Book Review - Cross My Heart and Hope To Spy

Cross My Heart and Hope To Spy
Author: Ally Carter
Series: Gallagher Girls #2
Genre: Mystery, Contemporary | Young Adult
Release Date: May 2007
Publishers: Orchard Books
No. Pages: 264
Source: Purchased
Rating: 
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Cammie Morgan may have a genius IQ and attend the best school in the country, but as she starts the spring semester of her sophomore year there are a lot of things she doesn't know. Like will her ex-boyfriend even remember she exists? And how much trouble did she really get in last semester? And, most of all, exactly why is her mother acting so strangely?

All Cammie wants is a nice, normal semester, but she's about to learn her greatest lesson yet - that when you go to a school for spies, nothing is ever as it seems.

The following review may contain spoilers concerning earlier books in the series.
If you have not read the previous installments, please proceed with caution.

After coming across I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have To Kill You last October in the charity shop I volunteered at and absolutely loving every moment of it, I knew the Gallagher Girls series was one I would want to continue with and see through 'til the end, so why on earth it took me until April to get around to carrying on I will never know. I felt more than at home with Cammie and the girls, and if I thought the boy trouble, mother/daughter tension and spy skills showed in book one were fantastic, I really wasn't ready for book two.

Cross My Heart started off after Winter Break for the Gallagher Academy, with Cammie still a little heartbroken over her oblivious ex-boyfriend Josh and turning to her friends for the support she needs. While I did find the mopping of Cammie over Josh just a little too immature for my liking, I could entirely understand that at 15, heartbreak is something a lot of girls struggle with, spy or not; it might not have been a huge problem, but it was only a tiny part of the reason I didn't give this book for the full whack. The world of Gallagher Academy was just as good as it had been the first time, the school was just as grand and exciting, as were the secrets that slowly got revealed throughout the story; for a building so full of secrets and passageways, Carter always managed to keep me firmly grounded and I was never lost in this wonderful world of spies. Now, don't get me wrong, these girls are no James Bond, and I myself am not a huge Bond fan, but the tricks the girls learnt during this term in Gallagher Academy were so realistic and honest that I seriously believe Carter did her research. The techniques were so believable yet advanced and the teaching methods were harsh, but truthful and I cannot fault Carter when it comes to world of spies whatsoever. I get excited as I learn the art of becoming a spy through Cammie's eyes, and Carter makes the learning as a reader fun and enjoyable, and even at the age of 19, she makes me want to go back to school and become a Gallagher Girl too.

Plot wise, I think Cross My Heart was much more advanced than I'd Tell You I Love You, there was so much more to learn in the place of the lessons and practice missions they had, with much more action, team building and character building, and so much more to lose, with friendships becoming closer and family becoming a bigger part of the picture, and in this installment, the introduction of boys on a huge level was all such a wonderful breath of fresh air. Considering Cammie's misadventures with Josh in the first books, I think having the boys around the girls on a much more closer and intimate level really brought out the development in the characters as well as the plot, but having the boys being such an involved part of the story and knowing very little, if anything about any of them, their backgrounds or their Academy really made it difficult to connect to any of them. I admit, I've seen Cupid work his magic more subtly than Carter had in creating a love triangle, but I have to admit, I actually didn't mind it all that much, and although I did personally find the touch of bringing 'guests into the school to make allies' very Potter esk, I can quite easily forgive Carter because I loved the progress of the story. The little missions the girls went on to figure out the boys from Blackthorne were believable and hilarious, and the tension and spark between Cammie and Zach was actually really enjoyable. Cammie certainly met her match in Zach, and Zach seriously began to challenge Josh on a level of swoon, but the absence of Josh in this installment affected how much I could warm to Zach and I felt that Carter had created two very opposite people as love interests in order to flush out 'teams' for the series; I myself, am team girl power all the way.

Cross My Heart really reminded of what it was I love about this series, the world and writing is so smooth and flows so easily I lose myself in this spy world, with co-operations, boy drama and being involved in some highly dangerous and very important skill lessons, I genuinely feel quite at home with Cammie, Bex, Liz and Macey, much like I used to with Harry, Ron and Hermione. In this installment, Cammie learnt what it was like to not be able to hide and really started to realise that she couldn't become and embrace herself a world where she has to always be someone different, and she started learning the complicated and the hard way that becoming a woman in a mans world is just as hard as it sounds. I couldn't have loved this book anymore than I did, and I genuinely cannot wait to see how the series progresses and continues; if you're looking for light-hearted, kick-ass ladies with plenty of brains, boys and box moves, then Gallagher Girls is a series you need to start now.