Review: UNITED WE SPY by Ally Carter

Title: United We Spy (Gallagher Girls #6)

Author: Ally Carter

Publication date: September 17, 2013

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Source: Technically me since I pre-ordered it, but Disney-Hyperion was SO nice and sent me hardcover.
Warning: This is the end of a series so there MAY be spoilers for the previous books.

Cammie Morgan has lost her father and her memory, but in the heart-pounding conclusion to the best-selling Gallagher Girls series, she finds her greatest mission yet. Cammie and her friends finally know why the terrorist organization called the Circle of Cavan has been hunting her. Now the spy girls and Zach must track down the Circle’s elite members to stop them before they implement a master plan that will change Cammie—and her country—forever.

Review:

First line: The water was still as we walked beside it.

How are you supposed to review a book that you anxiously awaited for because it is the conclusion of your all-time favorite series and your feelings were overwhelmingly mixed at the end? Can someone tell me? I wasn't even going to attempt this since I did a fangirling post about the series right before United We Spy came out. Then the publisher was their usual nice self and sent me a hardcover so I felt like I had to convey my emotions somehow. The gifs at the bottom of the review summed them up nicely, actually.

There were revelations and twists throughout, of course. Some didn't even make me blink while others made me pause for a moment. To no one's surprise, Carter wrote this final installment nearly perfectly. Also to no one's surprise, I read it in one night and once I finished past midnight, I stayed up for another hour or so rehashing all the events and possibly crying over the end of the series while nostalgia choked me.

The girls—Cammie, Bex, Liz, and Macey—yet again had me wishing that I was a part of their group. There was romance sprinkled throughout between Cammie and Zach (we'll get there) and Macey finally came to terms with her feelings for Preston, but I think the best aspect of this series is the friendship. We clearly saw in the first book that boys may come and go. We witnessed how family is important, but sometimes you need a best friend and that you make your own family. So, yes, once again, the Gallagher girls get an adventure together. Ally Carter knows how to write a touching friendship.

There is romance.

Romance = more feels

I felt pretty satisfied with all the Zach and Zach/Cammie moments. Let's be honest though, no matter how much we get, there can always be more Zach/Cammie moments. Thank you, Zach, for being amazing. We do not get to see Josh, the love interest in the very first book, anymore, unfortunately. I actually would have liked to have seen him and possibly DeeDee one last time. I say Carter does a spin-off or novella with one or both of them. Even though Josh was not the right pick for Cammie, he was still sweet.

The only true negative that pops up in my mind involves a spoiler. SPOILER Townsend is Zach's father, but then it doesn't get really mentioned again and I wanted father/son moments! Emotion, tension, conversation...something. SPOILER DONE. However, even that negative couldn't take away my love for this sixth book.

What else is there to say? There's mystery, answers, adventure, tears, FEELS, friendship, and happy endings. I know there are questionable conclusions to series in the YA world recently, but Carter successfully ended this beloved series in the best way.

Now, when can I get a copy of her next series Embassy Row?

Verdict: EXCELLENT, the end.

No one was fooled.

What series do you have nostalgia over or go completely fangirl about? Have you read The Gallagher Girls?

Gallagher Girl Appreciation: Love, Quotes, and GIFS

Anyone who has read my blog before would know that I am an Ally Carter fan. I can find an excuse to put Ally Carter's The Gallagher Girls (or Heist Society) in pretty much any Top Ten Tuesday list. I find a way to add this series in many bookish conversations or non-bookish conversations because really, who says there's a limitation?

I don't exactly remember how old I was when I found the first book while perusing my library's shelves. I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You (ITYILY) came out in 2006, but I possibly didn't read it until a while after. What caught my eye first was the boarding school uniform. Once that lured me in, I couldn't race to the check-out counter fast enough when I read the word spies. My childhood friend and neighbor and pretty much anyone who knew or knows me can attest to the fact that I think being a spy would be the coolest thing ever. We used to tail people around, but being so not covert (being more Liz than Cammie). Our favorite game was using walkie-talkies and hiding all around my yard, ducking behind trees whenever a car drove by. Simply, spies fascinated me and there was finally a form of entertainment that I could enjoy that was geared towards my age range. Hooray for YA!

If any of you haven't read this series, you need to and are such sad souls, I pity you. There are so many reasons/elements to this series as to why I enjoy it so much that I could never explain it all. But I did try and here's the resulting, condensed list.

• The sisterhood. The Gallagher girls stick together and while they're not all "best friends," they have a bond that no one can replicate.
• The ultimate group of friends. In the midst of the Gallagher Academy is the unique four girls with varying personality traits. I love the dynamic between Cammie, Liz, Bex, and Macey. I honestly think that's what most fans adore in this series. While there's mysteries, action, missions, and boys involved, the friendship between the girls truly stands out. 
• The previously mentioned action. It's not fight, fight, fight all the time, but there's kicking and jabbing and spy-like moves that make me want to shout, "Girl power!" or something similar to that notion. 
• The romance. HELLO THERE. In the first book, we had innocent Josh, who had the unique trait of actually noticing Cammie the Chameleon. Her first love, first romance, and they met during her first co-op mission, which is fitting. Of course, I always wondered if there was something dark about sweet Josh because I would so not be surprised considering this is Ally Carter we're talking about. Then we have mysterious Zach, who is so frustratingly cute and dark and...yeah, I was all, "Josh who?" when we met Zach. 
• The emotions. When there are five books and you have read them multiple times, you tend to get very invested into the story and the characters. The fifth book does things to me. 
• It's by Ally Carter.

A few favorite quotes from Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy and Out of Sight, Out of Time.

*Apparently, I forgot to mark quotes from the other books and I lent out the first book.*

"No, guys, we don't hate DeeDee," I said.

"Of course you can't hate her–that would be petty," Liz said in the manner of someone who had given it a great thought. "But we can totally hate her."

-

"What he hasn't seen," said Macey, positioning me in front of the mirror, "is casual Cammie." 

I felt like Barbie's less-than-perfect friend. 

-

Basically the all of page 203 in Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy because there's Zach AND Josh.

-

The Mother Superior, however, didn't seem very concerned about ancient terror organizations. She had the look of a woman who might tell ancient terror organizations to bring it on.

-

"Scoot," Zach told her, and Tina smiled, sliding down to make room for the two of us on the bench.

-
"You're too skinny," Liz said, a girl who I swear once bought a pair of pants that were a size double zero and had to have them taken in. 

-

Zach must have sensed it, because he moved his hand to the small of my back and rested it there. 

-

"Because death is the only thing that could have ever kept him from you." 

-

"Did you teach me how to kill?"

"No." He shook his head slowly. "You mastered those skills all on your own." 

-

"Goodbye, [name here]," I said, then climbed the stairs and went to the fifth floor to die. 

-

"We have you, Cammie," Bex said. "We have you."

My mom didn't say anything. Tears dripped off her face and onto mine as I stared up at the woman I wanted more than anything to become. 

"Do you hear the music, Mom?"

"No, sweetheart. No. I don't hear it." She shook her head. Terror and tears filled her eyes.

-

"He took me to the circus. And then he died."

And then I slept.

-

She didn't hesitate or slow; she just threw her arms around me and said, "You're alive." She squeezed tighter. "Thank God, you're alive." 

-

"You're here!"

"Funny, I was about to say the same about you."

-

"You don't get it, do you?" Macey threw her covers off and stepped barefoot across the floor. "We're not mad because you left." She practically spat the words. I wondered if Liz or Bex might wake up, but neither stirred. "We're mad because you didn't take us with you."

-

"You are back, Cam." Macey went into the bathroom and started to close the door. "Which means for the first time that you left, it's okay for us to be mad at you for leaving."

United We Spy, or what a Goodreads user more accurately called it United We Cry, will be out in America in two days. September 17th. Tuesday. I preordered it months ago, but when it comes to my door, I will be at work. You better believe that I will be devouring that thing right when I get home though. I think the concept of self-control and savoring it will not even be manageable or possible. To celebrate this last addition, here is a bunch of GIFs that describe my feelings more than I could ever express with words.

What I will be like on my way home Tuesday:

I know, Mom. I will be perfectly safe.

When I get the book in my possession:

How I hope my crying will be like, especially on my break at work:

How my crying/emotional state will really be like:

I do not drink or support being drunk, especially since I'm 17.
However, this is really appropriate since it has a work desk and all.

Really, this will probably be me to a T.

I emotional eat. It's a problem.

When I read the very last word and the talked-about graduation speech:

When I try to write a review and move on with my life:

So now we wait. I've reread the series, squealed about it and about the ever-decreasing wait time with Emily on Twitter, and now have made this somewhat therapeutic post. I'm as ready as I'll ever be. The only two problems left to solve are: 1. Will I really like her next series as much or as much as Heist Society? and 2. Who will I shove my United We Spy copy at to borrow since all of my friends in person are too busy as well as my sisters? It'll be great squealing with all the internet people, but it always feels great to actually hand a person the book to borrow. 

Have you felt this way about a series before? Are you excited about the sixth, and last, installment of The Gallagher Girls? 

Cover Love #14

Hosted by Bookshelvers Anonymous

Title: United We Spy

Author: Ally Carter

Publication date: September 17, 2013

Publisher Disney-Hyperion

Cammie Morgan has lost her father and her memory, but in the heart-pounding conclusion to the best-selling Gallagher Girls series, she finds her greatest mission yet. Cammie and her friends finally know why the terrorist organization called the Circle of Cavan has been hunting her. Now the spy girls and Zach must track down the Circle’s elite members to stop them before they implement a master plan that will change Cammie—and her country—forever.

Why I love: 

WHY WOULDN'T I LOVE THIS?

So I may be bias in my thinking that this cover is absolutely wonderful considering that I am Ally Carter's biggest fan and would read her grocery lists and clean up any pet poop in her yard just for her. Does that sound too creepy and out there? I have read all of the Gallagher Girls, introduced them to Shelver and my other sister as well as friends and people on the internet.

Cammie is now in a graduation gown on the cover with a really nice red for the background (I knew it! Ally mentioned red in her interview as an "example"). The spine is also really pretty and I love how they have different colored spines for each book in the series. The title is cute, the outfit is cute, everything on the cover is cute.

Excuse me as I go fan-girl in the corner and wipe a tear.

What cover are you loving this week?