Heist Society Steal my Imagination

Heist Society by Ally Carter


I reread this book for YALSA'S The Hub 2013 Reading Challenge. I picked this book to be my first book because I had already read it in December and I knew it would be a fast fun read. I really enjoyed the premise for this book because it moved me from reading dystopias to something closer to a spy/adventure book. I am getting a little over paranormaled/dystopiaed lately in young adult literature.

Back to the book. Things I liked in Heist Society include: The change from dystopia/paranormal, the introspection of the character, and the unique way that Ally Carter portrays normal teenage issues (fitting in and finding yourself). I liked that Kat was introspective while trying to figure out how she would fit into the family business and society in general. Even better was that Kat of course wasn't a normal teenageer, which makes the book enjoyable to read, but it still dealt with your average teenage issues.

Thankfully this book did not get overly angsty due to the thievery action. Which is easily followed by teens but intricate to keep this young adult librarian interested. I liked all of the characters and enjoyed the country hopping they do (because lets face it...many of the teens I see in my West Texas library aren't getting the opportunity to go further away than Mexico, Oklahoma or Colorado).

Despite enjoying the enthusiasm, beauty, and nerdiness of the characters in Kat's crew...billionaire Hale is the least believable. Don't get me wrong...he's awesome. Too awesome. He's extremely rich and his only flaw is that he's often left behind by his family. He doesn't seem to be spoiled or have an entitled attitude that many rich kids might have. I suppose he isn't that way because he's abandoned by his parents for boarding school. Still Hale is too perfect in that lonely hurt but super loyal puppy dog way.

Overall this book is a great change from the dark dismal dystopias of today's teen lit to something a bit lighter. I'd recommend this book to teens who liked the Alex Rider books...especially girls who like adventures but didn't get into Alex Rider. Teens who like fast paced books will enjoy this book as well as those who enjoy a hint of mystery.

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Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter

Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter


I enjoyed this book as much as I enjoyed Heist Society. I really liked the introspective nature of Kat in both books as she seeks to find her place in her family and in society. I think a lot of young adults are trying to figure out the same things...they just usually aren't theives of Kat's calibur.

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YALSA The Hub Reading Challenge!

Its been a while since I updated this post! Well thats about to change with my decision to participate in YALSA's 2013 The Hub Reading Challenge. I need to read more new books so that I am on top of teen trends. I'd like to be aware of new titles and be able to recommend new books to my students. The challenge is to read or listen to 25 out of 83 books on a list of award winning Young Adult (YA) books. There are so many good books on the list which you can find here. As far as I understand it, just about anyone teenagers on up can participate! At the end all who dare to meet the challenge (or conquer it reading all 83 books) is entered in a drawing for a tote bag of YA lit!!! The first up on my list is to reread Heist Society by Ally Carter. Yes, you have to read or reread all the books during the challenge time period!