Review: Heist Society

Heist Society, by Ally Carter. The summary:

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 fifteen, 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.

Kat’s 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.

Okay, guys. I know you’ve all been raving about this one for a while, but why did no one sit me down and say, “Dude. READ THIS BOOK!” Because, seriously, reading Heist Society totally made my day. Possibly my week. Or even month, really. It was everything I want in a book right now: intrigue, humor, awesome friends, a kick-A heroine, a swoony love interest (well, love interest for me, even if Kat’s still in denial) . . . *sighs*

Let me start of by mentioning how much I adore Kat, the main character. She’s smart and strong and witty, but still totally relatable. And how awesome is it that she’s 15 an running her own heist society, planning to rob one of the best art museums in the world? And lest you think, “Hmmm . . . stealing. I don’t know how I feel about that,” I’ll just point out that despite being raised a thief, Kat has a fairly solid set of values and even tried to leave the family business--she’s only back now to get her father out of trouble.

And Hale. Oh Hale. If things don’t work out between you and Kat, I’m totes available. Don’t let our eight-year age difference stop you--everyone always tells me I look 16 anyway. But seriously, Hale is the best. Because A) he’s hot, B) he’s rich, C) he’s witty, D) he’s always there for Kat, E) he’s generous, F) he’s smart . . . and I could go on, but I think you get the general picture. I’m really not sure why Kat is in denial about her feelings for him when he’s obviously the best boyfriend material out there. And can I just say that Hale is the PERFECT privileged rich-boy name? Well played, Ally Carter.

I love all the traveling in this book. I’ve never been out of the country, so I adore books where the characters are always jet setting off to foreign countries. And this book’s got Italy, France, England, and Austria . . . so I was happy as a clam (what does that saying even mean, btw?). And to make thing even more awesome, not only does this book have foreign countries, it has intrigue and adventure and hijinks in foreign countries, which is even better.

My favorite scene? Marcus, the butler, in a wheelchair pretending to be Hale’s crotchety great-uncle. I about died laughing. “I loathe women in trousers!”--enough said.

So do I really need to say it? I recommend this book times infinity. I already ran out and bought the sequel, “Uncommon Criminals,” so please excuse me while I go read that now.