TheBooky

Heist Society by Ally Carter.

When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her on a trip to the Louvre…to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie traveled to Austria…to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteen, she planned a con of her own—scamming her way into the best boarding school in the country, determined to leave the family business behind. Unfortunately, leaving “the life” for a normal life proves harder than she’d expected.

Soon, Kat’s friend and former co-conspirator, Hale, appears out of nowhere to bring Kat back into the world she tried so hard to escape. But he has a good reason: a powerful mobster has been robbed of his priceless art collection and wants to retrieve it. Only a master thief could have pulled this job, and Kat’s father isn’t just on the suspect list, he is the list. Caught between Interpol and a far more deadly enemy, Kat’s dad needs her help.

For Kat, there is only one solution: track down the paintings and steal them back. So what if it’s a spectacularly impossible job? She’s got two weeks, a teenage crew, and hopefully just enough talent to pull off the biggest heist in her family’s history—and, with any luck, steal her life back along the way.

 Summary from Ally Carter’s website.

All right. Now for the review, shall we?

I must admit I’d seen this book before. I’d seen it, picked it up and put it back down. Why? Because of the cover art. I really like the cover art, but my prejudiced evil self was all, “it’s probably a really stupid book.” I know! I know! I am an idiot. But worry not, after reading this book I have been humbled. I shall try my best not to judge books too much based on their covers. Moving on…

Cons:

• The book is really, really short. :( Short books make me sad, especially when I love the characters/writing style/plot/etc.
• ALSO. The bad guy. GAAAAAHHH. Basically, all you get is Hale telling you that he’s a really bad guy. Really bad. *holds up spooky fingers* That’s kind of it, though. And he doesn’t really do anything. *Shrug* I just wasn’t scared/etc so I thought that if the character wanted, she could’ve figured something else out, but I like the book as it is. I like happy endings, so the bad guy not being really bad helped that.
• Hm…I suppose the book is all action. It keeps you moving, BAM BAM BAM. You know? So there’s barely any room for any real character development, or insightful comments from the main character, Kat. Now, you may or may not care. But I care, so that’s why this is in cons. A/N: remember I say cons but these are usually just personal/my opinions, so if I say something you don’t agree or feel bad about something don’t take it personally, or anything. Okay?

Pros:

• I loved the characters. W.W. Hale the Fifth was so endearing. He’s a wonderful character because he’s not just a pretty rich boy. He’s caring and sweet, also quite funny. Kat herself was pretty cool. She’s really smart and I liked that she’s young but still incredibly bad-ass. Kat’s cousin, Gabrielle, was so cool. I was annoyed at her at first, but I got over it. In general, I enjoyed all the characters. Since that’s what I was looking for, this book was a win.
• I love the concept/the idea—a teen Ocean’s 11? Awesome. It’s the sort of thing I need to read every once in a while. I feel like I’ve been reading pretty serious books (I feel) or at least ones with heavier themes (I’m sure) which are pretty different from this one book (action and fun).
• Like I said, the book is pretty short so this is a pretty easy, light read. It’s also funny…well, I thought it was funny at times but I do have a terrible sense of humor so you might not agree with this.
• I just really enjoyed the book. Which I suppose is not really review-like but it’s still my opinion, no? Or maybe just fact? :D

Go read the book!

ALSO, I just bought Uncommon Crimals (book 2).

And I CAN’T wait. EEEEEE!