osprey_archer (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
osprey_archer) wrote2013-11-05 08:09 am
osprey_archer) wrote2013-11-05 08:09 am
Entry tags:
Gallagher Girls
I’ve just finished the final Gallagher Girls book, United We Spy. I have the sense that the series’ plan changed a ton in the writing - I would be very surprised to learn that Carter had already conceptualized the Circle of Cavan when she was writing the first book, for instance. By the end there’s a bit of a tone mismatch between the silliness of some of the spying action and Cammie’s completely understandable but still rather grim angst.
I think the thing that most didn’t work for me, actually, is that Cammie’s angst gave me the strong sense that Cammie really didn’t want to be a spy. She starts off the series experimenting with being a “normal” girl by dating a boy from the local town. That doesn’t work out, but the desire to be normal never quite goes away.
She’s very good at being a spy, but she doesn’t seem to enjoy it. She doesn’t love solving puzzles, like her friend Liz, or love the adrenaline rush, like her aunt Abby or her friend Bex. So Cammie’s happy ending, where she continues her spy career, rang rather hollow, although having Cammie leave spying behind for normalcy probably wouldn’t have been a satisfying ending either.
For all that I’ve spent most of the review quibbling about it, I actually quite enjoyed the book. The Gallagher Girls series is an excellent popcorn read, particularly the earlier books. I love Cammie and her friends (particularly Bex. Bex forever!), and the way they function as such a beautiful team, and I like how Cammie's boyfriend doesn't take over the story, but becomes part of the team.
And I liked the fact that Carter didn’t feel impelled to pair everyone up at the end. They are, after all, only eighteen. There’s plenty of time for them to see more of the world before they find their One True Love. (Especially considering Bex’s One True Love might be explosions.)
I think the thing that most didn’t work for me, actually, is that Cammie’s angst gave me the strong sense that Cammie really didn’t want to be a spy. She starts off the series experimenting with being a “normal” girl by dating a boy from the local town. That doesn’t work out, but the desire to be normal never quite goes away.
She’s very good at being a spy, but she doesn’t seem to enjoy it. She doesn’t love solving puzzles, like her friend Liz, or love the adrenaline rush, like her aunt Abby or her friend Bex. So Cammie’s happy ending, where she continues her spy career, rang rather hollow, although having Cammie leave spying behind for normalcy probably wouldn’t have been a satisfying ending either.
For all that I’ve spent most of the review quibbling about it, I actually quite enjoyed the book. The Gallagher Girls series is an excellent popcorn read, particularly the earlier books. I love Cammie and her friends (particularly Bex. Bex forever!), and the way they function as such a beautiful team, and I like how Cammie's boyfriend doesn't take over the story, but becomes part of the team.
And I liked the fact that Carter didn’t feel impelled to pair everyone up at the end. They are, after all, only eighteen. There’s plenty of time for them to see more of the world before they find their One True Love. (Especially considering Bex’s One True Love might be explosions.)
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