Out of Sight, Out of Time by Ally Carter

Publisher: Disney*Hyperion
Pages: 294
Series or Stand Alone: Book 5 in the Gallagher Girls Series
Summary: The last thing Cammie Morgan remembers is leaving the Gallagher Academy to protect her friends and family from the Circle of Cavan--an ancient terrorist organization that has been hunting her for over a year. But when Cammie wakes up in an alpine convent and discovers months have passed, she must face the fact that her memory is now a black hole. The only traces left of Cammie’s summer vacation are the bruises on her body and the dirt under her nails, and all she wants is to go home.
Once she returns to school, however, Cammie realizes that even the Gallagher Academy now holds more questions than answers. Cammie, her friends, and mysterious spy-guy Zach must face their most difficult challenge yet as they travel to the other side of the world, hoping to piece together the clues that Cammie left behind. It’s a race against time. The Circle is hot on their trail and willing stop at nothing to prevent Cammie from remembering what she did last summer.

Review:
Book five! Book five! You know what that means, right? It means that there will probably be something like a year and a half to two years before book six. Meh.
Cammie Morgan has no idea regarding what’s happened to her for the past few months. The last thing she remembers is leaving school in June to search for the truth. She certainly doesn’t know why she woke up in the Alps with a battered body, being cared for by nuns. When she finally returns to school, it becomes obvious that someone has seriously messed with her mind. Cammie and her friends must go off to Rome in search of Cammie’s stolen memories--before anyone else is seriously hurt.
This was the most mystery-driven Gallagher Girl book yet. Finding out what Cammie was doing abroad for six months and why she had no memory of it was worth reading the book in one sitting.
This book proved that the Gallagher Girl books are getting darker. Death and torture were a feature and this one (not graphically, more talking about them). I would consider this trend to be a little like Harry Potter--as the students grow older, the content gets darker. Considering the girls are training to be spies, I think this makes perfect sense. I would actually prefer it if these books went a little darker even.
Out of Sight, Out of Time was a great installment in the Gallagher Girls series! The overarching mystery in this one kept me reading straight through one night until the last page was turned.

Rating: 4 - good.

Only the Good Spy Young by Ally Carter

Publisher: Disney*Hyperion
Pages: 265Series or Stand Alone: Book Four in the Gallagher Girls series
Summary: When Cammie Morgan enrolled at the Gallagher Academy, she knew she was preparing for the dangerous life of a spy. What she didn’t know was that the serious, real-life danger would start during her junior year of high school. But that’s exactly what happened two months ago when Cammie faced off against an ancient terrorist organization dead set on kidnapping her.
Now the danger follows her everywhere, and even Cammie “The Chameleon” can’t hide. When a terrifying encounter in London reveals that one of her most-trusted allies is actually a rogue double-agent, Cammie no longer knows if she can trust her classmates, her teachers—or even her own heart.
In this fourth installment of the New York Times best-selling series, the Gallagher Girls must hack, spy, steal, and lie their way to the truth.as they go searching for answers, recognizing that the key to Cammie’s future may lie deep in the past.

Review:
Since coming off of escaping a kidnapping attempt from a historical terrorist organization, Cammie Morgan has been spending her time in England with Bex and her superspy parents. A second attempt in London makes Cammie realize just how serious the danger around her is--and reveals someone that Cammie trusts to be a double agent working for the Circle. While everyone back at Gallagher Academy is tightening security around her, Cammie isn’t sure about the revealed double agent and must go off in search of answers she may not be prepared for.
This Gallagher Girl book certainly opened with a bang. A person Cammie trusts is revealed to be a double agent, working with the Circle towards Cammie’s capture. I always find it better to jump start these books with a big action sequence, especially one with known characters. This particular one created major trust issues and doubts for the rest of the novel. While there are always secrets in the Gallagher Girls books, I felt like this situation took it to a new, darker level.
I was happy that Zach was a bigger player in this one. I enjoyed hearing more about his past history. It was beginning to feel like the relationship between the two was becoming repetitive; I’m glad the new information kind of strengthened the relationship’s story.
Plus one for mystery! Cammie and her friends have to determine whether the double agent is actually a TRIPLE agent. Only the Good Spy Young is another good addition to Ally Carter’s series with a slight cliffhanger ending that will certainly drive people to read the fifth installment!

Rating: 4 - good!

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

Publisher: Disney*Hyperion
Pages: 263Series or Stand Alone: Book Three in the Gallagher Girls books
Summary: When Cammie "The Chameleon" Morgan visits her roommate 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 trapped 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 can 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.

Review:
Cammie’s excited to spend the end of the summer in Boston with Macey and her family, until the girls are attacked on a rooftop and Macey is nearly kidnapped by scary, unknown operatives. Back at school, Macey deals with her fear and the aftermath of her attack by becoming increasingly introverted, while her friends to what they can to find information. The Gallagher girls must become part of Macey’s private security on the campaign trail in order to find out the truth--what the kidnappers were after was nothing Cammie and her friends could have guessed.
This was the first Gallagher Girl book that focused a bit more on one of the other Gallagher Girls. Although Cammie is still the narrator and the driving force of the narrative, a lot more information is given about Macey and her family life because of her kidnapping and the annoyance she demonstrates towards Preston, the presidential candidate’s son.
I find that mysteries are the way to go with these books. The driving mystery in this one is of course, why are the kidnappers after Macey in the first place? There are other, smaller mysteries that provoke intrigue as well, such as why Zach keeps popping up in the same places as Cammie?
This book furthers some of the overarching storylines in Carter’s series. The kidnappers set a fairly big plotline into motion. I find the more that connects these stories, the more I like them. The overarching stories add more depth to Cammie’s life. The first book seems like a superlight stand alone novel compared to the ensuing books.
Another good installment to the Gallagher Girls series, though I think I enjoyed Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy a bit more. The danger is increasing and more information is being revealed about Cammie’s friends and mentors, which can only be a sign of bad things but good plot points to come.

Rating: 3.5 - fair/good

Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy by Ally Carter

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Pages: 236
Series or Stand Alone: Book Two in the Gallagher Girls series
Summary: Cammie Morgan is back, and it's clear that her life hasn't calmed down since the events of I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You. At first, giddy anticipation is in the air. Gallagher Academy, Cammie's elite spy school, is hosting a visit from a covert training center for boys. Soon after the boys' arrival, though, everything goes dangerously awry when a series of security breaches are discovered at the academy. Worse yet, teenage agent-in-training Cammie is being blamed for the penetration. With the school's top-secret status at risk, the Gallagher Girls have to work quickly to save their beloved school.

Review:
Even though I was a little disappointed by the first installment of the Gallagher Girls series due to my extremely high expectations, I wanted to give the books another chance.
Cammie Morgan survived her first break up and managed not to get in too much trouble for breaking a thousand school rules in order to have that relationship in the first place. Now it’s time for a new challenge never before faced by Gallagher Girls: male classmates. While most of her classmates are spending time primping and flirting, Cammie is being driven crazy by Zach, a Blackthorne boy and one of the few people able to out-chameleon Cammie.
I definitely connected more with Cammie in this one! I can’t put my finger on it, but I just liked her more. I felt that the spy school environment was better utilized. This is particularly true in the scene where Cammie and her friends must attend a formal ball--but they must attend as completely different people with backstories they have to memorize. Totally neat concept and would only be an assignment at a spy school!
I thought that Cammie’s classmates had an entirely realistic reaction to suddenly being joined by boys at school. They may be teenage spies that can kill men double their size, but they’re also teenage girls. I liked that Carter included things like the girls skipping breakfast in order to concentrate on their looks. It was very true to having a female school suddenly coeducational.
Speaking of, Zach was SO much more interesting than Josh! I don’t enjoy judging a book on love interest alone, but if that were the case, the first book has NOTHING on Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy. Josh was so beige, but Zach has mystery and personality. There’s nothing I enjoy more than a love interest that at first enrages the protagonist using sass and wit.
There’s a bit of mystery in this one--Cammie’s mother is keeping some secrets that I certainly wanted to discover. Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy certainly surpassed I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You. It made me want to read more of Cammie’s story. On to the next tale!


Rating: 4 - good.

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter

Publisher: Hyperion
Pages: 284
Series or Stand Alone: Book One in the Gallagher Girls series
Summary: Cammie Morgan is a student at the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, a fairly typical all-girls school-that is, if every school taught advanced martial arts in PE and the latest in chemical warfare in science, and students received extra credit for breaking CIA codes in computer class. The Gallagher Academy might claim to be a school for geniuses but it's really a school for spies. Even though Cammie is fluent in fourteen languages and capable of killing a man in seven different ways, she has no idea what to do when she meets an ordinary boy who thinks she's an ordinary girl. Sure, she can tap his phone, hack into his computer, or track him through town with the skill of a real "pavement artist"-but can she maneuver a relationship with someone who can never know the truth about her? 
Cammie Morgan may be an elite spy-in-training, but in her sophomore year, she's on her most dangerous mission-falling in love.

Review:

Cameron "Cammie" Morgan is just your average girl--except for the fact that she's a spy attending the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women. When she encounters a normal boy who wants to be her boyfriend, Cammie pulls out all the stops her spy training has to offer her in order to pursue a relationship with him. Will Cammie be able to keep Josh and her life as a spy separate?

I want to preface what I'm about to say with this: I read the next three books in the series and enjoyed them. I fall on the side of the Gallagher Girls books. However, this was not my favorite book. I felt like maybe my expectations were too high for this one. Many people have raved about these books to me, but I felt like the first installment did not live up to the hype for me. Part of the problem was that I found Josh to be very boring up until the very end. His beige nature made me want Cammie to find a more interesting boyfriend. I felt like the time the girls sent in suburbia wasn't worth it.

Moving on to the positive side! The concept of a spy school for teenage girls makes for great young adult book topics. I like that these books have a "thing"--and that thing happens to be training brilliant, strong young women to be government operatives. The girls presented in these books are adventurous, brave, and intuitive.

I liked the relationship Cammie had with her headmaster mother. The multifaceted nature of it made it so Cammie never knew which piece of her mother to expect--be it headmistress, mother, or spy extraordinaire. It all depended on the situations they faced at the same time. I loved that Carter was able to explore the complications of such a relationship effectively.

I also enjoyed the relationship between Cammie and bad girl Macey. I assumed that Macey was just going to end up being Cammie's mean girl adversary, but was pleasantly surprised instead! The relationships Carter created between Cammie and everyone but Josh made me interested in the rest of the series.

While I'd Tell You I Love You, But Now I'd Have To Kill You didn't live up to my high expectations, I did enjoy the concept behind the books. This one dragged for me a bit, but I continued on with this popular series because I saw the potential it held. I wasn't disappointed by the ensuing novels in the series!

Rating: 2.5-3 okay/fair.