Carter, Alley. Heist Society. New York: Disney Hyperion, 2010.
Another sip. Another smile. But this time he didn't meet her eyes. "You wanted to see if the rumors were true," he said, and Kat felt her face burn in the cold wind. "So, who told?" her father asked. "Uncle Eddie? Hale?" He shook his head and spoke through gritted teeth. "I'm gonna kill that kid."
"It wasn't his fault."
"Like Barcelona wasn't his fault?"
"Yeah, well..." Kat heard herself repeating Hale's words: "We all agreed that that monkey seemed perfectly well trained at the time."
Kat is trying to get out of the family business. Unfortunately, the memebers of her family aren't jewellers or art collectors or bankers--at least, not exactly. Kat is from a family of thieves. And now someone has accused her father of stealing a valuable painting, which he didn't steal. Unless Kat can figure out who actually stole the painting and get it back, she could lose everyone she cares about.
This was so much fun! Like everything Ally Carter writes, her protagonist is fun, smart and witty. The plot is essentially like Ocean's Eleven with teenagers, except that George Clooney has been replaced with a loveable girl, and Brad Pitt is put to shame with an incredible male lead (Hale, who is even hotter than Brad).
There are also a lot of interesting quirks in the characters. They aren't just cookie cutters. Hale, for instance, is a billionaire, someone who "could buy a Monet and yet couldn't resist stealing a Vermeer." And I'd tell you what is so surprising about Nick, the second love interest, but it'd give something away, and I don't want to ruin the surprise. You'll just have to read it.
Overall, this novel has strong themes of family and trust. But Ms. Carter pulls it off in a way that doesn't come off as preachy or didactic. She doesn't tell you the message she wants to get across, she makes you feel it. And somehow, she makes you laugh about it at the same time.
Tons of fun, and as always, squeaky clean (one of the only ones in all of teen to be so). If you have a teenage girl, she should be reading this book.
I've seen this cover everywhere, but didn't know what it was about. I'm going to have to read it now--sounds good! :) Random thought I had while reading the review...have you ever watched the show White Collar on USA? The main character is an art thief/forger who was let out of jail to help the FBI. He's rather attractive, which is why I thought about him when you were talking about the hot guys in this book.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen it...I'm trying to remember if we get USA. I think we do. You know me, I'll watch anything with a hot guy. Although I have to admit, half of what makes Hale (the hot guy in this book) so hot is how incredibly rich he is. I know it's shallow. I never said I wasn't.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to read this one. Ally Carter is so much fun. I did a Cover Story on this book (also fun): http://www.melissacwalker.com/blog/2010/02/cover_stories_heist_society_by.html
ReplyDeleteThat cover is phenomenal. When you see it in real life, the glasses are a different texture than the rest of the cover, which really makes the dual images in them stand out. I didn't even notice them until I actually held the book in my hands. Awesome.
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