Heist Society by Ally Carter
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Actual Rating 4.5 stars

Heist society surprised me in a good way. I thought it would be a superficial teenage-ish book, similar to Model Spy, but superficial it was not. Although indeed, it is a shorter read as compared to other typical YA genre books, (I was reading this for 3 hours straight) nevertheless, the fun and engagement factor is still there.

Be forewarned there's gonna be spoilers down below!

Sexy Ken warned ye.



The characters

Kat is every bit of a strong female character I have ever wanted. She's tough, but she has her weak sides too, and she tries to overcome that part of herself. Of course, she's also very, very skilled in conning and having large scale heists.

Hale is... well Hale. He is like, the perfect mix in-between a bad boy and a good boy. He clearly has affections for Kat, and the are, to one another. To add on, he's incredibly rich. Hale isn't even his real name. I mean, it is his name, but it's just a kind of family name, passed down generations until he is W.W. Hale the Vth. But he's still irresistible, and he's still kickin' ass through his antics, and he's gorgeous.



The rest of the casts of the Henley heist were every bit unique and funny. They make a fun mix. Even the twins (forgive me, I don't know how to spell their family names), Adam, as well as Gabrielle are a fun bunch. Gabrielle annoyed me at first, but she grew on me. That's the thing, every characters are in a way, complex. Kat's dad, as well as Uncle Eddie have their own quirks. They're not just two dimensional characters. They're people that you would believe real. The best part? You remember each one of them.

The Plot & Execution

I can't really say much about the plot, because I do think that the plot is kind of typical and predictable of a heist-esque novel. It's what's been done by similar genre movies over and over again. Since I've watched those kind of movies tons of times, the plot was predictable to me.

I have always regarded a book by its execution first and its plot second. It's hard to create a plot that is different and out of the box. But it is even harder to write it in style or completely original and fresh. Because once you've managed to write something in an original way, the readers won't even notice the plot's about the same as every other typical novels in its genres. The Heist, however, falls on the second bunch. The smart, out-of-the-ordinary way of recounting their heists. It's very fresh and unique in the YA genre. That's what kept pulling me in, unable to stop reading it until the very last page.

Another thing that makes me happy is not the romance-centric plot. Romance is secondary... or tertiary, even. There are hints of romances here and there but it's not very glaring and clearly not the focus of the novel. There's barely even a kiss (I'm a bit disappointed here. Some Kat Hale action pls?). But overall, it's central is clearly the same as the title, it's about heist. Art heist.


Me likey.

The World-Building

The world building is as thorough it can be for a shorter novel than average. You got the gist of the awesomeness of the art-heist industry. How they work and what are their codes. Their legend (Visily Romani). And I'm still curious of that legendary thief. I hope he's some hot bachelor.


Yum.

However, I hope that more of the thieving industry can be revealed in the second book. Like, where are they selling those paintings? I want to see other thiefs. That would be interesting.

Heist Society is a very solid read. It's fun, and it's not superficial. If you're looking for a read that doesn't make you think a lot but still making you think in a not bothering kind of way (I dont even know what I'm talking about), you should read Heist Society. It's engaging and fresh.

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