Review: Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover by Ally Carter

Title: Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover
Author: Ally Carter
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Pub. Date: 2009
Genre: YA
Main themes: Spies, Spy School, Elections, Love, Family, Friendship
Pages: 263
Plot (from book jacket):
"When Cammie "The Chameleon" Morgan visits her roomate Macey in Boston, she thinks she's in for an exciting end to her summer break. After all, she's there to watch Macey's father accept the nomination for vice president of The United States. But when you go to the world's best school (for spies), "exciting" and "deadly" are never far apart. Cammie and Macey soon find themselves in a kidnappers' plot, with only their espionage skills to save them.
As her junior year begins, Cammie can't shake the memory of what happened in Boston, and even the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women doesn't feel like the safe haven it once did. Shocking secrets and old flames seem to lurk around every one of the mansion's corners as Cammie and her friends struggle to answer the questions Who is after Macey? And how an the Gallagher Girls keep her safe?
Soon Cammie is joining Bex and Liz as Macey's private security team on the campaign trail. The girls must use their spy training at every turn as the stakes are raised, and Cammie gets closer and closer to the shocking truth..."

I've been procrastinating doing this review for few days now... It isn't because it was a bad book, quite the contrary actually! I loved it! It is the perfect blend of boarding school drama, spies, romance, and mystery! It is just difficult to write a review for this book without saying: "Go read the first two!" I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You and Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy are both amazing books, but I think that this may have been my favorite one so far!

Cammie's aunt is a present throughout this installment of the series. Not only was she a pretty awesome character, I welcomed the knowledge and glimpses she gave the reader into Cammie's family and past. I feel like we will find out even more about that in the next book.

Speaking of the next book - I need to know what happens with Cammie and the guy in her life! I can't even give a name because if you haven't read book one and two, I don't want to ruin it for you! I'm totally in love with their love story. It is important to point out at this point that I am pretty much obsessed with the show Alias - so obsessed that I own all 5 seasons and have watched them multiple times. I may have cried when I watched the last episode... :S Ally Carter's Gallagher Girls books are basically Alias for a little bit younger crowd. Vaughn and Sydney from Alias? I'm as obsessed with Cammie and her love interest as I was with Vaughn and Sydney. There is just so much TENSION!

Ratings (Out of 10):
Plot: 10
Characters: 10
Writing style: 10
Romance: 10
Originality: 10

Total: 50/50 (A!)

Go out and read the Gallagher Girls books - they are some of my absolute favorite books! There is another book coming, but I haven't the slightest clue when (which drives me crazy because Ally Carter leaves you with questions and wanting more)!
I do know that Ally is writing a new series though. The first book is called Heist Society and comes out February 2010 from Hyperion. Here is a little blurb from GoodReads:
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 her back into the world she tried so hard to escape. But he has 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 history-or at least her family's (very crooked) history.

I want this book so badly! Perhaps if I were a thief/con man (or possibly a spy) I could just slip into Hyperion headquarters and steal the manuscript... alas, I am not... darn.

In My Mailbox (7)

IMM is hosted by Krisi, aka The Story Siren!

This week was a pretty good week in books: one book for review and a few from my awesome new library! :)


Judge a Girl by Her Cover by Ally Carter
"When Cammie Morgan arrives at her friend Macey's five star hotel for the Democratic National Convention-where Macey's father is about to receive the vice presidential nomination-she thinks she's in for an exciting end to her summer break. But if you're a Gallagher Girl, "exciting" and "deadly" are never far apart.
Things quickly go south when Macey is summoned to the hotel roof to shoot a PR piece with the presidential candidate's son. But instead of cameras, attackers descend from a helicopter and swarm the girls, commanding, "Grab her." After a narrow escape, Cammie and Macey find themselves at a top secret hideout owned by the Gallagher Academy. and thus begins Cammie's junior year at spy school.
Cammie doesn't need her genius IQ to see that the kidnapping attempt has changed everything, especially now that Macey is a major celebrity, and the school has been besieged by news crews. More disturbing, Cammie can't shake the suspicion that her mom and Mr. Solomon know more about the attack than they're letting on. After all, why weren't the attackers surprised to find themselves in combat with two teenage girls who handled themselves like seasoned pros?
But these suspicions won't stop Cammie from jumping at the chance to join Bex and Liz as Macey's private security team on the campaign trail. Before long, the girls are using their espionage skills at every turn, as Cammie gets closer and closer to the shocking truth... "
I love the Gallagher Girls books - they are awesome! Look for my review for this one next week! I read it the day I got it... :)


Fairy Tale by Cyn Balog (out now from Delacorte)
"Morgan Sparks and Cam Browne are a match made in heaven. They've been best friends since birth, they tell each other everything, and oh yeah- they're totally hot for each other.
But a week before their joint Sweet Sixteen bash, everything changes. Cam's awkward cousin Pip comes to stay, and Morgan is stunned when her formerly perfect boyfriend seems to be drifting away.
When Morgan demands answers, she's shocked to discover the source of Cam's distance isn't another girl- it's another world. Pip claims that Cam is a fairy. No, seriously. A fairy. And now his people want Cam to return to their world and take his rightful place as Fairy King.
Determined to keep Cam with her, Morgan plots to fool the fairies. But as Cam continues to change, she has to decide once and for all if he really is her destiny, and if their “perfect” love can weather an uncertain future."
I'm so excited about Cyn Balog's upcoming novel, Sleepless, so I wanted to check out her first novel!


Swoon by Nina Malkin
Sin is Coming...Prepare to Swoon!
Torn from her native New York City and dumped in the land of cookie-cutter preps, Candice is resigned to accept her posh, dull fate. Nothing ever happens in Swoon, Connecticut...until Dice's perfect, privileged cousin Penelope nearly dies in a fall from an old tree, and her spirit intertwines with that of a ghost. His name? Sinclair Youngblood Powers. His mission? Revenge. And while Pen is oblivious to the possession, Dice is all too aware of Sin. She's intensely drawn to him—but not at all crazy about the havoc he's wreaking. Determined to exorcise the demon, Dice accidentally sets Sin loose, gives him flesh, makes him formidable. Now she must destroy an even more potent—and irresistible—adversary, before the whole town succumbs to Sin's will. Only trouble is, she's in love with him.
I've been wanting to read this one FOREVER! I fell in love with this cover of Swoon long before it came out and am so excited that I FINALLY get to read it!


Nothing But Ghosts by Beth Kephart
Ever since her mother passed away, Katie's been alone in her too-big house with her genius dad, who restores old paintings for a living. Katie takes a summer job at a garden estate where, with the help of two brothers and a glamorous librarian, she soon becomes embroiled in decoding a mystery. There are secrets and shadows at the heart of Nothing But Ghosts, symbols hidden in a time-darkened painting, and surprises behind a locked bedroom door. But most of all, this is a love story-- the story of a girl who learns about love while also learning to live with her own ghosts.
I haven't heard very much about this book, but I read a really good review for it once and was intrigued.


My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent
She doesn't see dead people, but…
She senses when someone near her is about to die. And when that happens, a force beyond her control compels her to scream bloody murder. Literally.
Kaylee just wants to enjoy having caught the attention of the hottest guy in school. But a normal date is hard to come by when Nash seems to know more about her need to scream than she does. And when classmates start dropping dead for no apparent reason, only Kaylee knows who'll be next…
I've been waiting for a Harlequin Teen book to come out and I found this one at the library and snatched it!


Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink
Sixteen-year-old Lia Milthorpe and her twin sister Alice have just become orphans, and, as Lia discovers, they have also become enemies. The twins are part of an ancient prophecy that has turned generations of sisters against each other. To escape from a dark fate and to remain in the arms of her beloved boyfriend James, Lia must end the prophecy before her sister does. Only then will she understand the mysterious circumstances of her parents' deaths, the true meaning of the strange mark branded on her wrist, and the lengths to which her sister will go to defeat her. Debut novelist Michelle Zink takes readers on an unforgettable journey where one sister's fateful decision could have an impact of Biblical proportions. Prophecy of the Sisters is the first of three books.
I've been waiting to get this book for so long - and the Kzoo library totally had it!I am so happy! Can't wait to read it!!


Undead Much by Stacey Jay
Even Zombie Settlers with Super Hot Boyfriends get the Blues...
A few months ago I was a normal girl with a normal life. But that was before my power to Settle the Undead returned and someone tried to kill me with zombies.
Now I work magic and practice kicking butt while trying to find time for pom squad and my boyfriend, Ethan, and trying NOT to think about how freaky my life has become. It can be tough. Still…things could be worse…
Oh yeah, right:
1. Feral new super-strong zombies. Check.
2. Undead psychic hottie predicting a zombie apocolypse. Check.
3. Earth-shattering secrets that could land me in Settler prison for life. Check.
4. Cheerleader vs. pom squad turf war threatening the end of the half time as we know it. Check.
I’m going to need therapy (and a cookie) if I live through the week. Unfortunately I’m learning that’s not something Zombie Queens can take for granted.
Words cannot express how excited I am about this book! I'm am so excited to review it - I've was so sad when I read You Are So Undead to Me and found out how long I was going to have to wait to read the next one! Thanks Razorbill for the copy!