Author: Ally Carter
Year Published: 2010
Genre: YA fiction
Pages: 287
Rating: 4 out of 5
Location (my 2019 Google Reading map): USA (NY), Italy, Austria, France
FTC Disclosure: I borrowed this from my school's library
Summary (from the inside flap of the book): When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her 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 to hard to escape. But he has good reason: a powerful mobster's priceless art collection has been stolen and he wants it returned. Only a master thief could have pulled off 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 stela 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 her family's (very crooked) history--and with any luck, steal her life back along the way.
Review: I meant to read this book when it came out in 2010 (I was a high school librarian at the time), but for some reason didn't get around to it. Nine years later, I have read a bunch of heavy books so needed something a little lighter for this weekend. And, now I am sick so it's even better that I chose this book as it's a fun one.
This is a story where you have to suspend reality for a bit to accept teenage art thieves, but I was more than willing to do that. I liked the characters, their quirky traits, the fact that the ring leader is a girl, and that they are all smart and efficient at their jobs during the heist.
There is a historical twist to this story that I didn't see coming, but it definitely fits and gives the story more depth and interest. Maybe that's because I am a history teacher, but it is well done and adds depth to the novel.
Challenges for which this counts:
FTC Disclosure: I borrowed this from my school's library
Summary (from the inside flap of the book): When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her 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 to hard to escape. But he has good reason: a powerful mobster's priceless art collection has been stolen and he wants it returned. Only a master thief could have pulled off 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 stela 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 her family's (very crooked) history--and with any luck, steal her life back along the way.
This is a story where you have to suspend reality for a bit to accept teenage art thieves, but I was more than willing to do that. I liked the characters, their quirky traits, the fact that the ring leader is a girl, and that they are all smart and efficient at their jobs during the heist.
There is a historical twist to this story that I didn't see coming, but it definitely fits and gives the story more depth and interest. Maybe that's because I am a history teacher, but it is well done and adds depth to the novel.
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