Mundie Moms

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Book Review - Heist Society

Written by: Ally Carter
Published by: Disney-Hyperion
Release Date: February 1, 2010
Source - Purchased

5 out of 5 stars - this book is a must have!!!!

Synopsis (from Disney-Hyperion): When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her 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 15, 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's art collection has been stolen, and he wants it returned. 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 (very crooked) history -- and, with any luck, steal her life back along the way.

Let me start off with a confession, one of my all time favorite movies is "How to Steal a Million" starring Audrey Hepburn. As a kid, when this movie came on TV, I would pause everything and watch it. Because Audrey was in it. And the witty dialogue simply crackled with well-written banter. And in the end, it was about a very special kind of a heist, one which involved family. I still love movies and documentaries about museum thefts, and I remembered this when I glanced through my toppling To Be Read pile. There it was amongst the paranormal stories -- a book that called out to me with it's smirky, teasing glance behind sunglasses. It reminded me of Audrey and it reminded me that I love more than just my beloved paranormal stories. So, I picked it up.

A few hours later, I closed the last page and I wanted to go back immediately into Kat's world. Kat is not only smart but she's savvy enough to be fully aware of the risks she's taking on and putting others into. But here's the catch, they're all "family" even if they're not always related by genetics, so they stick together and help each other out. Sure their motivations are different, but it makes them collectively formidable. Ally wrote these characters with such attention to detail that I can't help loving them all -- Uncle Eddie, the Italian bombshell cousin, Gabrielle and then, well, there's Hale.

I'm going to stop for a second and give you a sample of Hale -- handsome, debonair and always there for Kat. (from page 52, Kat and Hale have stopped off at the International Association of Advanced Mathematics and Research conference in Las Vegas):
"You know," Hale's breath was warm against Kat's ear in the chilly ballroom --" I don't know that both of us really have to be here....." The slide changed. While hundreds of mathematicians waited with baited breath, the boy beside Kat whispered, "I could go make some calls...check on some things..."
"Play some blackjack?"
"Well, when in Rome..."
"Rome is tomorrow, babe," Kat reminded him.
He nodded. "Right."
As for the plot -- it's brilliant. Each chapter title reminded me of their ever decreasing timeline, and as I saw the destinations and the days change, I found my heart trying to pace my fingers and their increasingly quick flips of each page. Without giving away any spoilers, this book has it all. It has enough background to make the reasoning for the heist believable. It has characters who will leave you smiling or shaking your head in frustration and it has, yes, just enough romance for it not to be distracting. But most of all, it has a pitch perfect pace and that's exactly what I craved as I shuffled books around on my nightstand. I wanted that oh-wow-will-they-be-able-to-pull-this-off feeling and Ally gave that to me in a story where many threads came together beautifully.

My only issue with it, is that I wanted more. Fortunately the sequel, Uncommon Criminals will be released on June 21, 2011, so you now know where I'll be on that day. One word: bookstore. I spied a mini-excerpt from it on Ally's site. Go on, take a look. Oh wait, here's another one, here.

And I also saw her announcement that Warner Brothers has optioned the rights to the movie. I think, Mundie Moms, this one's going to be big. So take a look at that TBR pile of yours, and pick it up. I know, it's in there. 

Join us for our chat with Ally, TONIGHT, right here on the blog at 9PM EST/8 PM CST.

6 comments:

  1. How to Steal a Million is one of my favorites too! Audrey and Peter O'toole are hysterical together!

    This book is on it's way to my house, now I'm even more excited to read it!

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  2. I loved Heist Society! I'm excited for Uncommon Criminals.

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  3. Awesome review Sophie! I'm loving this book too!!

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  4. I will admit, this would not be one of my normal reads. However, after reading your review it is now in my TBR pile. Thanks for the great review!

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  5. I loved Heist Society
    I loved Heist Society
    I loved Heist Society

    the characters were amazing and different so many books i've read lately and the boys HOT!

    I loved Heist Society
    I loved Heist Society

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  6. Amy - Thank you! I was afraid that no one would get my reference!! LOL.

    Cari - I need a countdown!!

    MMs - Thank you!

    Tracy H - The writing is impeccable. Just perfect, like I said. Even if it's not within your normal genre, you will appreciate the plot, characters and the writing. Trust me. :D

    Lilly - YESYESYESYESYESYESYES. Both boys are hot. But, I'm Team Hale. For the record. Officially. :D

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