Heist Society by Ally Carter

A quick overview from Ally Carter's website:

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.

I actually loved this book. I didn't know what to expect never having read an Ally Carter book before and now that I have I want to read all of her books. I loved all of the characters. They weren't cardboard cutouts, they were realistic and all had traits that gave them depth. I fell in love with Hale the minute he shows up. Other than the handsome factor you can tell he genuinely cares a great deal for Kat as she does for him and their chemistry is amazing. They don't always agree with each other but no matter what they are always there for each other.

Usually when I read a book that involves a fifteen year old girl who doesn't have parents around and just so happens to have the means to be in America one minute and Paris the next I find it too hard to believe. However, in this book it didn't bother me. It seemed to fit the story perfectly. Ally Carter created the lifestyle that would make the constant jet hoping believable instead of farfetched.

I was so happy that the book didn't take place at boarding school. How many YA books that are out now take place in boarding school? If you're a reader or YA you will know the answer is a lot. Possibly too many. Especially considering the fact that in my 26 years I have never met a single person that attended boarding school. Boarding school is just a temporary stop in the beginning before departing for the bigger destination or should I say destinations.

I'll admit that there were many times when I was confused to the point where I was flipping back to see if I missed something. I never did. It's just the way Ally Carter writes. Everything happens before you, the reader, have a chance to register what is going on. I learned after flipping back a few times that if I just read a few sentences forward everything would be explained or at least explained enough to understand. This book was like a puzzle. She gave you pieces to the story and as the ending neared all the pieces started to fit together. 
As I read the book I was able to visualize everything and kept thinking how great of a movie it would be. Fingers crossed that that becomes a reality because I would love to see Kat, Hale and the rest of the characters on the big screen.

If you read my blog you know that I'm a sucker for a good love story and how it plays out in a book can be a huge factor for my feelings towards the book. In this book *SPOILER ALERT* while Kat and Hale don't wind up getting together in the end it didn't change my feelings about the book. If anything it made me like the book more. Because you know it's coming. You know that they will have their moment. Maybe it will be in Uncommon Criminals or maybe it won't but it's coming and sometimes I like the buildup more than the actual moment. With that said I can't wait to get my hands on Uncommon Criminals and see what Ally Carter has in store for these characters next.

Heist Society was a fun, fast paced adventure and I would definitely recommend it.

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