Most Mature Book in the Series!

It is so fun to watch a series grow up with each and every installment. The Gallagher Girls series has done just that. From a silly tween series to an engaging young adult series with real characters and real problems, Only the Good Spy Young is a wonderful transformation to be a part of!

In the third book, Cammie realized it wasn't Macey McHenry the rouge spies were trying to kidnap, it was her. With this realization comes the terrifying reality that her favorite teacher, Joe Solomon, might be part of the organization that is trying to take Cammie. Now that Solomon is on the run, a new Covert Ops teacher is assigned to the Academy, but he seems only concerned with getting into Sublevel Two and what the girls know about Solomon. The most important teacher with the most important class, but he doesn't teach them anything- only presses them for any information they might be hiding. When it comes out that Solomon was somehow involved in her father's disappearance, Cammie is determined to get to the bottom of what Solomon's involvement was in her father's disappearance and her kidnapping attempts. The only way she can really get the information, however, is by learning more about her friend Zach from Blackthorne and with the help of her faithful friends, Bex, Liz, and Macey.

This fourth book was much more serious. The girls are now in real danger at the hand of the secret society that is after Cammie. The fact that the rouge spies shot and nearly killed her Aunt Abby at the end of the third book makes this story line all the more serious. And with more serious danger comes a more thrilling story. The nicest part of this series is the fact that the books are short, and won't overwhelm a reluctant reader, but they will grow with the reader, pushing them to more mature stories and reading levels. This story ends with a little bit of a cliffhanger, so I hope Ally Carter pulls another Gallagher Girls story out soon!

Fun Series Gets More Serious

Back with the third installment of the Gallagher Girls series, Ally Carter lets the series grow and mature with her readers. Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover might still have a silly title, but this story just got a lot more grown up!

As Cammie and her friends, Bex, Liz and Macey, begin the next semester at the Gallagher Academy, it becomes very clear this year is going to be like no other. When Cammie goes to visit Macey on her father's campaign trail, they are attacked on the roof of campaign headquarters. Cammie, in full spy mode, manages to save the son of Macey's dad's running mate, but these spies are good. Since she clearly can't fight them off after Macey is injured, she spots a vent and stuffs Macey down before quickly following.

It becomes quickly obvious that the Gallagher Academy has more than just Covert Ops training to worry about this year. When Cammie's Aunt Abby is assigned to Macey as her Secret Service detail, the girls learn a lot more about Cammie's family, but have no idea who is after Macey. Now they must protect their friend while still searching for the really dangerous spies that are after her.

This installment of the series got much more mature than the first two. The girls are still going to school and dealing with typical teenage girl stuff, but the threat against Macey is very real. This time, they won't just fail their Covert Ops assignment if they mess up, they will lose their best friend to a very real danger. It makes the story much more high stakes, and you get to see the girls in real action. More information about her father also makes Cammie's character a lot more real and multidimensional. The reading level still remains pleasantly low while the story is still fun, making this a great series for a low-skilled older student. This series can grow with the student as the story gets more sophisticated!

Another Cheesy Title and Another Cute Book!

I guess we don't learn from our mistakes, Ally Carter! Cheesy titles are NOT your best friend! I guess as long as you continue writing cute, fun books, I will ignore your silly titles and goofy covers. But please strive for "witty" next time, not "campy"!

The Gallagher Girls series continues with more of Cammie Morgan and the other young spies in training. It begins with her CIA brief about her security breaches last semester when she broke all protocols and rules by sneaking out of Gallagher to date a local boy. Now she has been forced to break up with Josh, and he has had his memory wiped with Cammie's mother's special tea. While Cammie still thinks about Josh all the time, she has bigger issues on her plate when Gallagher opens its doors to the boys of Blackthorne. Blackthorne is the male, much more sinister counterpart to Gallagher, and the two schools have merged briefly to give them a chance to get to know people they will be working with once they graduate. But something doesn't add up...

Since the boys arrived, odd things have been happening. First a Code Black occurs during a ball they have in the mansion as one of their finals (they all have aliases they must stick to). No one knows where the outside breach occurred for a Code Black, but Cammie is suspicious of the Blackthorne guy named Zach who she sees in the hallway just as the alarm is thrown. And Zach is definitely hiding something, in between his attempts to drive Cammie crazy! With the Gallagher Girls half stunned by their sudden exposure to boys (mornings get much more hectic with all the makeup and outfit changes!) and half suspicious by the sneaky Blackthornes, this is another fun and intriguing story in the Gallagher mansion!

The story and characters were interesting and kept the brief story alive. As with the first story, there is nothing inappropriate in this story for a young reader, but it might be too immature for an older, low-skilled reader. This is best kept for middle school students. But the world in the Gallagher mansion gets more and more exciting with each book!

Don't Let the Cheesy Title and Cover Fool You

It is so sad when horrible titles and silly covers happen to good books. After reading Heist Society, by Ally Carter, (another stupid title) I knew to look past the packaging with her Gallagher Girls series and give it a shot. But I am not going to lie, I never would have picked up a book called I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You... not without previous knowledge of the author's story telling prowess!

Cammie Morgan is a Gallagher Academy legacy, and her mother is the headmistress, but she is another kind of legacy, too. Both Cammie's parents were spies. In fact, the Gallagher Academy is a school for teen girl spies-in-training. The town where Gallagher Academy resides, however, thinks the Academy is for over-privileged rich girls. The girls' first mission is to keep the deep cover of the school and remember their legends (back stories) with the rest of the town.

On a routine Covert Ops assignment (tail an untailable faculty member), Cammie is noticed by a local boy. This wouldn't be so unnerving if Cammie wasn't considered the best "pavement artist" at the Academy. She is able to go completely unnoticed and blend into the background in any situation... so how did Josh see her? With a hilarious troupe of misfit young female spies, Cammie and her genius friends begin Covert Ops on Josh to make sure he isn't a Honey Pot (a person using attraction to derail a spy). But Cammie's star-crossed interest in Josh could lead to more trouble than they bargained for!

The first installment of the Gallagher Girls Series is really fun! It isn't the deepest story, or have some important lesson to be learned, but instead is just some good, wholesome, PG-13 rated fun! I can understand the critics of the series who are worried about the "action" of the story, but it is important to remember these girls are 15-16 years old. There isn't any real spy trouble at the academy (although I predict it might appear later in the series) because these are young girls in training. But the fun, silly happenings are still enough to keep a reader engaged and laughing.

The reading level is fairly low, the content is very, very mild, and the story is lots of fun. This is the perfect book for early middle school. I would recommend this for a wide range of students (although I don't think it would appeal to boys), including high skilled 4th graders all the way to 9th grade. It might even be suitable for a low-skilled 10-12th grader, but only if they are a little more immature than their peers. I can imagine this series might be too young for most older students. But if you find the right girl to read this series, you are going to have a happy reader!