Heist Society (A Heist Society Novel, 1)

Have you ever watched the movie Agent Cody Banks? You know how it is super cheesy and you probably shouldn’t enjoy it as much as you do? (Let alone own it and its sequel?) Heist Society is kind of like that. I know it’s cheesy and I know real life is nothing like this book but I can’t help but love it.

The Bishop family doesn’t operate your normal family business. Unless, of course, normal families are in the business of thievery and my family is the odd man out. Katarina is ready to leave that life behind and craves a life where she can just be a somewhat normal teen, attending a private, boarding school spending her days worrying about homework. Her father has gotten into a bit of a sticky situation so she is removed from her early retirement and thrust back into a life of crime. This time she has to pull of her biggest heist yet.

What I loved most about Heist Society was the writing. I could very clearly picture what was happening and each of the characters throughout the novel and because of that I found myself thoroughly entertained. This was really a light, fluffy read and the feeling I had upon completion of the novel was similar to the feeling I have when I finish watching a Julia Roberts rom-com from the nineties. I’m satisfied overall. While I will watch that movie over and over again it is by no means labeled as my favorite movie of all time. Heist Society is the type of book I would have read over and over again as a child because I would have believed that by sixteen I could probably do something similar to the teens in this story. I guess what I am trying to say is that if you have a twelve-year-old in your life then you should really recommend that they pick up Heist Society at some point soon because I think that would have been around the age that I could have loved this book something fierce.

I haven’t quite decided if I liked Heist Society to read the rest of the books in this series. Maybe I’ll just wait until my little one is twelve.

o get it out right away - I didn't love this book and it won't be a raving or ranting review. I was okay wíth the story and the plot, but didn't like the characters and expected a whole other kind of story to begin with.
I think that, my expectations, is always my main problem when I don't like a book. With this one, I expected the kind of storyworld that you fall in love with, that you start to live in, that stays with you for a while. I thought I'd tear through all three books in one sitting, not regret the fact that I bought them in the first place.
As I said, story and plot were okay. Good, even. It was entertaining to watch a couple of teenagers rob a famous museum, but not the story I craved. It was too easy and too superficial. I wanted a story that got deeper.
I also wasn't a big fan of the characters. They were, in my opinion, pretty shallow and I couldn't relate to any of them. Clearly, the boys weren't swoonworthy enough, either.
I will cut this review short, because there isn't really a lot to say for me. I personally didn't like the book very much. I didn't find it funny or interesting or suspenseful or anything other, really, than a story I didn't care about.

However, and this is really important, it was more of a "It's not about you" - situation. I know everyone (pretty much) around the blogosphere and in real life loved this book, the whole series, even. It just wasn't up my alley at all, so if you think this might be the perfect book for you, don't let my review hold you back!

I read this for a young-adult book club. A fast-paced globetrotting adventure, Heist Society is good page-turning fun. It's a bit like an Ocean's Eleven (or seven, in this case) for teens.

Katarina Bishop is your typical young-adult heroine, i.e. she's atypically smart, observant, witty, and a babe who doesn't yet think she is attractive. She's surrounded by a motley crew of other young thieves--lifelong friend Hale, her busty cousin Gabrielle, a pair of brothers, a computer expert, and a hot young newcomer whom she might have reason not to trust.

The story itself is fairly straightforward. Tidy prose makes the pages flip by. There's some good humor in here too. While the plot may be fairly simple, the heist isn't, and there are some neat twists and tricks along the way.

As an adult reader, I knew everything would turn out okay in the end. And it does, wrapped up in a tidy package. The danger the kids face along the way is never quite dangerous. Everything feels safe, slick and polished. It's a fun ride while it lasts, though.

Yes, this book is over the top in the cliches of the "heist" genre, but it is extremely well written with well developed characters, and targeted at teens. Definitely worth the read if you're looking for a light thriller.

A surprise. Stayed away because its YA genre but glad I tried it out.

My daughter (13 years old) loves this novel. I struggle to find books that keep her interested, but after the first one she asked for the whole series.

If you enjoy a good heist then this series is for you! Well written & so smart! There are amazing friendships and family dynamics. Ally keeps you guessing until the very end!

I loved this book way more than I thought I would. I picked it up thinking it might be fun, and boy was I not disappointed. I devoured it. Reading went very fast, as the story moves you along. And being that it's a heist book, it kept me guessing and twisting all the way through. Great characters, decent writing, fantastic story.

This is a series about teenage thieves, which would be awesome by anyone else but with Ally Carter it surpasses awesome and heads right toward epic, as any Ally Carter book should.

Katherina Bishop just wants to have a normal life. She wants to go to boarding school and not have to plan heists or wiggle through air ducts or jump off buildings. But naturally her plan is put to a halt by none other than her best friend, W.W. Hale the 5th, who somehow managed to get her headmaster's car wedged upside down in a fountain.

It turns out that a dangerous, wealthy man's paintings have been stolen, and the man has zeroed in on none other than Kat's dad. So of course, Kat has to help.

The world building in this is absolutely fantastic. Ally Carter adds enough detail to make you curious (Why does the Rumpelstiltskin Heist need a hypnotist?), but she doesn't make Kat explain every little heist a character mentions.

The characters are all fantastic, too. The quite, smart Kat, the secretive, sarcastic Hale, the (seemingly) shallow, flirty Gabrielle...the list goes on, and each character is more interesting and unique than the last.

And, for a book with a lot of scenes of people sitting around planning, it somehow manages to not be boring. I think it's because of the air of realness that in the book, you can easily imagine all the teenagers going in and doing the heist in the real world.

This book is quite worth the read.

Originally reviewed at http://www.shaelit.com/2012/07/review-heist-society-by-ally-carter/

Heist Society is the ideal summer read. It’s light-hearted and fun with just enough banter and action to keep the reader entertained. Oh, and the boys are super-cute.

Anyone who’s read the Gallagher Girls series will immediately feel comfortable in Heist Society. Technically, HS was written before GG, but as I read GG first, I draw my parallels backwards.

Both series follow a smart girl (Kat in HS, Cammie in GG) who was raised in the family business (thievery or spying). Each girl has a parent who has died mysteriously, and is close in a non-dysfunctional way to the living parent. That’s such a relief, by the way, to read about non-dysfunctional families. Some of us do have them, you know! In HS, the living parent (Kat’s dad) plays a vital role when he’s accused of stealing an evil man’s paintings and Kat has to go steal them back.

Both girls have a semi-nemesis in the form of a girl who is kind of scandalous in her attire and very much a guy-magnet. In HS, Kat’s nemesis happens to be her cousin, the long-legged Gabrielle. I say semi-nemesis, because Gabby isn’t trying to kill her cousin or anything like that. They just don’t particularly get along, especially when Gabby is flirting with Kat’s best friend, Hale.

Oh yeah, that thing where I mentioned the boys are super-cute? SUUUUUUPER-CUTE. As in GG, Heist Society has a bit of a love triangle situation going on. See, Hale is clearly smitten for Kat. Kat is attracted to Hale but isn’t so forward about it. But then Kat meets a pickpocket named Nick who is also clearly smitten with her. I mean, she’s a talented thief from a legendary family. What’s not to like?

The rest of Kat’s crew are all charming in their own rights. There’s the Bagshaw brothers, two rollicking Scottish boys who remind me of Merry and Pippin, and Simon, the tech nerd. They’re all typical boys – a bit rowdy, a bit awkward, and a bit obsessed with girls. The last part gets a little awkward, since they notice Kat and Gabby (especially Gabby) as girls… even though they’re all related, albeit distantly.

I think, in the end, Heist Society beats out GG for me. While the supporting characters in GG are stronger (Liz and Bex are such fun), Kat steals the show. While the heroine in GG sometimes comes across as a girl who happens to be a spy-in-training, Kat is a freaking awesome thief (NOT in training) who just happens to be a girl.

I plan to go out and buy this book immediately (it’s on sale at my store), because it was such fun. Nothing in the plot is terribly deep or twisty, but that’s okay. It was FUN, and sometimes fun is enough. Especially when that fun involves W.W. Hale.

[Update: I ended up buying THREE copies of this book – one for me, one for my sister, and one as a gift. I also read the second Heist book, and it was just as awesome.]

Points Added For: Hale, being fun, thievery, a creepy bad guy.

Points Subtracted For: Some glossed-over issues (still not completely sure I understand why Kat’s dad stuck around).

Good For Fans Of: The Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter, Stephanie Perkins’ quirky books.

Notes For Parents: Boys talk about boobs (nothing graphic, just that girls have them), thievery (theft is wrong, but this IS a book about thieves).