Don't Judge A Girl by Her Cover by Ally Carter

I am a big fan of The Gallagher Girls series. Equal parts teen romance and adventure story, the first two books by Ally Carter — I'd Tell You I Love You But Then I'd Have to Kill You (Hyperion, 2006) and Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy (Hyperion, 2007) — were highly entertaining reads, ones I recommend for readers 10 and up.

Book #3 in the series — Don't Judge A Girl by Her Cover (Hyperion, 2009) — is unfortunately my least favorite of the three. Cammie Morgan (aka The Cameleon) and her entourage of Gallagher Academy girls are about to enter their junior year at the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women — a super secret training school for young female spies.

Their newest BFF, Macey McHenry, has spent the summer on the campaign trail with her father who is running for vice president of the United States. To wrap up summer break, Cammie joins her friend in Boston, where, a kidnapping attempt puts their training to a life and death test.

Back at school, with Secret Service hovering around Macey 24/7 and a personal body guard in the form of Cammie's aunt Abby, the girls' cov-ops lessons start hitting a little too close to home.

As the mysteries pile up around her, Cammie uncovers secrets about her family and her school, and the boy she's crushing on... all leading up to a cliffhanger ending that will have fans marking their calendars for book #4.

While I wasn't as swept up in this story as I was in the previous books, Carter does a good job of continuing the arc, feeding us hints about Zach, Mr. Solomon and even Cammie's father that make us wonder.

As Cammie often says, Gallagher Girls know that nothing is ever as it appears. But it's quite clear that Cammie's story is certain to have more twists and turns to come.

3 1/2 bookmarks.