Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Published: February 10, 2010
Copyright: 2010
Pages: 287
Form: Hardback
Series: Heist Society (1)
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When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her to the Louvre…to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie traveled to Austria…to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteen, she planned a con of her own—scamming her way into the best boarding school in the country, determined to leave the family business behind. Unfortunately, leaving “the life” for a normal life proves harder than she’d expected.
Soon, Kat’s friend and former co-conspirator, Hale, appears out of nowhere to bring Kat back into the world she tried so hard to escape. But he has a good reason: a powerful mobster’s priceless art collection has been stolen and wants it returned. Only a master thief could have pulled this job, and Kat’s father isn’t just on the suspect list, he is the list. Caught between Interpol and a far more deadly enemy, Kat’s dad needs her help.
For Kat, there is only one solution: track down the paintings and steal them back. So what if it’s a spectacularly impossible job? She’s got two weeks, a teenage crew, and hopefully just enough talent to pull off the biggest heist in her family’s (very crooked) history–and, with any luck, steal her life back along the way.
My Thoughts
I remember this book being all the rage a few years ago. Despite it sitting on my shelf for years, I only recently felt compelled to read it. Katarina has left the family business of high heists and wants to make normal life. But when her father is enemy number one with Interpol and the number one suspect for robbing a notorious mobster of his prize paintings. Kat gathers her crew to steal back the paintings is accused of taking.
Kat is probably the most bland and blah character in this whole book. She doesn’t have much a personality herself, but the kids in her crew more than made up for what she lacked. I liked the cool exterior and mysteriousness of Hale and the playfulness and silliness of Hamish and his brother. I also was a fan of old and wizened Uncle Eddie.
The plot was cool and I generally liked the pacing of the novel. I thought they were cutting it close to the actual deadline. But that just proved to make the actual heist pull off more intense and interesting. Overall, I did enjoy this book, but it didn’t quite live up to all the previous hype about it.

Filed in: Reviews, Young Adult Tags: Review, Young Adult
I’ve come across this book often in the blogosphere, but it’s one of those titles that I keep meaning to check out but just don’t seem to get to, lol. The premise definitely sounds intriguing, but if Kat isn’t a really standout protagonist, I’m not sure how that would affect my feelings toward everything else about the book …. Will you be continuing with the series?
Yeah she was pretty blah but the other characters made up for her lack of personality. The story was interesting enough, but I will not be investing anymore time in this series.
I didn’t fall in love wiht the book, but thought it was still entertaining
Missie @ A Flurry of Ponderings
That’s about my feelings too Missie.
I’ve run across this book a few times, and I don’t think that it’s on my to-read list any time soon.
Though it was interesting enough, you won’t be missing out on anything spectacular if you decide to skip it.