are spies and she's expected to go high places after she graduates from the Gallagher Academy, a school for spies. Cammie is relatable and much like any other teenage girl. She makes mistakes, which are later amended in any way she can. Secrets and lies are a way of life for Cammie. All information is on need-to-know basis only. That leaves her in the dark more than once and her need for information gets her into more than one sticky situation. The Gallagher Academy is riddled with secret passageways, which Cammie explores endlessly. Fun fact: Cammie can name 46 different lethal household items, speak 14 different languages, and can kill a grown man 7 different ways with her bare hands. Pretty cool, right? Bex is Cammie's best friend and roommate and has been using Barbie as a weapon since age 7. Though I hate how she acts in book five, overall she's a fun, kick-butt, spunky character. Liz is Cammie's other roommate/best friend. She's the brains of the operation, and that's saying something, considering that they all go to a school
for geniuses. Macey is the bear-at-the-door of sorts in the series. Cam, Bex, and Liz meet her at the beginning of LYKY and she is NOT welcome. She quickly becomes one of their closest friends and their best, and only, consultant in the boy department. Cammie meets Josh in LYKY. He's a normal boy who does not belong in her world. He's also the first boy Cammie ever dates. After that ends poorly, Cammie meets Zach in Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy (CHHS). Zach seems to know everything about her, yet she knows nothing about him. Whenever she asks, he'll point to himself and say "Spy." Zach is the male protagonist of the story and I love his character, faults, lies, half-truths and all. Cammie's mother is the headmistress of the academy and Mr. Solomon is a new teacher in LYKY. Her mom is overprotective more often then not, but she does the absolute best she can. Mr. Solomon is really something. He's a top
notch spy with a hidden past. One that can cause serious trouble at the academy. We meet Cammie's aunt Abby in Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover (DJGC) and let me say this right now, she is probably one of my favorite characters in the book. She is sassy, spunky, and outright hilarious. Abby isn't afraid to lay her life on the line for her duty, which is tested in DJGC.

Funny story. United We Spy came out on the 17, which was actually a week earlier than I thought it was. When I realized that it was out, I raced to the book store at about eight o'clock at night and bought the book. I preceded to fly through it and was done by noon the next day. These books are easy reads that are full of fun facts. Action is fast paced and romance is just right. The younger YA reader would definitely enjoy these books. I got the first three as a gift back in 2010 (I think). I loved them even then at age 11. They're appropriate for all ages, which is something you don't find much of in YA. Whatever you think this story is, it's not. At the end of CHHS/the beginning of DJGC, everything changes. And when I say everything, I mean everything. Cammie's world goes from slightly tilted to completely upside-down and backwards. Get ready for a thrilling ride that grips you even after the pages end!

Author Bio:

Ally Carter writes books about spies, thieves, and teenagers. She is the New York Times Best-selling author of Heist Society, Uncommon Criminals, and the popular Gallagher Girls series, including I'd Tell You I Love You but Then I'd Have to Kill You, Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy, Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover, Only the Good Spy Young, and Out of Sight, Out of Time.

The third book in her popular Heist Society series, Perfect Scoundrels, will be in stores February 5, 2013 and is available for pre-order now!

She lives in the Midwest where her life is either very ordinary or the best deep-cover legend ever. She'd tell you more, but...well...you know...

You Can Find Her At:

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Synopsis:

The Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women is a fairly typical all-girls school—that is, if every school teaches advanced martial arts in PE, chemistry always consists of the latest in chemical warfare, and everyone breaks CIA codes for extra credit in computer class. So in truth, while the Gallagher Academy might say it’s a school for geniuses what they really mean is spies. But what happens when a Gallagher Girl falls for a boy who doesn’t have a code name?

Cammie Morgan may be fluent in fourteen languages and capable of killing a man in seven different ways (three of which involve a piece of uncooked spaghetti), but the Gallagher Academy hasn’t prepared her for what to do when she meets an ordinary boy who thinks she’s an ordinary girl. Sure, she can tap his phone, hack into his computer, and track him through a mall without him ever being the wiser, but can she have a regular relationship with a regular boy who can never know the truth about her? Cammie may be an elite spy in training, but in her sophomore year, she’s doing something riskier than ever—she’s falling in love.

You Can Find Them At:

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