Heist Society


by Ally Carter


When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her on a trip 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 has been robbed of his priceless art collection and wants to retrieve it. 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. For Kat there is only one 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 history-or at least her family's (very crooked) history.



My Thoughts: This is one of my absolute favorite books! Heist Society blends spies, travel, a millionaire, romance, and an art heist to make this a fun read. Ally Carter is currently working on book two; I can't wait. Warner Brothers has also optioned the book for a movie. You can get all the details at their website.

Graceling

By Kristin Cashore

Gracelings are people born with an extreme talent, known as a Grace. Rare enough to be unusual, they are feared for their difference and often exploited for their skill. They can be picked out by the fact that they have two different colored eyes.Katsa, the protagonist, has been able to kill people with her bare hands since she was eight and is famous within the seven kingdoms for the violent acts she carries out on behalf of her uncle, King Randa. Of late she has struggled to reconcile her conscience with these acts but rather than challenge her uncle's authority over her, she has sought to employ less debilitating attack strategies and build up a clandestine organization that promotes justice over cruelty and abuses of power. During the course of a secret mission, she meets Po, another Graced fighter and the first person to come close to matching her skill. A bond forms between the two that causes each to discover startling truths about oneself, the other and the kingdoms.

My Thoughts: Graceling is book one in the Seven Kingdoms Series. This book has adventure, mystery, and action throughout. Readers will love Katsa as a strong heroine and Po as a supportive hero. Fantasy and romance readers will eagerly await the next book.