Audiobook Awesomeness: Heist Society by Ally Carter

It has been awhile, hasn’t it my peeps? Even though this month flew by so fast, it has been an eternity since I wrote a post.  I finally write to you today because Summer Reading Program (SRP) is officially done! Now I can go back to my normal schedule and spend every night relaxing and reading at home; not exhausted, grumpy, or irritable. I am so far behind on the Reading Challenge, stuck on Kentucky. Before I can even start that book I have two more books for fun summer reading.  Oh man, there is just not enough time! I knew I needed to post something and then remembered that I borrowed the audiobook of Heist Society by Ally Carter for my long commutes.

This story is a thrill ride. If you loved the Ocean’s Eleven movies, then you will love this series because it is pretty much the exact same thing. Of course, there are differences. We have a female lead, all the main con artists are teenagers, and there is a mystery element surrounding the infamous Visily Romani. All in all, the story is very much the second movie, Ocean’s Twelve. I’ll explain below.

Katarina Bishop (Kat) thought she had walked away from a life of thievery to start a fresh life in prep school.  She had walked away for only a few months when an old family friend, W. W. Hale V (Hale for short), springs her from school for a job.  See, Kat’s father has been accused of stealing priceless art pieces from an Italian mobster. This mobster is powerful and dangerous as well as determined. He gives Kat and her father two weeks to bring him back his paintings or he will be forced to take drastic measures. This leads Kat on a trail to track down the paintings and steal them back. This is pretty much the opening to Ocean’s Twelve isn’t it?

Kat; however, isn’t the only thief out there who is trying to get the paintings. The mysterious Visiliy Romani (think the Nightfox from Ocean’s Twelve) was the real culprit behind the mobster’s paintings and he has hidden them away in the crème-de-la-crème of museums.  Now Kat and her team of six teenagers, the best junior thieves in the world, must come up with a strategy to get the paintings back. I will have to find the sequel as the mystery did not fully wrap up at the end of this book.

Kat is a great character. Strong female characters are at times hard to come by, but Kat is a gem.  She runs her own op and has a real knack for leadership and authority. She is also quite clever.  Even though her situation is most certainly not the norm, I still find Kat to be relatable.  She is “one of the boys”, has aspirations for a normal life, and comes to accept herself with all her strengths and flaws by the end of the novel. Love her!

This is a great mystery and spy novel. It is a fun and quick read; therefore, really useful for the “high interest, low reading level” demographic. I enjoyed the narrator immensely as she did some excellent European accents. If those aren’t enough reasons to get it for your collection, then also think of this: Heist Society was the 3^rd highest voted title in YALSA’s Teen’s Top 10 from 2010. Since teens voted this title as one of their favorites, then you need to consider Heist Society for your YA collection.

Other recommended titles for YA mystery and spy lovers:

Pretty Little Liars series by Sara Shepard

Stormbreaker series by Anthony Horowitz

Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter

Bad kitty by Michele Jaffe

Among the Hidden series by Margaret Peterson Haddix