Only the Good Spy Young [Hardcover]

Cammie Morgan attends the Gallagher Academy, a boarding school that trains girls to be spies. In this, the fourth book in the series, Cammie and her three best friends are still dealing with the fallout from a kidnapping attempt the previous fall, and when they return from winter break they find many changes at their beloved school.

I know that's not much of a summary, but the twists and turns in this book start early, and I wouldn't want to spoil any of them. And really, didn't I have you at girl spies go to boarding school? Fans of the series should know that many favorite characters are present in this book along with a few new ones, and while the bulk of the book takes place at Gallagher, Cammie also gets to take some excellent road trips.

What really sets this book apart for me is the writing; it sparkles so that there are no boring moments. Even the exposition is laced with humor, and the book is filled with Cammie's distinctive voice: "If we hadn't hated him a lot, we might have liked him a little at that moment. But we did. So we didn't." The writing is sharp and fast-paced and Carter covers a lot of story in 265 pages. And though there are obviously more books to come (and a pretty sweet cliff hanger-ish ending to this one), the book is also satisfying on its own. Not every author can wrap up a book's storyline while serving the series-long plot arc, but Carter manages this perfectly. I can't wait to find out what Cammie gets up to next.

Cammie Morgan is under constant surveillance, and is never ANYWHERE without being watched. After one of her most trusted allies becomes one of the most wanted men on Earth and slips through the clutches of her security detail after telling Cammie to "follow the pigeons," she returns to school and finds that many unpleasant changes have happened in the security detail there as well.
Cammie and her three best friends embark once more on an action-packed adventure, determined to find the truth, and set it free.
Okay, so I'll admit that I found the first eleven or so chapters of Only the Good Spy Young to be lacking, slow, and incredibly overstretched/lengthened to a boring extent. But after that, the pace started picking up and returning to the fast, gripping action that I've come to expect from The Gallagher Girls books.
The book is exciting and revealing, although:
a) The book has some very predictable occurances in it that happen way too slowly,
b) The book is too short(but in a good way),
and c) The characters all are blind, to a certain extent. Nobody knows enough, which is a factor in the draginness of the first eleven or so chapters. It's like Ally Carter is trying to advertise the fact that NOBODY KNOWS ANYTHING!!!!! (least of all, Cammie). It gets incredibly irritating after a while.
Therefore, my favorite book in the series is still 'Don't Judge a Girl By Her Cover'.
However, the book is still good. Aside from the first eleven or so chapters, you can really sense that one long story has been condensed into a small package so that, like dehydrated food, the essence and flavor of it is all that is left(although I don't like dehydrated food-- in fact, I've never even tried it before). There is no water left to make the story bland, and the story is quickly told without any unintended confusion.
Also, another great thing about this story is that the plot is moved forward by the characters, not the other way around. There is some major character development happening that helps to keep this story moving.
And, as always, the writing was smooth, and there weren't any awkward sentences leftover from incomplete revising and editing. Quality writing was obvious throughout the story, just like I've come to expect from Ally Carter.
Also as always, the humor is not lost. Funny metaphors and witty writing went into the story, bringing all of the characters to life(to say the least).
Another great thing about the book was that all of the characters were very, very believable, despite the fact that these are SPIES we are talking about, many of which were or are being trained at The Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women(or, in Mr.Solomon and Zach's case, The Blackthorne Institute for Boys). There were no Gary-Stus or Mary-Sues lurking in the corners, and every character was unique and well developed. Also, no character was a weak cripple that couldn't do anything. Each character had a place in the story, and they were all reasonable with very humane fears and strengths bringing them to life.

Also, the story is beginning to resemble that of the Harry Potter books(mostly in plot), a series that I found intriguing and yet lacking in the extremes. That is one factor that went into my disappointment at this book.

As the series progresses, the books have been showing the change in Cammie; from when she was struggling because she had fallen in love with an unexceptional boy, to now, when it isn't only her heart but also her freedom, friends, and family at stake.

Recommended to me by Amazon a year or so ago, the Gallagher Girls books have proven to be far more entertaining than I expected them to be and I'm so glad I gave them a try. Set largely in the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, the stories follow Cammie "The Chameleon" Morgan and her friends Bex, Liz and Macey as they train to join the ranks of the famous "Gallagher Girls" - women who comprise some of the cleverest spies ever. Along with studying covert operations and code-breaking, the girls also deal with the usual hazards of teenage life.

Ally Carter is a talented writer who not only entertains me, but has enticed me into caring about her characters. I am engaged in the lives of these smart, resourceful - and sometimes so painfully young - girls, and the people surrounding them, including parents, teachers and the inevitable boys. They intrigue me. I want to know more about them and the world they inhabit, and that keeps me turning pages and looking forward to each new book in the series. Carter delivers on plot and paces her stories superbly. She gives us a good balance of dialogue and narrative and an even better balance of humor, danger and poignancy.

The Gallagher Girls books are fast, fun and very satisfying reads. It is worth noting, too, that each successive book in the series (and they should definitely be read in order) has grown in complexity and has a slightly darker edge than the volume preceding it. Only the Good Spy Young follows that trend. Cammie faces increased danger from the mysterious "Circle" and is forced to make difficult decisions about who to trust, who to care for and whether or not she can continue to do that most dangerous of things - Hope. Of all the books, I was the most emotionally tied into this one. The ending suggests that Book 5 (I don't know how many more books Carter has planned for Cammie & Co., but I hope it's several) could be even more of an emotional roller coaster ride. I am so there.

Highly recommended.

The Gallagher Girls books, in reading order, are:

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You
Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy
Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover
Only the Good Spy Young

Another of Ally Carter's recent books, Heist Society, about a family of con artists and thieves, is also definitely worth checking out. I loved it and am keeping my fingers crossed that it is only the first in another entertaining series from this talented author.

Fans of the Gallagher Girls might also enjoy Susan Runholt's Kari + Lucas Mysteries, another series featuring smart, resourceful teens that begins with The Mystery of the Third Lucretia.

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