Cammie Morgan is back, and it's clear that her life hasn't calmed down since the events of I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You. At first, giddy anticipation is in the air. Gallagher Academy, Cammie's elite spy school, is hosting a visit from the Ethan Frome Academy, a covert training center for boys. Soon after the boys' arrival, though, everything goes dangerously awry when a series of security breaches are discovered at the academy. Worse yet, teenage agent-in-training Cammie is being blamed for the penetration. With the school's top-secret status at risk, the Gallagher Girls have to work quickly to save their beloved school. Girl sleuths with nice asides on youthful crushes.

AGERANGE: Ages 11 to 18.

As the spring term starts at the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, the second most popular topic is the unexplained changes occurring in the East Wing. The most popular topic is Cameron Morgan's first official Langley debriefing. Although Gallagher Girls are exceptionally good spies, finding that there is a boy's version of their school comes as a surprise. The East Wing has been converted into a dormitory for the Blackthorne Boys, and their arrival changes almost everything. Learning how to be a spy while cute boys are watching is more difficult than most Gallagher Girls could have imagined. Watching the Blackthorne Boys do better than they is harder still. When the final test comes, will it be the girls versus the boys or will it be good versus evil? It is always a little nerve wracking to read the sequel to a book one truly enjoyed. Happily this reader was able to turn the last page with a smile and an excited, anxious feeling about waiting for the next Gallagher Girl book. There is still plenty of suspenseful action and supportive female friendships, but this time, how a girl spy can learn to flirt with a boy (spy) gets more attention. Because Cammie is a girl who has great spy skills, her awkwardness and cluelessness when she is around boys should give anyone hope. It is difficult to imagine what teen girl would not want to read-and reread-this second book in a butt-kicking series. Reviewer: Stacey Hayman
April 2008 (Vol. 31, No. 1)

Teenage spy-in-training, Cammie Morgan, excels in espionage curricula she studies at the exclusive Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, where her mother, a former CIA operative, is headmistress. This second novel in the "Gallagher Girls" series begins with sophomore Cammie being debriefed regarding events involving her former boyfriend, Josh, which occurred in I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You. Cammie enjoys deep allegiances with fellow Gallagher Girls, but the arrival of male students and their teacher, Dr. Steven Sanders, from Blackthorne Institute disrupts that equilibrium. Boys, both civilian and spy, confound Cammie. She first encounters Zach Goode while undergoing a covert field test in Washington, D.C., with her classmates. His presence at the Gallagher Academy agitates Cammie who is unsure whether Zach and the other Blackthorne boys are friends or enemies. Cammie and her roommates initiate surveillance, using listening and tracking devices, to monitor the males. Code Black alarms thrust the students and faculty into emergency mode, and Cammie and her friends attempt to recover a stolen database containing Gallagher Academy secrets. Character development is best achieved in Cammie who grieves for her father, also a spy, who vanished on a mission, and presses her mother and teachers to learn truths concerning his disappearance. Read with Michael P. Spradlin's "Spy Goddess" and Charlie Higson's "Young Bond" series. Reviewer: Elizabeth D. Schafer

Gr 7-10
Cammie Morgan has returned to the Gallagher Academy for a spring semester of spy school after being grilled by the CIA for the unfortunate events involving her first boyfriend, Josh, whom we met in I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You (Aug. 2006, p. 54). She is determined to concentrate on school work and leave boys behind. This becomes difficult when the Gallagher Academy hosts visitors from Blackthorne, the male equivalent of Gallagher. Cammie is baffled by the attention she receives from Zach, the hottest of the Blackthorne boys. He has the habit of showing up just when things are going wrong-such as when she encounters Josh in town or when there is a security breach at school. Cammie must determine if Zach is really interested in her or just wants to learn the school's secrets. Narrator Renee Raudman provides a well-paced narration of this novel by Ally Carter (Hyperion, 2007) and gives the teens believable voices. Chick lit? You bet, but it's well written and well plotted. Cammie and her friends are admirable, and there's enough intrigue and G-rated romance to satisfy teens and tweens. While this second book in the series stands alone, prepare for listeners to demand the first volume.
—Tricia MelgaardCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information.