Kelly Reads — 52 Books, 52 Weeks

About the book:

The Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women is a fairly typical all-girls school – that is, if every school teaches advanced martial arts in PE, chemistry always consists of the latest in chemical warfare, and everyone breaks CIA codes for extra credit in computer class. So in truth, Gallagher Academy might position itself as a school for geniuses but what they really mean is spies. But what happens when a Gallagher girl falls for a boy who doesn’t have a code name? Cammie Morgan may be fluent in fourteen languages and capable of killing a man in seven different ways (three of which involve a piece of uncooked spaghetti), but the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women hasn’t prepared her for what to do when she meets an ordinary boy who thinks she’s an ordinary girl. Sure, she can tap his phone, hack into his computer, and track him through a mall without him ever being the wiser, but can she have a regular relationship with a regular boy who can never know the truth about her school (it’s really not a last resort place for snooty heiresses with nowhere else to go), her family (her mother is a retired spy and headmistress of the school for goodness sake) or her life (daughter of spy royalty and destined for great things)? Cammie Morgan may be the next generation of an elite sisterhood of female spies, but in her sophomore year, she’s doing something riskier than any Gallagher Girl has ever done before – she’s falling in love.

This book is the first of Carter’s Gallagher Girl books, and it is just as smart, fun, and unique as the author’s adult novel, Cheating at Solitaire. While reading it I couldn’t help but think what a lovely alternative it made to books like Gossip Girl (for those of you who have parents coming in and schnarring at you about that series and others like it). It’s just as cool as the Gossip Girl books, only smarter.

About the book:

Self-help guru Julia James is so good at being single that she’s become famous for it-advising women that they don’t need a man to be happy. Then the unthinkable happens. Just when her newest book, 101 Ways to Cheat at Solitaire, is about to hit stores, a trumped-up piece of gossip linking her to a gorgeous actor hits the papers. Their pictures are splashed all over the tabloids, and now Julia’s credibility is about to hit rock bottom. But she isn’t going down without a fight. Unless, that is, the actor is going down with her.

This book had everything I love about Chick Lit: humor, great characters (both main and secondary), fun plot, and an instant relatabilty to the main character. What makes this book extraordinary to me, however, is that Julia is one of the few heroines in recent memory that is fine with who she is. She doesn’t spend the entire book bemoaning the fact that she doesn’t have a boyfriend, her job sucks, her family doesn’t understand her, etc. Instead Julia serves as a role model to the women in her world, an ideal of being comfortable in your own skin. It was so refreshing and enjoyable. Each chapter of the book begins with a piece of wisdom from Julia’s 101 Ways to Cheat at Solitaire, and I found myself looking forward to reading those bits of advice just as much as I looked forward to seeing the story unfold. I would recommend Cheating at Solitaire to anyone who enjoys reading Chick Lit, as well as anyone who has heard of the Chick Lit genre and wondered what the fuss was all about. According to Amazon the follow up, Learning to Play Gin, is scheduled for release on November 7. I am so there.