Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter

Katarina Bishop has worn a lot of labels in her short life. Friend. Niece. Daughter. Thief.  But for the last two months she’s simply been known as the girl who ran the crew that robbed the greatest museum in the world. That’s why Kat isn’t surprised when she’s asked to steal the infamous Cleopatra Emerald so it can be returned to its rightful owners.


There are only three problems.  First, the gem hasn’t been seen in public in thirty years.  Second, since the fall of the Egyptian empire and the suicide of Cleopatra, no one who holds the emerald keeps it for long, and in Kat’s world, history almost always repeats itself.  But it’s the third problem that makes Kat’s crew the most nervous and that is simply… the emerald is cursed.


Kat might be in way over her head, but she’s not going down without a fight. After all she has her best friend—the gorgeous Hale—and the rest of her crew with her as they chase the Cleopatra around the globe, dodging curses, realizing that the same tricks and cons her family has used for centuries are useless this time.


Which means, this time, Katarina Bishop is making up her own rules.

I have so much love for Ally Carter's Heist Society novels.  This is the second novel in what I hope will be a multiple-book series.

The above write-up pretty much tells you the set-up.  I was shocked to find the thieving nearly done before we were halfway through the book...I thought: what the hell, Ally? What's the rest of the story going to be about? See, the previous Heist Society took practically the entire book for them to break into the museum and steal the painting and see the end of their nightmare situation.  In Uncommon Criminals, we see them do the deed pretty swiftly and it left me wondering...but then, Ally being Ally and a sneaky writer, pulls the rug from under her readers and more importantly, Kat, and hey presto, the con is on, again.

The thing that makes Katarina Bishop such a great character is how much internal conflict she has.  She comes from an entire family of thieves and con artists.  She wants to be a normal girl, but nothing about her is normal.  No one in her life allows her to be normal - she is a product of the society she's grown up in.  And even if she's trying to fool herself into thinking that she's being a thief for the good, a thief is still a thief.  Married with this internal conflict, is the feelings she has for the lovely Hale.  I love how strong Hale is, how completely competent and how he seems to have his very own story and it might not be the happiest of stories.  It is so easy to see how the two of them should fit together, yet there are obstacles, mostly of their own making.

Happy sigh. And lets not forget the actual conning and thieving.  It's handled really well, with a deft touch by Ms. Carter and we are left wondering "will this work?" and what I like the most is the way the plans come together and how quick they are to improvise and do clever things.

This isn't a long review.  It doesn't need to be.  If you've read any of Ally's books, you'll know she's a great writer.  If you haven't, give it a whirl.  Her Gallagher books are hugely popular for younger teen readers whereas Heist Society is maybe aimed for a bit older.  Also, I'd hasten to add, it's a great book to hand over to boys who like reading - hopefully the cover won't make them run a mile, but let me just say: if I were a boy, I'd want Kat on my team when it comes to planning logistics for an invasion. She has plans for her plans.  

My only regret is reading this so quickly - because it's a very very long wait until the next book - 5th February 2013 which just so happens to be my birthday.  *pointed look*

However, you lucky bunch of readers, here's a link to the opening chapter of Uncommon Criminals.

Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley - Not a Review

I recently picked up a copy of Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley, thanks to a blogger event at Hachette's offices.

I read it over two nights before bed and if there is one contemporary YA you buy this year, let it be Graffiti Moon.  I adored it with all my heart and soul.  This is not a review, more of a heads-up about the title coming from Hachette here in the UK.  It's not out until July here in the UK, although it is available online from Amazon in it's US incarnation.



UK Cover

 Naturally I can't stop you from buying a copy but by waiting you will find the perfect summer read.  This is the write-up:

'We've got at least seven hours to get what we want before the sun comes up.'


School is over, and Lucy has the perfect way to celebrate: tonight she's going to find Shadow, the mysterious graffiti artist whose work appears all over the city. Somewhere in the glassy darkness, he's out there, spraying colour, birds and blue sky on the night. And Lucy knows that a guy who paints like Shadow is someone she could fall for - really fall for.


The last person Lucy wants to spend this night with is Ed, the guy she's managed to avoid since punching him in the nose on the most awkward date of her life. But when Ed tells Lucy he knows where to find Shadow, the two of them are suddenly on an all-night search to places where Shadow's pieces of heartbreak and escape echo off the city walls. And what Lucy can't see is the one thing that's right before her eyes.



US Cover

It is a beautifully written book - slender and heartfelt, told from three different points of view.  It's lyrical and magical and utterly perfect.  I am genuinely pleased to have read this and cannot recommend this highly enough.  Graffiti Moon rings with true words, beautiful words and observations so acute that makes your heart ache.  There is poetry, and discussions of artwork and of life and it all takes place within a single night.  I thought it would feel rushed, full of angst, but it doesn't.  It's slow and wonderful and magical.  The other night I tweeted that it feels like I can swim in the author's words - and I still feel like that writing this a week down the line.  I can't explain reading Graffiti Moon in any other way.  It's not just reading, it's seeing it, feeling it, sensing it.  It is a gem and has all the trademarks of becoming a true classic.

Careless by Anne Cassidy

Synopsis

As Chloe Cozens mourns the death of her mother, Lesley, teenage 'delinquent' Nicky Nelson experiences quite a different emotion towards her, his social worker, the one person he thought he could rely on when everyone else had let him down. Lesley Cozens wrote Nicky a letter before she died, the contents of which the reader does not know until much later in the novel, but the letter triggers a rage in Nicky that could have had tragic consequences if Chloe had not got involved. When Nicky begins hanging around Chloe's house with a mixture of curiosity and anger that she has had a happy life compared with his, he is prepared to hate her, but instead the two of them form a strange kind of bond. Chloe is her mother's daughter, and finds herself wanting to help Nicky find his real mother, the one who abandoned him at birth. Ironically, the clues she pieces together about what happened lead her back to her mother's home town, and to her childhood friend, Sonia, who is keeping a painful secret of her own. She is Nicky's mother. Chloe finds comfort in helping Nicky, a boy who is almost like a brother in that her own mother looked out for him for so long, and Nicky discovers that sometimes you have to trust in people in order to move on and build a life...

Careless is powerful story written by Anne Cassidy, a Carnegie shortlisted author who reveals an affinity for writing expressively about modern day teenagers and situations that have even adults reeling.

Careless deals with the subjects of loss and trust and how one single act can change a person's life beyond measure.

I found the book to be beautifully written but struggled to like the damaged character Nicky at first. His actions really disturbed me quite a bit, which is probably why the author spent time in creating him in such detail.

He is indeed a very troubled teenager and some of the things he did really did worry me - there were signs of obsession and destructive behaviour and acts of pure spite on his behalf.

Chloe, like Nicky, was well thought out and the perfect foil for his scary behaviour. Her grief at the death of her mother is quite touching and real. She meets Nicky when she collects her mother's goods at the Home he stays in. He helps her and they chat a bit. An awkward half-friendship is formed. If I were honest, I would have run a mile if I had been Chloe as she met Nicky, but she is clearly made of stronger stuff than me and she displays her mother's good hearted intentions and it shows in her empathy to Nicky.

Their relationship is a dysfunctional one, one that ends before it even starts. He is ready to hate Chloe from the word "go" but fails to do so because he senses her innate goodness. This startles him and he becomes fixated on her for a while.

The book isn't saccharine and the characters are raw - and this is where the strength of the book lies.

I would have liked for the book to go on a bit more, to find out how Nicky's meeting goes right at the very end, but I suppose the author left the characters at the right spot, leaving you to complete the story.

Careless is a novel written with skill and understanding by an author who clearly appreciates the wild and contradictory nature of teenage emotions. It left me reflecting on how choices, even ones with the best of intentions, could change someone's world.