Series in Review – Gallagher Girls

SYNOPSIS: 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.

I really enjoyed reading each and every book in this series. I remember when I read them, I could not put them down. Not for a single minute. Once I finished one book, I would immediately start the next. They were that good and intriguing. That one day, when I first started the series, I managed to finish the first four books. It was a record for me.

Book by book: Besides the fact that I managed to read ⅔ of the series in one day (it was a rainy Saturday), another thing interesting about this series is that I had a new favorite with every book I read. What I mean was while I was reading I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You (Book 1), I loved it, but when I moved on to Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy (Book 2), I loved it even more than I loved Book 1. That does not happen a lot. Usually the first book would remain my favorite, but for the Gallagher Girls series, I loved the next book more than I loved the one before it. I have a little theory about that through. Because Gallagher Girls is such a long series (it has 6 books in total) and it was written over many years (Duh! The first one was published in 2006, the last one is coming out in 2013), I think the reason why the first book did not remain my favorite like it normally does is that Ally Carter’s writing improved (not that it wasn’t good to start with), resulting in better books.

Characters: Another thing I really liked about the Gallagher Girls is the characters. Cammie and her friends are different. Different from each other and different from most girls. But that doesn’t make it hard to connect with any of them. I could relate to different aspects of each of the characters. And even though Cammie and the gang aren’t exactly everyday girls (they are spies, for chocolate’s sake! And yes, I said chocolate.) doesn’t mean they don’t suffer from everyday girl problems (like boys). Which makes them even more relatable and likable. (I tend not to like characters who seem like they are invincible and perfect).

Romance: I can’t really say anything without spoiling the series…

Stoyline: Cammie’s story is such an interesting one. Like I mentioned before, the Gallagher Girls is a pretty big series, and big series usually can get somewhat predictable. But I always pick up a new Gallagher Girls book thinking I have an idea of what will happen, but usually I’m wrong. (Which is a good thing in this case). What happens is always unpredictable and I’m left with my jaw hanging open catching flies. There are many twists and turns and I’m always flipping pages as fast as I can, eagerly waiting to see what happens next.

Recommend it?: The Gallagher Girls series is definitely one that I would recommend, especially if you like spies or Ally Carter’s other series Heist Society. The Gallagher Girls has a tint of many genres, adventure, mystery, romance… and is very entertaining to read.