Current mood:	accomplished
Current music:	Giving It Up For You by Holly Brook
Entry tags:	books, cybils, readergirlz, reviews, series

The Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter
The Gallagher Girls are here to save the day - and maybe have some fun along the way.

With a killer title and a great cover, Ally Carter's teen fiction debut I'D TELL YOU I LOVE YOU, BUT THEN I'D HAVE TO KILL YOU will certainly grab the eyes of potential readers. Thanks to the author's quick wit and the book's squeaky clean romance-meets-teenage spy girl storyline, the book will keep readers both laughing and interested.

Cammie Morgan attends the Gallagher Academy, an all-girls school that is known for its emphasis on academics. Adults know it is prestigous; local kids wrongfully assume that the students must be privileged snobs. What outsiders don't know is the school is actually training the young ladies to become spies. Gallagher Girls are trained in the martial arts, taught "real" history, learn political secrets, and are multilingual.

Cammie's mother and father are spies - or were, in the case of her late father, whose death is shrouded in mystery. Her mother, Rachel, is a retired CIA operative and the school headmistress. Cammie is an only child who finds solace in her best friends, clumsy but lovable Liz, brassy British Bex, and anxious Anna, all Gallagher Girls. Little does Cammie know the surprises that await her as she enters her sophomore year at the Academy: a new teacher, a new high-profile (and highly caustic) classmate, and a first crush.

Cammie has never had nor wanted a "normal" life - until she meets a local boy who is funny and kind. Of course, he doesn't know she's a spy-in-training, and she can't tell him. This leads to mistaken identities, covert meetings, costume changes (can't wear the spy gear, don't want to wear the private school uniform, must find clothes an average teenager would wear!), and plenty of pratfalls.

I don't want to spoil whether or not Cammie gets the guy in LOVE YOU KILL YOU, but I will tell you that the second book, CROSS MY HEART AND HOPE TO SPY, continues her studies through the spring semester.

The Gallagher students know how their school operates and are used to it being an all-girl campus. What will happen when boys from Ethan Frome Academy come to share their studies and their teachers? Some of the girls get distracted while others get suspicious.

Cammie is a bit of both camps. She appreciates the fact that the guy spies are smart and savvy, but she doesn't trust them. She kind of got off on the wrong foot with Zach, one of the spy-guys, and she can't stop thinking about Josh. She also thinks her new schoolmates are hiding something -- and they might not be the only ones. Old photographs and overheard conversations make Cammie question her father's schooling and spy work. Will she ever find out what really happened to him? CROSS MY HEART will please fans of the first Gallagher Girls novel and make them want a third.

Thankfully, Ally Carter is working on another story about Cammie and her classmates, the title of which has not yet been revealed. Though the title is top secret, the release date has been announced: June 2009.

Though the Gallagher Girls series is all about spies, it relies heavily upon the comedic aspects of Cammie's misadventures and has very little violence. It is appropriate for girls in middle school and up, great for adults who read light spy stories, and perfect for fans of The Princess Diaries and Moonlighting.

This series has become a big hit with my middle school and high school customers. Those I've given the first book to have come back for the second. I watched one copy of CROSS MY HEART circulate through three girls in less than a month, then discussed the books with each of them in turn. I'd tell you what they said, but then . . . you know.

Read my exclusive interview with author Ally Carter.

Sneak a peek at my Spies and Sleuths booklist.